Conservatives Turn Green

Tories are feeling the environmental heat over climate change and nowhere is this more apparent than in their $300-million Eco Energy Renewable Power Initiative.

Lots of hot air has been blown around by the Conservatives regarding climate change and long-term sustainable outlooks.

Not that former Environment Minister Rona Ambrose is completely to blame for the Conservative’s near miss on what has become Canada’s top concern, in case you didn’t know, the environment.

Let’s hope this new strategy will see the Canadian government step up to the plate, get beyond the "policy" stage and start making some changes.

In particular, let’s hope Tories prevent B.C.’s two new coal fired plants from being built.

B.C. is again being drenched in wet snow, the third time this year that the lower mainland has experienced abnormally cold and snowy weather. Not to mention a couple devastating windstorms that practically destroyed our hottest tourist attraction, Vancouver’s famous Stanley Park.

But let’s be serious. It is more important than ever for the Canadian government to set the stage for world-wide political leaders and demonstrate just how green Canada is.

We still have a lot of resources and green space, but growing climactic woes, such as the recent devastating snow storm in Saskatoon, are becoming more frequent. But, Canadians need to do more than switch to energy saving light bulbs.

We need a paradigm shift towards a sustainable future.

The Liberals passed a $200-million Green Budget plan in 2005 to do basically what Conservatives are heralding now as their new environmental vision.

Canadians should expect more from their government.

Enough stalling, lets see some real pollution and population growth reduction strategies enacted.