The federal government has acknowledged that it deliberately excluded data in a 567-page report on climate change which was submitted to the United Nations – data which indicated a 20 per cent increase in pollution from Canada’s oilsands industry in 2009. Overall, the report revealed a six per cent drop in annual emissions for the entire economy from 2008 to 2009, but excluded the impact of Alberta’s oilsands, which now emits more greenhouse gasses than all the cars driven on Canadian roads. Continued negative press for the oilsands may prompt the federal government to shift focus on cleaner energy projects, such as Atlantic Canada’s own Lower Churchill development.
