Perhaps following the cue of its southern neighbor, Canada announced earlier this week that it’s in no hurry to ratify the Kyoto Protocol on global climate change. The announcement, made by Environment Minister David Anderson, marked a shift from an earlier suggestion that the nation might endorse Kyoto by as early as June. With the exception of Quebec, all of the provincial governments have indicated their opposition to ratifying the accord in the absence of U.S. participation. But other news from the north suggests that it would be in the country’s best interest to help control climate change: Canada’s Third National Report on Climate Change, released this week, projects a 15-fold increase in heat-related deaths this decade in Toronto alone if global warming continues. It also predicts forced migrations within Canada, flooding on all three coasts, and droughts in other parts of the country, such as the current one in southern Alberta that has cost the nation about $3 billion.
