Sell-Out

Well I believe in this
And it's been tested by research
He who fucks nuns
Will later join the church

--The Clash (from "Death or Glory")

I guess it's pretty comfortable in Stornaway, eh Stephane?

OTTAWA — The Liberals have refused to bring down the minority Conservative government over its alleged failure to combat climate change.

Only 11 Liberals voted for an NDP non-confidence motion condemning the government for failing to respect international climate agreements and for its refusal to adopt opposition-approved legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Other Liberals MPs were present but didn't vote.

With oppositions like this, who needs electoral majorities? Certainly not the Super Secret Harper Imitation Tories, who themselves introduced measures to reduce carbon emissions amounting to a sell-out of the environment:

The Harper government unveiled measures on Monday that would force new oilsands projects to capture and store greenhouse gas emissions and ban construction of new dirty coal plants beginning in 2012.

Note how they slipped the word "new" in there twice, so that conveniently leaves all existing oilsands projects and coal plants completely off the hook. Some of our federal leaders took issue with the new measures:

In Ottawa, politicians panned the new measures. NDP Leader Jack Layton said the plan was "a licence to pollute."

Green party Leader Elizabeth May criticized the capturing techniques as expensive and unproven.

"Right now, it's not cost-effective and there are far more cost-effective ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions — improving the efficiency with which we use energy and shifting to other energy sources beyond coal and oil," she said at a news conference.

The government has admitted that the technology likely won't be up and running until 2018.

Notice which major federal party leader had nothing to say? Uh-huh. The one who ran for his party's leadership as the candidate focused on sustainable development and making sure Canada lives up to its Kyoto commitments because climate change was too vital not to act immediately.

Around these parts, that's known as a sell-out.

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The Power and the Passion in Power

Oh the power and the passion, oh the temper of the time
Oh the power and the passion
Sometimes you've got to take the hardest line
--Midnight Oil

Congratulations to the Aussies, who have smartly elected themselves a new government with new ideas:

(Incoming Prime Minister Kevin) Rudd’s pledges on global warming and Iraq move Australia sharply away from policies that made (former PM John) Howard one of Bush’s staunchest allies.

Rudd has promised to pull Australia’s 550 combat troops from Iraq in a phased withdrawal, and to quickly sign the Kyoto Protocol on limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Howard had rejected withdrawal plans for Australia’s troops in Iraq, and said no to ratifying Kyoto.

This on a day when Peevie Stevie and the suddenly toothless outgoing Australian team shamefully ganged up on the rest of the Commonwealth to thwart any promise of real action, and undermine the Kyoto treaty to which Canada is a signatory.

"It simply calls for 'aspirational' targets. In other words, these are things the Commonwealth countries just hope will happen," (Opposition leader Stephane Dion) told Newsnet.

Canada had opposed language that would set firm, Kyoto-style targets. Harper said the original wording excluded developing countries that are also becoming major greenhouse gas emitters.

Environmentalists and Commonwealth sources claimed Canada stood only with Australia in opposing firm targets.

Well as of today, Australia is clearly mandated by its citizenry to sign Kyoto. That isolates Harper with another lame duck - that Bush guy. Either Harper will fold completely on this or he will be pushed out of the Prime Minister's chair within months. And it will be over this same issue that has walloped Howard, despite his furious back-peddling.

So if you're a Canadian opposition party that wants Canada firmly back on the Kyoto track (and that would include the Liberals, NDP, Greens and BQ) you can take solace from another Midnight Oil song whose 20-year-old promise has finally been realised. Last word back to the Oils' former frontman Peter Garrett (most recently Rudd's Environment critic and the logical choice to head that ministry) from the song "Sometimes":

Sometimes you're shaken to the core
Sometimes
Sometimes you're face is gonna' fall
But you don't give in

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