Does the Liberal government in Ottawa have a policy on climate change, really?
Not judging by their actions.
A drive through many parts of the province will pass by construction sites for the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion project. This project has long been despised by environmentalists, who argue any increase in access to Canada’s oil patch naturally means more carbon dioxide being flung into our already overloaded atmosphere.
The pipeline, however, also means jobs and tax revenues, and as such it is so beloved by the federal government that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government actually bought it as Kinder Morgan ran into difficulties with the project
On the other coast, this government has also approved the Bay du Nord oil project, which has all the same issues – jobs versus climate. The present versus the future, essentially.
Meanwhile, the federal budget unveiled earlier this month is all about fighting climate change, somehow.
There is a great deal of money and policy aimed at decarbonizing Canada’s industry, encouraging carbon capture from the existing oil industry, and boosting sales of electric vehicles.
The government needs to make up its mind whether it is for or against global climate change. (Hint: against is the correct position.)
The Earth’s atmosphere is not a localized phenomenon. It’s a shared resource.
We have the same atmosphere as Albania and Burundi and China and on down the whole alphabet of nations.
If we decarbonize at home, and we have the cleanest oil industry in the world, and we all drive electric cars and heat and light our homes with solar and wind and hydro, we’ll still face rising seas and scorching summers, in part thanks to our exporting oil for other people to burn. The government needs to pick a side – short term, or long?