As a Canadian living and working in Northern Ghana - I've been unable to see if the recent article - Oh Canada! - in Foreign Policy has had the impact in should. Foreign Policy is not a some easily dismissable journal. Just as the main issue: Canada's energy economy and recent environmental record under the Harper government (to go with Harper's crazy directive) "formerly known as the Canadian government", should also NOT be an easily dismiss-able issue.
The point here, is not to be outraged by Andrew Nikiforuk wrote, but rather WHY this article had to be written at all.
Canada has been blessed - we have many natural resource gifts: fish, timber, diamonds, water etc. And most recently, the most inefficient and wasteful method of producing crude oil, which has long been subsidized by the Harper regime.
What's more disconcerting is the silencing of opposing viewpoints. The fact that, perhaps the most prestigious science journal in the world, Nature, felt compelling to critique Canadian's hold on climate scientists should be alarming and is shameful. We can no longer be silent and play into Harper's game. All of his decisions have come with repeated Fossil of the Year awards, called the Colossal Fossil (five years in a row), given to the country holding back the global progression for halting global warming.
Are we Canadians content to let this be the global image of our country? Formerly of beautiful wilderness, parks, and gorgeous scenery, to be an environmental and global warming skeptic that systematically increases the destruction of our environment at every turn?
Canadians should not be content to let our Prime Minister destroy a reputation that we should hold dear.
This is not a blog post on the environment, this is a post about holding our government accountable when it strays from mainstream view. And Harper has indeed strayed far.
This is beyond politics - Harper is still in power. Let's all pressure our MPs to press for changes, reversals, and better policies towards the environment. Next election, let's vote him out, even with high spending and other voting irregularities.