The clichéd image of Canada is a land of pristine lakes, snow capped mountains and thousands of kilometres of untouched forests - an environmental paradise. But that image has been tarnished significantly over the past several years. And when Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper joins the talks at the Copenhagen climate summit he can expect some tough criticism of his government's environmental policies.

By Dan Karpenchuck in Toronto

Shortly after Stephen Harper and his minority Conservative government came to power in 2006, Mr Harper pulled Canada out of the Kyoto Protocol, saying it was not a workable, realistic solution to cutting greenhouse gases. Under Kyoto, the previous Liberal government pledged to cut emissions by six percent from 1990 levels by 2012. Mr Harper has committed to reduce emissions by 20 percent from 2006 levels by 2020. Not enough, according to Canadian activists.

George Monbiot is a British columnist and environmentalist. He says Canada is not pulling its weight in the fight against climate change.

"Climate change is doing to Canada's international image what whaling has done to Japan's. I think it's fair to say that the Harper government has done more than any other nation to deliberately try to frustrate and sabotage the discussions towards a climate agreement so far. So much so that at one of the meetings in Bangkok, almost all the developing world delegates walked out when the Canadian delegate was speaking because they were so outraged by the position he was taking."

World's dirtiest oil
Another major issue with environmentalists in Canada and abroad is the development of the Alberta Tar Sands, described as producing some of the dirtiest oil in the world. The project is the world's single largest emitter of CO2. An independent study released two weeks ago suggests pollution from the oil sands is nearly five times greater and twice as widespread as the industry claims. The study says toxic emissions from the tar sands are equal to a major oil spill every year.

 
And it's not just the environment that's suffering. The country's First Nations communities have brought thee major lawsuits over concerns about how the oil sands may be affecting Canada's native population in the region. George Poitras is a former chief of the Mikisew Cree in northern Alberta and says 'dirty oil' is killing his people:

"Many of the contaminants that we're finding in the water systems including mercury, arsenic and polycyclic aeromatic hydrocarbons combined, we know that they contribute to the types of cancers that we're observing. Very rare cancers and cancers that this year have been confirmed by the Alberta Cancer Board."

Tied to Washington
Environment minister Jim Prentice recently announced that Ottawa's policy for cutting greenhouse gas emissions would mirror that of Washington's. He said the economies of the two countries are so linked that their essential environmental targets also remain in line. Failure to harmonize the targets would mean a loss of investments and jobs to the USA, according to Mr Prentice.

Many Canadians are also concerned about Canada's international image on the climate change issue. Andrew Nikiforuk is the author of a book called Tar Sands - Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent. He says Canada's position on climate change at this point is much closer to Saudi Arabia's than it is to most European countries.

"We're coming into the summit without a real plan.....without a real policy, we're one of the few industrial countries in the world with no strategic energy plan, no strategic climate action plan.....no strategic renewable energy plan. And essentially our policy is this: we'll have what the Americans are having. And so we're really waiting for the Americans to unveil some kind of program. And we'll say ....yeah, we think that might be a good idea."

No agreement
Even provincial governments within Canada can't seem to agree on a single climate change policy. Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia have put forward their own emissions targets - tougher than Ottawa's and at odds with oil-producing Alberta and Saskatchewan. Any attempt by the federal government to impose national targets to cut emissions will spark fierce political debate across the country, putting national unity at stake.

But Canada does have a role to play at Copenhagen, and Prime Minister Harper will be under intense scrutiny when he speaks. Activists want him to base the country's climate plan on what the science suggests is necessary, despite the cost.
 

• Watch several videos of the Tar Sands

Lead photo: Pipes for the Alberta Tar Sands (loozrboy/Flickr)