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Canada and the Kyoto Accord Costly Conformity A pen stroke by Prime Minister Jean Chretien nervously anticipated as early as Monday, December 16th will confirm Canada’s participation in the Kyoto Protocol. The weeks and months preceding have spurred on much heated debate as to whether or not Canada should ratify the accord. As announced by Prime Minister Chretien several months ago in South Africa, he and his Liberals, with support from the NDP and Bloc Quebecois, will vote to ratify the Accord by year’s end. Ratification of the Kyoto Protocol is either met with optimistic enthusiasm or distrustful contempt, as the nature of the issues at hand, ecological responsibility and economic prosperity leave few indifferent and are cynically perceived by some to be mutually exclusive. Those in favor of ratifying the Accord argue that it is in Canada’s favor to be proactive in the arena of environmental responsibility and that the Accord’s implementation will have an economical cost, yet one that can be dealt with. However, cynicism runs deep with those who oppose the plan. Opponents of the Protocol accuse Prime Minister Chretien of “legacy building”, of recklessly hurtling Canada towards a disadvantageous and p