About 10 people took over Conservative MP Gary Lunn’s constituency office in Sidney this morning, demanding the federal government commit to stringent cuts to greenhouse gas emissions.

The peaceful sit-in started at 10 a.m. and at about noon included 10 people inside — the capacity of the office reception area — and about the same number outside the building walking about and attracting some cars to honk horns.

Organizers describe the group as concerned citizens asking for “fair, ambitious and binding targets” coming into the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen Dec. 7-18.

Eric Swanson, of the Dogwood Initiative, a non-profit group concerned with sustainable land reform, took the day off work to take part in the event.

The protesters — described as working people, retired seniors and students with no partisan affiliations — plan to stay all day, according to Swanson.

Staff inside the office confirmed the protest was disruptive but peaceful and allowed it to continue. Police were told their help wasn’t needed.

Lunn, the minister of state for sport, said in a phone interview from Ottawa that he phoned the organizers and explained his government’s plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 are ambitious, “realistic and achievable.”

“We’re taking an aggressive stand,” Lunn said, adding that the federal government is also spending hundreds of millions of dollars on energy efficiency. He suggested more focus should be placed on heavy polluters such as China and India.

Organizers wanted Lunn to commit to a town-hall meeting with constituents prior to the end of the Copenhagen meeting.

“We were hoping to get a positive answer from Lunn on a town hall for open dialogue and debate,” said Swanson, in a phone interview from the sit-in. “We were hoping [he’d] be willing to represent his government’s position back to the constituency.”

Lunn turned the group down. He said he has a hectic schedule right now but that he regularly attends town halls and makes himself available to constituents through community events and meetings.

“That’s no reason, there’s no rationale as to why he can’t show up for an hour to discuss this most urgent issue,” Swanson said.

The protesters maintain the Harper-lead government is creating reasons why Canada can’t get a deal on climate change and can’t commit to more binding stringent targets.

“The Harper government is fabricating excuses why Copenhagen will fail but that’s not an option. We need to succeed,” Swanson said.

“If anything will happen now is the time,” he added.

The federal government is simply being balanced and realistic about what it can achieve, Lunn said.

Similar sit-ins in the offices of Conservative MPs have already been held in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto.

ceharnett@tc.canwest.com