There is an old saying that goes like this: “Ya don’t shit where ya eat!”
If Thomas Mulcair wants to ‘dis’ Canada’s environmental record, justified or not, then that’s his business.
BUT!
If he goes down to the States and runs us down, then it’s OUR business!
(Is there any way we can refuse to let him back into Canada?)
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By  - Politics Reporter
Despite indicating otherwise, Thomas Mulcair is speaking about the Keystone XL pipeline during his trip, this week, to meet with congressional leaders in Washington D.C..
According, to Postmedia News, the NDP leader is telling the Americans that it’s their decision on whether to approve Keystone but not to believe the Harper government’s claims that Canada has a good record on the environment.
“In the U.S. people know how to read,” Mulcair said in an interview according to Postmedia.
“They know that Canada is the only country that has withdrawn from Kyoto. They know that the Conservatives can’t possibly meet their Copenhagen targets (on greenhouse gas emissions) precisely because of the oilsands. They have to stop playing people for fools,” he noted adding that he’d rather see a cross-Canada pipeline.
“…A president who has repeatedly identified climate change as one of humanity’s most pressing dangers cannot in good conscience approve [the Keystone pipeline] project that — even by the State Department’s most cautious calculations — can only add to the problem.”
[ Related: Obama urged to nix Keystone XL, Thomas Mulcair stays mum ]
On the surface, to harshly criticize Canada in the United States seems like politically risky move for Mulcair.
Certainly, historically, all opposition leaders in Canada make the trip to the U.S. and dissent from government positions. But Mulcair’s trip comes just weeks or months before President Obama is expected to rule on the pipeline.
Mulcair’s comments certainly aren’t going to play well in Alberta and maybe even beyond that. The latest Abacus Data survey indicated that 53 per cent of Canadians supported the development of the North to South pipeline.
Natural Resource Minister Joe Oliver went on the attack with an op-ed column published in the Globe and Mail.
We expect Mr. Mulcair to stand up for Canadian workers and their families. We hope he will not repeat the mistake of his deputy leader and travel abroad to lobby against approval of this critical project, especially at a critical moment prior to the presidential decision.
A responsible politician would not travel to a foreign capital to score cheap political points. I call on Mr. Mulcair to make Americans aware of the reality – that Canadian measures to combat global warming are as good as, or better, than those taken in the United States. He ought to point out that Canada, which has aligned its greenhouse gas emissions goals with the United States, is already halfway to our target of a 17 per cent reduction from 2005 levels by 2020. Trying to undermine this important message would endanger Canadian jobs and economic prosperity.
According to a statement released by the government on Monday, the Keystone Pipeline would create thousands of jobs on both sides of the border.
[ Related: CP Rail sees Keystone approval, confident in crude by rail ]
Cabinet ministers Tony Clement, Ed Fast and Vic Toews will be making their way to Washington D.C. this week — maybe to undo Mulcair’s damage.
(Photo courtesy of Reuters)
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/ndp-leader-thomas-mulcair-slams-canada-environmental-record-185723882.html