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.

Do you agree with this guy's assessment of global warming? If so, you like the Conservative government, are a minority.

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.

Following through on their goal to paint their party in a greener light, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn and newly appointed Enviroment Minister John Baird have announced 58 million dollars per year for four years for the development of clean energy technologies. Meanwhile, in what I'm sure they would insist is an irrelevant side point, the Tories continue to funnel 1.4 billion in tax subsidies to the booming oil and gas industry.

Yesterday, Stephen Harper stated that it is going to "take more than a slick job of political salesmanship to persuade Canadians his minority Conservative government is serious about environmental issues." It was in the same interview that he announced Canada would be 50% over its Kyoto targets come 2012.

So if Harper needs more than a slick sales job, but also has no results to point to, what "more" does he intend to do? There are few options left unless you assume that in admitting he needs more than salesmanship, he is just continuing his sales job.

On that note, the Globe and Mail recently got hold of materials from an abandoned Conservative AD CAMPAIGN that was meant to PROMOTE their so called Green Plan II.
According to the article, efforts to effectively MARKET the plan included running FOCUS GROUPS with select groups of Canadians to evaluate LOGOS, TAGLINES and other key BRANDING MESSAGES that could be used to SELL the plan to voters.

Meanwhile, the new Environment Minister John Baird has been busy posing for photo ops in wind gutted Stanley Park, and being profiled on mcleans.ca where he describes parliament as a "theatre" and himself an "actor" - a fitting reminder to this governement's green intentions. Any mention of the environment by the Tories amounts to pure performance, and their efforts to sell their Green Sham II as an environmental solution is the equivalent of Ronald McDonald hawking quarter pounders as health food.

Lets be clear. It's no surprise to see politicians actively marketing their policies, but the line gets drawn when the only product behind those marketing efforts is disinformation and green washing. Harper is continuing the green wash by trying to pass into law an environmental non-plan that - against all odds - accomplishes even less then the previous government, mostly because it was never intended to accomplish anything in the first place.

For their part, the Canadian media is all too happy to help - by keeping their focus a half step away from the issues and running stories on Harper's 'sales efforts' instead of his proven disregard for environmental action.

In the worst kept secret of the new year, Stephen Harper has officially ousted Rona Ambrose from the Environment portfolio, replacing her with Treasury Board President John Baird.

The reason widely given has nothing to do with the environment itself but rather Ambrose's failure to "sell" the Conservatives Clean Air plan. That statement demonstrates the Conservative's true approach to the environment better than any analysis could - that the role of the Environment Minister is to convince Canadians to accept a Conservative environmental approach that bows to industry while offering no results on air quality or global warming for decades and no plan on how to achieve any.

Conservative sympathizers and right leaning commentators will be quick to all for "time" to allow Mr. Baird to introduce his "vision". They will applaud the latest regurgitation of the call for "results" and to "consult" with industry.

No one else will buy it.

Unless Mr. Baird quickly tables a plan that promises more than rhetoric, he is putting Canada on a fast track to another election - a result that is more than likely so long as Harper's ideal of an ideal Minister is a successful salesman and not an environmental leader.