Mr Baird please stop fiddling

I find it very tiresome to listen to politicians telling us at every opportunity that the Liberals did nothing about fighting climate change. David Suzuki rightfully called it a disgrace that MPs of all parties are seemingly doing nothing but name calling and holding one another repsonsible for Canadian inaction with respect to fullfilling our treaty obligations under the Kyoto Protocol.

The fact is the treaty was signed by the Canadian government and thus is part of the law of this land. We - as represented by our elected representatives - must try to honour obligations we undertook voluntarily.

Please Mr Baird take note that it is exasperating to listen to you talk about the past with nothing much to say about what you and your "not-so-new-government" intend to do in concrete terms (other than the minor, mainly cosmetic, measures announced earlier).

It is appalling to listen to you spread disinformation about spending billions on emission credits bought from Russia, for instance. (Question Period CTV Feb 4, 2007) Have you not had the time to actually inform yourself about your portfolio? Or is it a deliberate political manouevre on your part to misinform Canadians?

About a year ago about 87 percent of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) went to just 4 countries – China, Brazil and South Korea. Russia is not even mentioned specifically. As I stated elsewhere on this blog, I have some misgivings about buying CDM credits but if it's the only way we can honour a treaty we signed, so be it. Above all, lets stick to the facts as far as possible.


Mr. Baird is it ignorance or deliberate misinformation?

Either scenario wouldn't be surprising in view of the fact that Mr Harper had this to say about climate change in 2002:

“Kyoto is essentially a socialist scheme to suck money out of wealth-producing nations,” says the letter, signed by Harper.

“Implementing Kyoto will cripple the oil and gas industry, which is essential to the economies of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia . . .

“Workers and consumers everywhere in Canada will lose. THERE ARE NO CANADIAN WINNERS UNDER THE KYOTO ACCORD.”

He also blasted the treaty for targeting carbon dioxide — which he said is “essential to life” — and played down the science of climate change as “tentative and contradictory.”

Harper went on to promise a “battle of Kyoto” in hope of defeating the Chrétien Liberals’ efforts to implement the treaty legislation in the House of Commons."

The Prime Minister should also tell us what made him change his mind and when did that happen assuming that this is thhe case.