The leaders of the federal Green Party addressed Yukoners Tuesday afternoon from the COP17 United Nations climate change conference in Durban, South Africa.

Green Party president and Yukoner John Streicker and party leader Elizabeth May used Skype to address a group of about 20 attendees at the Yukon branch of the federal Green Party's annual general meeting, held at the Westmark Whitehorse Hotel.

Canadians, they say, should be doing more to combat global climate change.

"I am here to represent Canadians,” said Streicker. "I am here with a political hat, but I am not interested in what this means for the Green Party, but what it means to the nation and what it means for future negotiations.”

It is becoming more likely that the Durban conference will not result in a new treaty, said Streicker.

The Canadian government has proved a hindrance to the negotiation process, he said.

"It's disappointing being a Canadian here,” Streicker told the crowd.

"In 2005, we were the best country in the world. We were getting this moving; now we are the country blocking it all.

"So it's difficult to be here and be a Canadian, but that's the job. It's about letting other countries know that the government's position doesn't necessarily reflect Canadian values.”

Canadians should be speaking out about our government's role in the negotiations, said Streicker.

"Can we do something in Canada, in the Yukon? I say absolutely. We need to know that it will take pressure to get the government to move from a political agenda to a public agenda,” said Streicker.

Unlike other world governments, the Canadian government has not included political opposition leaders in its delegation.

That has left leaders like May unable to participate in negotiations.

"We have colleagues on the delegation, including some from the Yukon,” said Streicker

"But they can't really discuss what's going on. Each morning, though, Guy Saint-Jacques (Canada's chief negotiator and Ambassador for Climate Change) gives Canadian attendees who are not delegates some details. We are not getting a big picture of what's going on.”

As both an MP and party leader, May believes she should have been given the opportunity to represent Canadians at the delegation, and says the exclusion of opposition leaders has added to Canada's embarrassment at the conference.

"Pretty much everyone I have met here know I am a member of Parliament and the leader of the Green Party of Canada,” said May. "They are absolutely stunned that my own government had not allowed me to be part of their delegation.”

She has found a temporary home in Durban, however, alongside the delegation from Papua New Guinea.

May was invited to the delegation by friend Kevin Conrad, a Papuan lawyer and environmentalist. Conrad earned an international reputation during a 2007 UN climate conference for challenging the United States to "lead or get out of the way,” of negotiations.

"I have a lot of respect for the role of the Papua New Guinea delegation in this negotiation and they allowed me to be accredited with them,” said May.

"So far, I haven't been actually physically working for Papua New Guinea here. I have been working with the NGO groups, climate action network, in terms of getting the information and sharing it. Because the currency of these negotiations is information.”

Even with delegate status, May said, it has been difficult to take part in the discussions that will help determine future international policy on climate change.

"They basically told me that it was awful for me to be in the room because as a member of Parliament, the non-government organizations were allowing me to ask questions and they were giving up their time for me to ask questions,” she said. "And I responded by saying, ‘Well that's why I should be on the delegation.' It's sort of an odd catch 22.”

The Canadian government has claimed it "will support a new international climate change agreement that include commitments from all major emitters,” which including China, the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

May believes the Harper government have already made up their mind on climate negotiation.

"It's very clear, about a week before we left Canada that the Harper government has already taken a position that they will start the proceedings to legally withdraw from Kyoto and announced it right before Christmas. It's really typical.”

By taking a hard-nosed stance on negotiations, the government is deliberately trying to stall the whole process, she said.

"China has said they will participate in Kyoto but our condition is that other countries do too. And then you have Canada saying, ‘We will not commit to Kyoto because it doesn't include China,'” she said.

"If they were really interested in a deal that includes China, they would say, ‘Well the situation here has changed, China has called on Canada to participate and we will.'

"You almost have to pretend Canada doesn't exist as a negotiator, because what we are doing is so unhelpful. Canada is seen as an unhelpful and irrelevant part of the negotiations.”

May praised northern Canadians' efforts and their contribution to the international conference, including an Inuit youth delegation from Nunavut, and Streicker, who, she said, has put the interests of Yukoners forward in discussions with the Canadian delegates.

She also called on Canadians to voice their concerns about the government's role in international climate change negotiations.

"The pressure that can be put on the Canadian government, really should come from Canadians in the next few days, saying we are unhappy with what the Canadian government is doing in Durban,” she said.

The conference will continue for two more days, with an "Action Plan for Africa” event being hosted today by the African Union and the World Bank.