OTTAWA, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Canadian demonstrators poured onto the streets of several cities Sunday to mark Earth Day and urged their government to carry out its commitments to the Kyoto treaty.

    The Conservative government has so far refused to honor the Kyoto protocol signed by the former Liberal government, arguing that the treaty is impractical, saying Ottawa needs to work out its own plans.

    In Montreal, Canada's second-largest city, thousands of people marched in the streets, dancing to the beat of drums and brandishing signs demanding the planet be saved. Federal party Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe was present in the crowd, reports reaching here said.

    About 250 people gathered in the nation's largest city Toronto, waving signs and ringing bells on bicycles, to remind people of the consequences of climate change.

    Jack Layton, leader of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP) and his wife, a parliamentary member of NDP, rode their bikes to join the marchers on their parade route.

    Layton urged the House of Commons to pass a law which would see Canada reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

    In the capital city of Ottawa, about 300 mostly young activists tossed balls, skimmed Frisbees and heard speeches from a variety of politicians during the Earth Day festivities on Parliament Hill.

    Under the Kyoto treaty, Canada is committed to cutting emissions of greenhouse gases by 6 percent from 1990 levels by 2012. However, emissions of greenhouse gases in the country are currently 27 percent above 1990 levels.