ANGUS NEEDS TO GET WITH THE PROGRAM
Charlie Angus’s aspirations could be in great danger. He is taking a substantial risk in his quest to become leader of the New Democratic Party. He has thrown caution to the wind, and suggested some dangerously different thinking.
He better be careful. Look what happened to Maxime Bernier when he proposed — horrors — that Canada really needn’t continue protecting Quebec dairy farmers against the predations of competition. Or what happened to Martha Hall Findlay when she made the same suggestion during the Liberal leadership contest.
They both lost, that’s what happened.
It seems unlikely Angus would suggest anything as revolutionary as ending overpriced milk — the NDP has seen its Quebec beachhead erode plenty enough already, thanks very much. But is he really suggesting we adopt a reasonable plan for confronting climate change by moving beyond ridiculous pipeline politics? What is he thinking?
“For years, governments have mouthed platitudes about reducing greenhouse gas emissions while making no credible efforts to meet our international obligations,” Angus said Thursday in releasing his own plan to curb emissions. “Year in and year out, Canada’s GHG emissions continue to rise along with the lame promises from government.”
Well. That’s certainly a shot across the bows of Mr. UN Paris Accord himself, Justin Trudeau. Angus appears to believe Trudeau’s Liberals are no better than a previous Liberal regime that signed on to the Kyoto climate change protocol, then proceeded to ignore its contents while bathing in selfcongratulation for having said the right things. It’s hard to argue with him when the Trudeau Liberals have adopted the same emissions targets as those notorious climate deniers, the Harper Tories.
Angus has his own ideas about a better way to meet those targets. He wants action, and in the NDP, action means … more bureaucrats. The NDP member from TimminsJames Bay proposes establishing a new Crown corporation mandated to “invest in public infrastructure projects and public energy projects in partnership with provinces, territories, municipalities and First Nations.” He also advocates a Carbon Budget Council made up of “credible independent experts” who would “use the tools and investments necessary” to ensure a mandated carbon cap on emissions is reached.
It’s always disillusioning when a politician announces a plan to fix a problem that consists of tracking down some experts who can do the fixing. Where are these “credible independent experts” and what are they doing with their expertise if they’re not already putting it to good use? Hiding on university campuses studying up on the latest genderless pronouns? Working deep inside one of David Suzuki’s many residences?
The Liberals will no doubt claim they’ve consulted plenty of experts. They might also question the need to set up a Crown corporation to make infrastructure investments, when they already have an infra- structure minister and a bankroll of $186 billion to throw around. Given the state of other Crown corporations — dare we mention Canada Post? — is the creation of another bureaucracy, filled with people on the public payroll, really the answer we’ve all been waiting for?
Angus says a similar plan has worked in England and Scotland. That’s very well, but England and Scotland don’t have an NDP government in Alberta that wants to build pipelines, and an NDP government- in- waiting in nextdoor British Columbia pledged to stop it. This divide is the real reason Angus suggests the party end its pipeline quarrel: whoever wins the leadership contest will have to get along with both factions, and stoking the flames of disagreement won’t help to achieve that.
He pointedly refrains from taking sides on the issue, a position that already has him under fire as a closet pipeline- lover. Fellow leadership candidate Niki Ashton has indicated all contenders should sign a united statement denouncing pipelines, pure and simple. Peter Julian, another contender, declared: “We have a situation where British Columbians have said no. We have the federal caucus who has said no. There is a very clear consensus among New Democrats.”
Yes, the consensus is clear, as long as you don’t include Alberta and its NDP leader and government. Julian and Ashton don’t live in Alberta, so they don’t have to worry about tens of thousands of constituents wondering why they want to kill their livelihood. Neither one mentions how they would propose getting along with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley after denouncing her province across the land, but their position is in line with traditional left-wing thinking, which holds that people who earn their living in distasteful professions — coal miners, oil drillers, tanker captains — should just find another job. Couldn’t they all be consultants, or activists? Or apply for positions on new NDP- sponsored Crown corporations?
Angus comes dangerously close to suggesting he sympathizes with Notley, who he notes has “made record investments in renewables.” Rather than pick a fight, he says, he would work with oil-producing regions to “ensure that serious efforts are made to provide a diversified energy economy.”
Yeah, well, that’s not what a sizeable portion of his party wants. What they want are waving placards and street demonstrations, angry First Nations leaders mourning the desecration of their lands, camps established to halt the bulldozers in their tracks. B.C. Green leader Andrew Weaver suggested Notley should “get with the program” rather than work with industry to sustain jobs while meeting climate goals. Halting one pipeline might not make an ant’s breath worth of difference in saving the planet, but it would feel like a victory. Creating a new Crown corporation feels like nothing. Eight more floors of administrators filling cubicles in Ottawa? Whoopee.
Maybe Weaver is right and Angus needs to inject some pizzazz in his plans. Unroll a banner. Block a highway. Take a selfie. Environmental activism is all about the theatre, the drama, the confrontation, the international meetings. It might not have achieved all that much, but it’s produced some darn fine global action plans. Why mess with the program now?
IN THE NDP, ACTION MEANS … MORE BUREAUCRATS.