I’m sick and tired of people attacking Stéphane Dion’s environmental credibility. Yes, fossil fuel emissions went up substantially during his tenure as environment minister, but for me, the bottom line is that he specifically ASKED Paul Martin for the environment portfolio. When an influent politicians asks his leader for a minor portfolio (yes, the environment was a minor portfolio at the time), it demonstrates that he really cares.
I do concede that his record as Minister of the Environment is quite mediocre, but hey, he didn’t write the budget. How often do all Cabinet Ministers’ demands get satisfied? Never! And it’s not as if he accomplished nothing. Not only did he chair the successful Kyoto Conference on Climate Change in Montreal, he also introduced Project Green, an updated climate change plan to honour Canada’s Kyoto commitments. And mark my words, if he had gotten the money from then Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, his plan would have worked.
Anyway, just the fact that he ran his whole leadership campaign on the environment is enough for me. Let’s not forget he is the father of the clarity act. Sovereignty was again on the rise in Quebec until Boisclair screwed it up, and Dion could have played the national unity card. Nope, he stuck with the environment; he stuck with the portfolio he asked Paul Martin for; he stuck with his principles.
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