Canada Wins 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place Fossil Award

By Joanna Dafoe On November 30, 2010 · 16 Comments
Canada proudly accepting not one, not two, but three fossil prizes

"Keep the oil a-flowing!" (photo creds: Anna Collins)

Canada wins first, second, and third place Fossil of the Day Award in Cancun today. The award is given daily to the country who has done the most to disrupt and undermine negotiations.

As the most salient and recent climate offense, Canada’s first place award is granted for killing the Climate Change Accountability Act. Our second place award goes for Federal efforts to gut climate change programs, including:

- The only major federal support program for renewable energy program funding energy efficiency upgrades for homeowners

- Funding for Canada’s climate science foundation

- Clean fuels policies in other countries.

Your tracker helps Canada receive its award

And our third place award goes for a general commitment to regain title of “colossal fossil“: the country making the least constructive contribution to the negotiations.

While the Fossil Award is intended to evoke drama in what can often be a dull process, there is a more somber underlying message. In only the first day of negotiations Canada has been viewed by the international environmental community as being sufficiently obstructive to receive all three prizes.

The Fossil prize is granted the same day the Montreal Gazette published e-mail excerpts from the Canadian Embassy in 2008. In one particularly forthright exchange, Canadian Embassy staff person Jason Tolland wrote to government trade lawyers “we hope that we can find a solution to ensure that the oil keeps a-flowing.”

While this quote is not dressed in diplomat-speak, does it perhaps show the underlying focus of Canadian policy in Cancun - to keep the oil a-flowing? I sure hope not. I hope to see Canada lose its status in the Fossil ceremonies in Cancun, and I’m sure many folks at home do too.

Check out a brief clip of the award here, or the whole 8 minute performance below.

Full footage courtesty of OneWorld TV.

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  • Iceberg

    is it just me or does the guy in the video seem to be proud of getting all those awards…. from what i read its actually horrible that we should get all of the awards and i am NOT proud to say I’m Canadian after seeing that. luckily i live in the best city in Canada and so its all good

  • http://twitter.com/bouchane Kolleen Bouchane

    Remember when Canada used to seem like a nice place to be from?

  • http://twitter.com/bouchane Kolleen Bouchane

    remember when Canada used to seem like a nice place to be from? these awards are a great way to simplify the message of the top baddy at COP-16 … and why. thanks for this!

  • Curiouse

    Does this young man accepting the FOTD Award for Canada have a name? and whom does he represent, besides being “Non-Governmental” ?

  • John C

    The official delegations don’t accept the awards. The young man is likely a member of an NGO based in Canada. The FOTD awards are used by the NGO’s as a way to put pressure on the official delegations and the governments at home in hopes that they will change their negative stances on major issues. It brings media attention to the fact that Canada is quite possibly the worst offender when it comes to blocking negotiations and damaging the worlds climate. A fact that many people in the general population are unaware of.

  • Joanna Dafoe

    Thanks for the clarification, John. Indeed, the fellow receiving the award is part of the Canadian Youth Delegation and not an official government delegate.

  • Anonymous

    This fellow is not with the official delegation - so that explains the dance and smile :) although it is still a low-moment to receive all three awards in one day.

  • scota

    The Fossil of the Day awards are an obvious form of satire. The presenters and award recipients are acting as if they are excited to be at an award ceremony. The recipients are concerned citizens who are actually from those countries.

    It is worth noting that this award is given out by a large international coalition of leading civil society groups. The countries which win the awards are carefully selected for actions, statements of policies which serve to undermine progress in the negotiations. Receiving a fossil means the attention of the international community is on your country for getting in the way of a solution.

  • speechless

    wow, and I thought it could not possibly get any worse!

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