Camille Labchuk

I feel the need to give a quick shout out to the climate change activists who disrupted Parliament during question period today. The group of young activists gathered in the gallery, and when the topic of Bill C-311 came up, they unleashed their frustration over Canada’s inadequate climate policies, calling on MPs to pass Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act. Designed to implement emission reduction targets in advance of the Copenhagen climate summit in December, the bill has been held up by the Conservatives and Liberals.

Good work, young activists. It’s deeply depressing that although the overwhelming majority of Canadians support tough action on greenhouse gases, the government has failed to take responsibility for Canada’s responsibility to mitigate climate change. I thought Elizabeth May put it well today when she said:

“Those were our children we threw out of the House of Commons today… the most responsible young adults in Canada… The youth in the galleries showed more leadership than the MPs on the floor.”

May held a press conference immediately following the disruption, which you can check out here. She pointed out that this past Saturday, October 24th was the international day of action for climate change. Demonstrations and rallies were held around the world, and thousands upon thousands of Canadians gathered on Parliament Hill and in other cities across the country. But in what I see as a dereliction of their responsibilities, most Canadian media failed to adequately report on this massive global call to action and did not give it the coverage that an issue of such fundamental significance deserves.

To me, the dismal lack of concern over global warming from our elected Parliament illustrates that Green MPs are badly needed in the House of Commons. We have only a handful of years left to stabilize GHG emissions before cutting them drastically. If we fail to do so, we won’t be able to avoid the worst effects of climate change and we will be faced with an unlivable planet. It’s that simple — act now, and protect our common future, or twiddle your thumbs, and condemn our planet and its inhabitants to a reality that is unthinkable. There’s a small window left for action, and Canadian politicians need to wake up and do the work that voters demand of them. With the international community set to meet in Copenhagen in December to negotiate a successor to Kyoto, the clock is ticking. I hope the efforts of the brave citizens who stood up in Parliament today will remind MPs of their responsibility to act to prevent climate catastrophe.