Fred Curatolo

If you happen to mention the word “Copenhagen” within earshot of Edmonton-Strathcona MP Linda Duncan, you’re bound to get a strong response.

“Pathetic,” she says of the federal government’s stance on climate change leading up to next week’s UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. “Reprehensible. Embarrassing. What more can I say?”

A fierce critic of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s apparent lack of commitment to the green movement and his government’s lack of action in time for Copenhagen, Duncan minces no words in expressing her frustration. “I’m sick and tired of the excuses,” she says. “First it was that [Harper] was waiting for Obama, because we needed to harmonize. Then it was that he was waiting for China. Then it was that he’s waiting for all 190 countries to sign on. We need to stop waiting, and start leading, a fact that Mr. Harper clearly doesn’t get.”

And that the Americans, under Obama, are now leading the environmental charge makes the Canadian position that much harder to stomach, says Duncan. “Obama is pouring billions into the renewable sector, and despite promises in the budget, our government hasn’t even put a cent to it. Everything our government is doing is at complete odds with the direction the Americans are heading, and frankly, every other nation in the world.”

Next week’s Copenhagen Conference is an opportunity for all of those nations to come together to discuss our joint interest, namely putting some key commitments on paper to “greenify” our planet. “It’s about time,” says Duncan. “Copenhagen is the deadline we need to commit to some real changes in how we manage our resources. And the fact that we, as Canadians, are coming to the table basically empty-handed is a crying shame.”

A particular frustration for Duncan lies with the fact that on the federal level, neither the Progressive Conservatives nor the Liberals are willing to take any strong measures to combat climate change, which leads to our poor showing at international conferences like Copenhagen. “Remarkably, the Liberals actually voted for a climate change accountability act before the last election,” Duncan says. But the bill died when Harper called the early election last fall. Duncan says she expected support from both the Liberals and the Bloc when the bill was re-tabled in the spring, but no such support was to be found. “We were hoping to have something substantial to take to Copenhagen,” she says. “But the Liberals have decided to delay that bill so that it won’t even be looked at until after Copenhagen. They’re all in cahoots with Harper.”

This sentiment is echoed by Satya Das, local strategist and author of Green Oil: Clean Energy for the 21st Century? “The Canadian position on climate change is truly appalling,” says Das, pointing the finger directly at Harper and his big business, oil-and-gas connections. “You have only to look at where the prime minister comes from,” he says. “He’s a Calgary guy, he’s a Reform-Alliance guy, even though he calls himself a Progressive Conservative.”

According to Das, Harper is lacking motivation for a green revolution based on his politics and is out of step with the direction much of the rest of the world is heading. “He’s still playing by the Bush-Cheney rulebook. He’s only reluctantly aligning himself with the current American position, and he’s not acknowledging that they are as far ahead on this issue as they are.”

Not that it’s a competition, exactly. But Das feels strongly that it’s up to Canadians — and Albertans in particular — to be owners, stewards, of our resources. And to communicate to our leaders that we want to see a change in how our resources are managed and controlled. “It’s time for Albertans to step up to the plate and to act like the owners of the resources that we are,” he says. “Do landowners protest how their tenants use their property? No. Owners demand their tenants follow their rules and guidelines. We shouldn’t have to beg our leaders to follow the green agenda. We should simply educate them that it is what we want, as owners of the land. It is what we demand.”

So how should Albertans take this kind of strong stance? According to Das, it’s about communicating clearly to our leaders that we want to see a change. “It’s about gathering together,” he says. “We can’t blame the politicians for doing something we don’t want them to do if we just quietly grumble and complain in our own kitchens. So we have to work together. We have to write letters to our MPs and MLAs. Go to town hall meetings. Speak passionately and be heard. That’s the only way to push the green agenda.”

Duncan would like us to take it one step further. “Yes, the grassroots movement is important,” she says. “But I would like to see our minister of the environment and the prime minister actually step up to the plate and commit some real money to developing nations who are going to feel the brunt of the impacts of climate change. And to see them come to the table with some binding federal legislation.”

Duncan is heading to the Copenhagen conference next week as part of a Canadian contingent that includes Stephen Harper and Environment Minister Jim Prentice. Several of the premiers are going as well, but not Alberta’s Premier Ed Stelmach, who has been criticized for prioritizing the economy over the environment. But that argument is getting old, Duncan sniffs. “It’s time for our governments to realize that the economy and the environment are not at odds,” she says. “It’s not about jobs versus the environment. It’s about creating green jobs, green energy, and a sustainable economy. For us now, and for future generations.”