Green Plan Schlock vs. Lovelock’s Clock

climate crisis, conservative party

You’ve probably heard that the Conservatives are currently developing their “Green Plan II” by focus group. Apparently someone told them that this “environment stuff” is really popular right now. (That’s not a joke — it is, and there are a number of indications that Harper’s real number one priority is upgrading his government to a majority.)

Let’s just ignore the fact that focus groups are no way to lead. Oh, and the fact that the government is paying for it instead of the Conservative party. (Really? Do I have to ignore that? Ok…)

I wish I held out hope that this plan will be much more than a greenwash, but I don’t. And I’d be more specific if we were allowed to see the details, but we’re not. All we know for sure is that polluters are going to have a big say, that regulations are most likely going to voluntary, and that the plan will focus on air pollution instead of climate change (aka, the biggest threat facing our country in the foreseeable future).

We also know that the plan could take five years to develop and come into effect. Now, I don’t mean to be alarmist, but maybe they should read James Lovelock. The clock is ticking folks.

The Globe Spins Around

economy, trade

Want to read something strange? Pick up a copy of today’s Globe And Mail and check out the editorial titled The unwelcome landing of another U.S. penalty. The Globe is now “appalled” at how NAFTA is working (or, rather, not working) for our country:

Not again…What are the Americans doing? … Canada cannot win … This is appalling. Whatever happened to the consultations that NAFTA was supposed to foster? … [This] is a terrible way to treat a neighbour.

Uh, yeah, ok. Except that earlier this week the Globe said that Elizabeth May was “off to a bad start” for making the “extreme” suggestion “that the North American free-trade agreement is not working.” Instead, the Globe said, Elizabeth should be focusing on “real issues.”

How do we reconcile this apparent contradiction? Obviously, the only possible conclusion is that Elizabeth, myself, and at least three other letter writers have managed to sway the Globe’s editorial board in less than a week. Good for us.

Maybe stage four will come sooner than we thought.

Hurray! We’re Under Attack!

green party

There are a number of stock quotes that Greens are fond of throwing around. For example, Gandhi’s “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win,” was often heard during the last election.

The Green Party of Canada was formed in the early 80s, so we spent a long time at stage one. It was only in the past two elections (2004 and 2006) that we graduated to stage two.

Now, with major newspaper editorials and other forms of attention, our actual policies are under serious attack for the first time. I didn’t realize this until I felt what it was like to be in a party that people take seriously, but up until now most criticisms took the form of dismissal (eg, “they’re a fringe party”). Now when people attack our ideas, they do it with a seriousness that was absent before.

Welcome to stage three everybody. Stage four isn’t far away.

Letters to the Editor

economy, trade

The first time I ever wrote a letter to the editor of the Globe and Mail it was published. I think I’m being rightfully punished for that, because they haven’t printed one since. Yesterday’s letter makes the score 1 for 4, but that’s ok, because here are three great letters they printed instead.

The Globe defends Chapter 11 of the North American free-trade agreement by saying that only two cases were lost by the Canadian government in response to corporate lawsuits. It is not the quantity of cases but the effect of the cases that is important.

One case the government lost concerned a gasoline additive banned in California. When the Canadian government came to the same conclusion as the California Environmental Protection Agency and decided to ban the additive, a U.S. company sued Canada for loss of revenue and won.

This one case has had a chilling effect on future regulation and makes the government think twice about banning toxic substances.
MURRAY MARTIN, Burnaby, B.C.

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“Almost 85 per cent of our merchandise exports go to our NAFTA partners,” you say. If you think that’s a good thing, I’d shudder to hear what you think is a bad thing.
CHARLES MARKER, Toronto

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Re Elizabeth May, Off To A Bad Start? (Aug. 29): You no sooner get elected to the leadership of a marginal political party and the leading newspaper in the country leaps to the attack. Seems like a pretty good start to me.
CHRIS MARSTON, Toronto