Yesterday the Globe and Mail reported on the bold behaviour of British Columbia’s Premier Christy Clark at Friday’s climate change talks in Ottawa, and accredited it to an early bit of campaigning.
Trudeau’s government had invited all of Canada’s premiers to join Trudeau in Ottawa to close a pan-Canadian deal on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions to mark the culmination of his first year as Prime Minister. The meeting came at the end of Trudeau’s climate-change summit, which also featured US Vice President Biden and his feelings about Trudeau’s bromance with Obama, his own highly celebrated bromance with Obama, and that when it comes to fighting climate change, the US “needing Canada very, very badly.”
Anyway, back to Christy. So during this meeting with all of Canada’s premiers, Christy rather abruptly put her foot down claiming that the proposed carbon tax that British Columbians will have to pay will be twice as costly as what other provinces, like Ontario and Quebec, will have to pay. This seems like quite the reason to put ones foot down, except for the fact that discussions had been going on for some time leading up to the summit, and apparently Ms. Clark had not made her level of discontent known, as a provision very close to what she asked for at the summit was already part of the deal. And then there is the walk out.
Closing up this deal was a big PR moment for Trudeau, but instead Ms. Clark left the meetings, albeit briefly, and spoke to the awaiting press about how she was standing up for BC’s economic needs and would not sign the deal. Then she went back inside, and signed the deal. Thus, the walkout smells a little like a campaign stint.
Certainly Ms. Clark’s concern was a valid one, but her intention to represent British Columbians well was overshadowed by politician behaviour, which I believe most voters see through.
BC’s provincial election takes place Tuesday, May 9 2017.
Read the original article by Gary Mason, published December 12, 2016 in the Globe and Mail here.
Feature image via Huffington Post.
