Dear Ms. McKenna, Don't Be Shy, Spread the Word

Canadian EnviroMin, Catherine McKenna, is onto something. She says the key to dealing with climate change impacts on the Arctic is to have "real conversations" with the Innu who inhabit the area.

Hmm - real adult conversations - what a fabulous idea!! Kudos to you, Catherine McKenna. Bring it up next time Justin Trudeau gathers all those men and women - you know, the cabinet - and tell them they should try doing the same thing, having adult conversations with all Canadians about what is and is going to be affecting their lives and their children's lives. And, remember, the "adult" part means no lying. Sure it's going to be hard but you have to tell the truth.

Or did I get that wrong? Are "real conversations" only for the Inuit? Do the rest of us have to keep making do with an endless stream of bullcrap from Ottawa?

McKenna's "real conversations" teaser paled compared to her counterpart, US interior secretary, Sally Jewell's more pointed assessment that climate change spreading through the Arctic cannot be stopped and countries with northern populations will have to prepare for "climate refugees."

Really? Well, who knew? Oh, everybody - okay.

Do you ever get the sense that, while Harper just denied everything or acted as though challenges such as climate change were irrelevant, this Trudeau government prefers to play dumb, naive and then, eventually, surprised by oh so determined to act - maybe, somehow, at some point. It's kinda hard to miss that hazmat pipelines are a bigger priority than climate change with the government of the day, just like the government of days past. On that one, Ms. McKenna has already played the "national  unity" card to get herself and Mr. Trudeau off the hook.