Environment Minister John Baird appeared in the House of Commons Thursday to reject the idea of using a carbon tax or the international carbon trading market to reduce Canada's spiraling greenhouse gas emissions. He was, however, wearing a green tie.

Sporting what has become his familiar green tie, Baird appeared Thursday before the House of Commons committee studying the government's proposed clean air act.

Instead, Baird promises to regulate greenhouse gases in all industry by 2010.

This is where I get confused. Since when did the Conservative Party become the NDP of the environment issue? The idea of a conservative philosophy is supposed to be less government, not more. It's supposed to empower individuals and the market economy, not create bureaucracy and red tape. Why then are the Tories backing a global warming approach that invites the greatest possible level of government interference in the free market?

There are two answers. Either they are trying to woo the support of the NDP in order to maintain power in their rapidly crumbling minority, or they figure that regulations are the best way to continue to do nothing - because regulations are easily created and rarely enforced, as has recently been shown here and here.

If the Tories were serious about tackling climate change they would get behind a market driven approach that caps emissions and empowers industry to find the best solutions to meet those caps in the open market. Seeing as they are not doing this, we're left with one of two options 1) either the Conservatives are not green, or 2) the Conservatives are not conservative.

You pick.