The Conservatives continue to surprise
I mentioned in a comment to one of my own posts recently that while I am disgusted with the Tories' moves to reverse equal marriage legislation, end gun registration and replace Kyoto with a seemingly toothless bill on environmental "protection", I was pleased with some things I had heard of them, namely, redress to Chinese-Canadian citizens forced to pay head tax on arrival in Canada some decades ago, and a sense of frugality in their personal expenses.
The thing I was most incensed about, however, was their deliberate drawbacks from taking any sort of meaningful steps to reducing Canada's carbon footprint. And now, on that very subject, they have suddenly made a stunningly progressive move. They're actually going to ask advice of the Green Party of Canada.
http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/TopStories/ContentPosting.aspx?newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20061110%2ftories_greens_061110&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V2&showbyline=True
I am a little bit inclined to the cynical point of view that they're just doing it to defray criticism and have no intention of following Green Party advice if it includes any measures that will restrict industry or force Canadians to alter their oil-consumptive lifestyles. Nonetheless, this cannot be a bad thing.
I am even more thrilled to hear that the Green Party is, relatively speaking, soaring in the polls. I was under the impression that the impending (at least -- more probably current and worsening) environmental crisis was getting far less air-time in North America than here in the UK (where it gets at least one A-section article in a respected broadsheet every single day). This may be the case, but still, it looks like the Canadian public are starting to listen.
Perhaps there is hope. I'm not holding my breath yet, but perhaps.
The thing I was most incensed about, however, was their deliberate drawbacks from taking any sort of meaningful steps to reducing Canada's carbon footprint. And now, on that very subject, they have suddenly made a stunningly progressive move. They're actually going to ask advice of the Green Party of Canada.
http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/TopStories/ContentPosting.aspx?newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20061110%2ftories_greens_061110&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V2&showbyline=True
I am a little bit inclined to the cynical point of view that they're just doing it to defray criticism and have no intention of following Green Party advice if it includes any measures that will restrict industry or force Canadians to alter their oil-consumptive lifestyles. Nonetheless, this cannot be a bad thing.
I am even more thrilled to hear that the Green Party is, relatively speaking, soaring in the polls. I was under the impression that the impending (at least -- more probably current and worsening) environmental crisis was getting far less air-time in North America than here in the UK (where it gets at least one A-section article in a respected broadsheet every single day). This may be the case, but still, it looks like the Canadian public are starting to listen.
Perhaps there is hope. I'm not holding my breath yet, but perhaps.