Angry in the Great White North

Stephane Dion's bleating about Kyoto is becoming intolerable:

With virtually no public announcement, the federal Conservative government has outlined why Canada will not meet its targets under the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse-gas emissions. In a report last week, Ottawa estimated that the required cuts in domestic emissions would devastate the economy, and explained why it won't purchase foreign emissions credits. It's a lucid summary of Canada's plight as an energy-exporting nation with a growing economy and an increasing population.

And, with sad predictability, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion has criticized it, maintaining that the Conservatives should put the opposition parties' tough redraft of the Clean Air and Climate Change Act to a final vote in the House of Commons. "This legislation must pass," Mr. Dion warned in a seven-page letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He added darkly that if the government ends this session of Parliament in the fall, Mr. Harper should bring the bill back for implementation; otherwise, he cannot count on Liberal support for a Throne Speech. The Tory minority government could fall.

Now there are two ways to meet Kyoto.

One is to drop emissions by nearly 600 million tonnes each year for the next five years. Annual emissions right now are in 750 million tonne range.

The other is to buy our way out of an 80% reduction in economic activity. But there are likely only to be less than 100 million tonnes of credit of available through this time period, well short of what we would need to buy. Obviously high demand and low supply will make these credits extremely expensive (assuming countries in a panic over climate change -- or in a panic over the politics of climate change -- begin to compete for these credits).

A way to cheapen these credits would be to increase the supply. A collapse of the Canadian economy caused by trying to meet Kyoto would make Canada's allowed emissions total available on the market. An economically ruined Canada could sell these credits and then use the money to try and keep as many Canadians alive as possible through the cold and the dark.

All in all, it is a nightmare scenario. But like all nightmares, it is easily dismissed by simply waking up and smelling the coffee. Stephen Harper and the Conservatives have been wide-awake for quite some time.

To stretch the metaphor, that pot of coffee was put on the stove by none other than Stephane Dion.

It was Stephane Dion who as environment minister oversaw Canada's continued increase in emissions. It was Stephane Dion who as a leadership candidate mewled pathetically that the resulting criticism the hypocrisy of his Kyoto position was unfair because it was really hard to be a Liberal environment minister in a Liberal government and actually get anything done about the environment.

What makes Stephane Dion think it would be any easier to be a Liberal environment minister in a Conservative government? Because that sure seems to be what he's trying to do. Stephane Dion wants the government to implement a plan drafted by Stephane Dion and the opposition parties. If the Conservatives don't let Stephane Dion play at being environment minister, Stephane Dion might try to force an election. Maybe.

The opposition plan is brutal. On paper it requires reaching Kyoto targets. It does so by forcing Canadian industry to pay taxes to emit, increasing cost of goods and services that will be passed to consumers, suppressing economic activity. Besides the cost of living, the only other thing that increases in this plan is the size of government in creating the bureacracy charged to crush Canada's economy. All to reduce the Canada's greenhouse emissions that account for less than 2% of the global total. Technically, only the emissions of carbon dioxide are targetted. Carbon dioxide is not even the most important greenhouse gas -- water vapour is, by far. And all this to fight global warming that many scientists still insist is either a myth or not connected to human activity.

But Stephane Dion says he might force an election if Stephen Harper doesn't implement Stephane Dion's plan.

This won't do. If Stephane Dion has a plan, he can put it in front of the Canadian people in an election. If he wins that election, he can implement the plan himself and take the credit or the blame for its success or its failure. But Stephane Dion does not get to make up a plan, then make Stephen Harper implement it, and blame Stephen Harper when the plan goes down in flames.

Stephane Dion is the Leader of the Opposition. His job is to oppose and criticize. His job is not to govern, either directly or by proxy.

If Stephane Dion thinks his plan will work, Stephane Dion ought to implement it. And that means putting his plan and his record up against Stephen Harper's plan and Stephen Harper's record and letting Canadians decide which they want to try.

But then Stephane Dion couldn't do squat for the environment when he was sat at the cabinet table for four years with that portfolio. Maybe he honestly believes he would be a more effective environment minister from the opposition benches.

If that's true, he's a nut.

Or maybe his failure as environment minister has made him fearful of actually leading, and he prefers to demand action, but then manipulate and threaten others to do the heavy lifting.

If that's true, he's a coward.

Or maybe he knows his plan is just so much nonsense, but he's using the environment as a means of gaining power, secretly knowing he has no intention whatsoever to implement this plan or any other when it comes to greenhouse gases and Kyoto.

If that's true, he's a cynic.

A nut? A coward? A cynic?

It would be refreshing to see Stephane Dion be a leader, or at least try to be one. He can do that by dropping all the pretense and posturing, and instead exhibit the power of his convictions, show faith in his plan, and proclaim his trust in the wisdom of the Canadian people to choose him if given the opportunity. In other words, promise in no uncertain terms to attempt to force an election at the earliest opportunity and then promise to implement the Clean Air and Climate Change Act himself if he was to win an election.

He's supposed to be a leader. He should be utterly clear and say Canadians can trust only him to implement this plan of his instead of complaining that Stephen Harper isn't doing what Dion is telling him to do.

Stephane Dion is trying to be prime minister. If he's not allowed to govern, Dion is suggesting he might attempt to force an election, an election in which Dion would actually be applying for the job of prime minister.

Do you see how absurd this is?