Tonight Toronto350.org organized a vigil to resist the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion, which took place along with 44 others across Canada.
Justin Trudeau is going to find that his promises about indigenous reconciliation and restoring Canada’s environmental reputation require him to stop further bitumen sands extraction and export. If not, he will end up as confounded as the Harper government.
Author: Milan
In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford.
Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.
View all posts by Milan
McKenna must herd cats for climate plan, Harper, Jan. 5
Canada is struggling to meet its weak greenhouse-gas-reduction targets. We know that even if it fully achieved its national climate change framework, it will still fall short of reaching them, and that more needs to be done.
We know that carbon pricing, which sends a price signal to find innovative solutions to reduce emissions, plays a significant role in that plan and will help Canada stay competitive in the growing global clean-tech sector. We also know that Canada’s largest greenhouse-gas contributor is the oil and gas industry.
Knowing all this, the fact that Alberta Premier Rachel Notley needs a pipeline victory in support of the oilsands so that her party can be re-elected — so the province can continue to price carbon — is absurd. But politically in Canada, it makes perfect sense.
With international pressure mounting for Canada to keep its climate commitments, and game-changing, cost-competitive innovations in clean tech becoming available, reality is catching up to politics. I hope the Canadian government keeps this in mind when it comes to pipeline approvals.
Cheryl McNamara, Toronto