Can Canada Tackle Climate Change?

Curbing greenhouse gas emissions is particularly challenging in Canada. In part that is due to the nature of our confederation, in part because of the wealth and political influence being generated by the principal GHG emitters.

Ottawa can hardly demand that Ontario clean up its energy and industrial sectors without demanding the very same thing of bad boy Alberta and its tar sands cornucopia. The federal conservatives are unduly dependent on Alberta for their political support. The Alberta conservative government has wasted no opportunity to condemn the Kyoto accords and oppose any meaningful action on the GHG problem.

With the cons already trailing the libs in every province save Alberta, they're in a powerful conflict of interest on the GHG issue. It's a vicious circle. Without resolving the tar sands pollution fiasco the conservatives have no moral standing to demand genuine action in other provinces. The solution? Do what they've watched their mentors in Washington pull off. Say you're dealing with it, say you've got a plan and then defer any attempt to deal with it for years to come.

I've lost hope that our provincial and federal leaders have the courage to respond to this dilemma. Let's put it this way - they're not going to do it until YOU tell them they must - or else. It's the public, not the politicians, that must 'own' this issue and demand the right response. Until we do, the clock will just keep ticking.