Addressing a high-level summit at the United Nations, Harper said Canada stands firmly committed to forging an international agreement, but said balance is the “core principle” of Canada’s approach.
“We are balancing environmental protection with economic growth,” he told the gathering of 70 world leaders. “We are balancing public and private sector involvement in clean energy technology development, and we are promoting a balanced international approach to emissions reduction that engages all major emitters while respecting the unique characteristics of their economies.”
Now, doesn't this approach sound reasonable, progressive and moderate? Of course it does!
And for veteran Canadian political watchers, the "balanced approach" cannot credibly be blasted by the Liberal Party of Canada, who itself pretty much coined the term as a flexibly-applicable issues-approach strategy to win over a broad spectrum of moderate Canadians who don't want their government to do anything rash, radical, extreme, risky...
See, PM Harper is being prudent and cautious while still being progressive on environmental matters. He will not put Canada's economy and security at risk by submitting to some international bullshit accord like "Kyoto" which isn't really international, but rather discriminatory and couldn't possibly achieve its aims precisely due to the fact that it exempts a bunch of the world's biggest (and fast-growing) greenhouse gas emitters like China, India, Russia, Brazil... Imagine the world-on-shoulders unfair burden on the Free World... reasonable, sane people will not accept such an unfair, unworkable "plan", which doesn't even indicate what, specifically, must be done to adhere thereto. Besides, as for enforceability, who believes that the UN will enforce anything? They didn't enforce their resolutions against Saddam Hussein, nor are they enforcing their resolutions against Iran for her obvious nuclear weapons program.
Contrast this to the alarmist Chicken Littlism of the ultra-far leftwing Opposition in Canada. The Chicken Littlists have no proposals, no specific ideas, as to how to achieve their draconian, discriminatory-to-the-Free-World demands. The leftist Opposition would destroy Canada's economy just so it could claim to be "multilateralist" and demonstrate that it can adhere to the Progressive Liberal Leftist Revolutionary movement's every Big Lie, hidden-agenda idea.
Now let's look at another MSM report regarding Mr. Harper's proposal to the world:
Speaking for the first time at the United Nations on the issue of climate change, Mr. Harper also signalled his desire for a less-rigid arrangement than the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012.
”There is an emerging consensus on the need for a new, effective and flexible climate-change framework, one that commits all the world's major emitters to real targets and concrete action against global greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.
The Prime Minister's comments reflect his long-standing criticism of the structure of Kyoto's current phase, whereby developed nations have reduction targets and developing countries, such as India and China, do not.
(...)
Mr. Harper's letter portrays his work to achieve climate-change statements at the G8 and APEC as a sign of environmental leadership. Canadian negotiators under the Conservatives have argued that the Kyoto Protocol should essentially be phased out after its first phase in favour of an updated version of the UN Convention on climate change, which preceded Kyoto and did not include hard targets to reduce emissions.
Note that Mr. Harper indicated the "emerging consensus" (what, is the Left going to be a denier of this consensus?) on the need for something better than Kyoto and actually workable and which applies to the entire world. The reasonable person could hardly think that's a bad idea. Because it's what is needed, as Kyoto is already proven a dismal, impossible failure and ought to be scrapped immediately.
I also remind the Left that it likes to claim that every document is a "living document" that isn't written in stone and is always changing. Well, guess what, Leftists? The Kyoto Protocol, surprise of agonizingly inconvenient surprises, is a "living document", therefore changeable. Hard to disagree with one's own philosophy, isn't it? Of course, the Left doesn't want the Kyoto Accord to be a "living document" and believes it is perfect as is, as compared to national constitutions and bills of rights, which they see as inconvenient truths to be (in the imagination) (and reversibly!) "changed" illegally and dishonestly at any and all costs! Expect them to oppose any and all efforts to change Kyoto in any way, shape or form, as befits their arrogantly hypocritical, double-standard essence!
Stephen Harper is clearly a world leader. Of this there can be no doubt. He is leading on so many issues that even the Left has to concede that he's far superior to any Liberal Prime Minister there's ever been.
Give Stephen Harper a majority government in the next election. Because he's earned it. And, with a majority, imagine the wonderful things he'll be able to accomplish, with the Leftist Opposition unable to frustrate his every effort to do what needs to be done. Besides, which would you rather have, the sort of crap we got from Liberal majorities of yore, or the genuine, progressive, well-balanced domestic and international leadership of Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper?
The choice is clear.
