Last week, a report commissioned by the Conservative government advised them that a carbon tax of up to $50 would cause no harm to the economy. A new report now follows that up stating that they need to quickly and clearly communicate a pricing schedule for carbon or risk serious economic consequences.

Despite their obsessive-compulsive habit of blaming 2 year old Liberal policy for Canada's inaction on climate change, Environment Minister John Baird and the Conservative government are now firmly in the drivers seat of climate change policy. They can 1) institute effective policy now and succeed, 2) do it later and cause economic harm, or 3) do nothing and set Canada on a long term course of failure both economically and environmentally.

In short, they are going to have to demonstrate leadership on this issue instead of pointing fingers towards the past. It will be interesting to see how they do.