what i was hoping was that this government would see the economic logic in supporting a carbon transition, so that we would have this kind of two-handed approach, where the government was both supporting ecological sustainability and environmental destruction at the same time - and, yes, it would be a terrible contradiction, but it would at least be a step in the right direction.

what is defining this government is that it is actually defining it's environmental policy in lockstep with industry; we are not seeing the perpetuation of this contradiction, but rather the elimination of it. the most substantive legal changes they've made are an industry-friendly overhaul of the regulatory process (which the ndp also supported, btw); everything they've been doing is designed with the intent to reduce the government to a rubber stamp, and to act as a pr agency for the oil industry. it's not climate denial, it's climate apathy.

at least if there was an actual contradiction here, we could point to substantive, meaningful movement. but, there isn't. the infrastructure bank that was supposed to fund large scale transition projects is a joke. they're squandering a huge opportunity to industrialize marijuana waste products into petroleum alternative products. and, the carbon tax is just making environmentalism look bad, as it taxes consumers while giving industry a free pass.

i guess i underestimated the power of the oil lobby. renewables will need to find a way to bribe this government if it wants it to act.

as it is, the consistency is in truth very clear: oil matters, the environment doesn't - because money talks.

https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2019/06/21/Trudeau-Climate-Policy-Inadequate/