If anyone makes me, as a Canadian, hang my head in shame, it’s this woman:
Canada has no chance of meeting its targets under the Kyoto accord and must set more realistic goals for cutting greenhouse gases, the federal environment minister says.
“My departmental officials and the department officials from natural resources have indicated that it is impossible, impossible for Canada to reach its Kyoto targets,” Rona Ambrose said Friday.
“And let me be clear. I have been engaging with our international counterparts over the past month, and we are not the only country that is finding itself in this situation.”
The international agreement requires Canada to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.
But since 1990, emissions have gone up, with the latest figures showing an increase of almost 30 per cent.
Ambrose said the government might consider setting new targets.
“We have to work with all of our industry sectors that are obviously the causes of emissions and pollution on ways to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases and they’re willing, they’re very willing to work with the government. So that’s our next step.”
“Work with industry”? To do what–pollute more? To make more excuses while they make more money at the expense of the rest of the planet? (Be it known that Ms. Ambrose is a Conservative–a member of the most industry-tied, big-bidness party in the country.)
Seeing this on CBC was like watching a nervous breakdown in progress. Ambrose’s voice was whiny and defensive. It was so embarrassing that I actually cringed.
Maybe if she would spend more time on actually working on ways to meet and beat the Kyoto allotments, instead of her overstyled hair, overused rhetoric and overwrought excuses, we Canadians wouldn’t have to be struggling to hide our collective blushes. We live in one of the world’s most beautiful countries, and we should have a government worthy of it–one that will let us hold our heads up with the most progressive of them.
In other words: NOT a Conservative government.
