"Chrétien ratifies Kyoto- was the headline on most every daily newspaper in Canada on December 16, 2002. A huge victory for Canada and the world as the most significant as well as the most controversial environmental accord ever was ratified. The Kyoto Treat requires industrialized countries barring the U.S, who has opted out of signing, to cut global warming gases by 5 percent below the 1990 levels by 2012. The first binding international agreement on climate change in history took place with the ratification of the Kyoto Accord. A significant milestone for Canada and the world as we have together recognized that a co-operative approach to the environment can and will decrease global warming and ultimately preserve our planet's valuable resources for future generations. The Kyoto Accord will eventually prove to be an outstanding success for Canada bringing economic, political and environmental progress through this very controversial and highly criticized agreement. .
The Federal Government of Canada has played a significant role in the development and overall success of the Kyoto Accord. Having held numerous important conventions across our country to support such an implementation, great deal of attention has been brought to this issue through our media. However, with large corporations controlling the Canadian media and given the fact that it is large corporations that stand to be the most negatively affected by the accord, the government has received much harsh criticism for nearly every action towards ratification. Provincial governments have also lobbied a great deal of support to express many of their individual concerns economically, towards the success or failure of such ratification. However, despite such negative criticism the federal government has proudly put their foot down in efforts to relieve our planet of global warming. "In the face of opposition from a strong fossil fuel lobby, he (Chrétien) moved forward with the long term interests of Canada and the globe in mind-, said Jennifer Morgan, director of the World Wild Life Fund referring to Chrétien's victory.
