Canada opposes Bush plans for ANWR exploration

Gary Park , PNA Canadian Correspondent

If President George W. Bush pushes ahead with plans to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for exploration he’s in for a neighborhood spat, warns Canada’s Environment Minister David Anderson.

“I’m utterly opposed,” Anderson emphatically declared, adding that Canada is also uneasy about how the Bush administration will react to international climate change negotiations.

Anderson said his primary concern over ANWR is the well-being of calving grounds for 200,000 caribou, which migrate over the border into the Yukon where they are a major food source for aboriginals.

“We can only keep on pointing out the fact that this is an international herd of animals,” he said. “We have a long tradition of concern where animals cross the border.”

Some aboriginal leaders and environmentalists have urged Canada to refuse permissions for any pipeline from Alaska to cross Canadian territory if Bush opens up ANWR.

But Anderson said there is no reason to go that far. He doesn’t want to become involved in issuing ultimatums to the United States, but hopes the Americans will be ready to look for other places to drill in the Arctic.

Environmental delays predicted

After talks in The Hague fell apart in November, Canada tried to broker an agreement involving the United States and the European Union.

Those talks also failed and now Anderson fears further delays as Bush spells out his opposition to the 1997 Kyoto agreement.

“We’re certainly concerned and, I have to admit, deeply disappointed we didn’t get a deal with the Europeans,” he said. “Now we’re faced with uncertainty.”

While declaring it would be “wrong to make assumptions too quickly,” Anderson pointed out that Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham all have backgrounds in the oil industry. “It will be very, very interesting to hear their views” on Kyoto, he said.