Stephane Dion sported a green scarf at the Liberal Party convention.  He was the green choice, the former environment minister who was going to lead the Liberal Party into taking ownership of the Green agenda in Canada.  Stephane Dion would lead the Liberals back to power on a wave of environmental sensibility.

Well, push came to shove, and Stephane Dion is showing his true colours.  It isn't green, but a very obvious yellow streak.

Stephane Dion was given the chance to take a stand.  He was handed the opportunity to say that whatever else the polls say, Dion's heartfelt commitment to a green agenda would break through to Canadians in an election, and bring the Liberals to power. 

True to form, Stephane Dion scurried away:

The Liberals have refused to bring down the minority Conservative government over its alleged failure to combat climate change.

Only 11 Liberals showed up to vote on an NDP non-confidence motion condemning the government for failing to respect international climate agreements and for its refusal to adopt opposition-approved legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The absence of most Liberals ensured the motion Monday was defeated by a vote of 121-84.

What was truly cowardly was that Stephane Dion showed up for the vote.  He certainly doesn't want anyone to claim that he personally did not vote against the government when it came to passing judgement on the Conservative environmental record.

No, when it comes to taking that bullet, Stephane Dion made sure that over eighty other Liberals would be standing in front of him.  They would have to take the criticism of not showing up for the vote.

Not Stephane Dion. 

Is that leadership?  Asking everyone else to run from the vote so that he could stand and be counted, without the risk of his vote actually triggering an election?

Here's the leader of the Liberal Party, decked out in his true colours:

Those signs behind him might be green, but Stephane Dion is yellow, through and through.

If Stephane Dion can't be counted on to stand up for his so-called cherished environmental beliefs, then when can be counted upon?  When the polls look better?  When the Liberal Party has more money?  Is there anything in this man that is not defined by crass externalities?  Does he have any inner strength whatsoever?

Stephane Dion talks a green streak (when you can understand him):

The planet has reached its limit. The human-caused damage to our natural environment is devastating.

The most urgent issue facing our society and our government, indeed humanity as a whole, is the climate crisis. It has the characteristic of being irreversible, with every single year’s emissions constituting damage that will not dissipate for a century. We are, essentially, stoking the furnace for ongoing climate instability that threatens our children and grandchildren.

Currently, our two parties [Liberal Party and Green Party] agree that urgent action is needed. So, too, do the vast majority of Canadians. Yet our electoral system could return to government the only political party that does not believe action is required urgently. In fact, its “climate action plans” will allow for increasing greenhouse gases, missing our Kyoto target by ever higher amounts of emissions, and stalling international progress to meet the challenge of this global threat.

As leaders of political parties, we realize that leadership implies responsibility. We each have a major responsibility to ensure that our respective parties do well in the next election no matter when it comes. Each of our parties will expect us, as Leaders, to fight for our beliefs and for our respective candidates from coast to coast.

Will Stephane Dion pay a price for utterly failing to meet his the responsibility that he says he must bear?  Probably not.  Liberals continue to flail about the Chuck Cadman story.  Let them.  The NDP is lining up to take the Liberals down when the election comes...likely to be in October 2009.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 02:09 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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