Tory Environmentalism

[bcholmes]

Quebec's government gives up on the Harper government's environmental policy.

Turns out dragging five ministers to Vancouver for an announcement about a plan to announce a consultation was not the way to regain the big tent-broadening mo.

— Paul Wells

I've been watching the Conservatives actions w.r.t. the environment with a bit of fascination. Certainly, the environment has been a hot topic for the last six months, and as some have noted, it's an area in which the Conservatives are vulnerable. People are talking as if a new election is going to happen this spring, and if so, I think the Conservatives will be attacked on these points:

1. The Afghan mission is not going well
2. Harper is too close to the Bush administration
3. The sum total of the Conservative record on the environment is to ditch the Kyoto accord

I think that Harper is still vulnerable on the first point, but he's clearly taking steps to make himself look good on the second two points. First, Harper's new "tough phone call" to Bush about Arar is, in my opinion, designed to make him look suitably distanced from the Bush administration.

Also, there have been a number of plans to make plans regarding the environment: the vehicle emission standards (which is ideally designed to drive a wedge between the NDP and the auto unions), and now this environmental plan.

Key question: what is the best strategy for revealing the smoke and mirrors for what they are?