- The Rumblin

sues Willett - Editor in

The Kyoto Accord is dead in Canada. That is, of course,
if you believe that political reality is created out of a Throne
Speech. For those of you that check out the news coming from
Ottawa, you’d know that this Conservative government’s
Throne Speech was something of a curveball thrown by one
wily Prime Minister. Obviously frustrated by opposition par-
ties blocking pop-up Conservative issues like drugs, crime,
terrorists and Kyoto-erasure, Stephen Harper lost all progress
on last spring’s legislative menu when he prorogued Parlia-
ment (like turning off your computer by unplugging it from
the wall). Of course, when Harper started Parliament back up,
the Throne Speech sounded like the vague shell of the auto-
saved draft that’s left over from way before the system crash.
I hope the computer analogy suffices for more than just those
Computer Science majors reading this after the PoliSci nerds
get their sticky hands off of it.

Anyway, the point is that the new Conservative agenda looks
like the old one; just this time neutered by a once effective

OVER THE EDGE
November 7 - 21, 2007

The opinions expressed in Over the Edge are those of the writers alone and do not
necessarily reflect those of the editorial staff or newspaper society. Feedback can be e-
mailed to 9 over-the-edge@unbc.ca.

tain Dion lost course and is headed for the rocks in today’s
stormy political waters.

For Dion the question becomes this: Do I cave into Harper’s
suggestion by holding Kyoto underwater to keep myself afloat
for the time being, or do I show the effort to swim back to the
ship, trusting that my Liberal shipmates will throw me and
Kyoto a life-preserver so we can steer the.ship into a relatively
calm eye of the storm? That eye of the hurricane would be an
election and Dion would have Kyoto there as the ship’s mas-
cot. Naturally, shipmates who see the captain swept overboard
in a storm start to think he’s incapable of commanding the ship
in a hurricane, so they are inclined to plot mutiny. What gets
me is this: it is in the clutches of defeat that the most inspiring
victories are snatched. The public is desperate for a leader to
step up and speak their language on the environment. People
understand the Earth is in peril and drastic action must be
taken soon. Member countries of the EU and Japan have made

J . Echo

The Conservatives know they can’t win on the environment
if Dion finds his stride through setting the terms of public de-
bate on making Canada greener in a hurry. They also know
that the more time they give Dion to get a hold on his party, the
tougher the election they will ultimately have to fight. Their
strategy? Make Dion ruin his personal green credentials by

voting for the death of Kyoto in the Throne Speech. Dion’s

fear of triggering an election is a result of the Conservatives
doing a great job convincing Liberals they’ve lost before the
writ is even dropped. If only Dion could master his ship long
enough to take it into the unpredictable election waters, he
would see that the currents and winds of public opinion do
not favour the Harper agenda. Dion needs to abandon the idea
that he must provoke an election only once the Liberals are
near the majority-level of public support. It is unlikely that
Canadians will give a majority to any party until they show
faith in their green platform enough to stake an election on

it (the plan, by-the-by, should also be logically attractive).

opposition and warmed over in hopes of getting the elector- “The Conservatives know they can *t Win on the Even if Dion only managed another minority government, at

ate used to it while Stephan Dion is incapable of setting one
himself.

This time around we have tougher sentences for gun crime, fj

stiffer penalties for drug trafficking, longer timetables for
Afghanistan military commitment and explicit rejection of
Kyoto’s timetable, as well as its benchmarks, on the docket.
Harper says that a vote for the Throne Speech gives his party
a mandate to pass its legislation. In essence, vote ‘no’ if you
want an election, vote “yes” and you implicitly vote for the
bills the Conservatives throw out there this session. Quite the
ultimatum,

Meanwhile, Dion is doggie-paddling with his dog Kyoto out
in the middle of a storm that’s swept him from the deck of his
all but capsizing Liberal ship. It looked “Sooooo good!” for
Dion this spring as the Conservatives were embarrassed by
their foul-smelling “Clean Air Act,” it’s opposition-inspired
retooling, and the passage of Liberal MP Pablo Rodriquez’s
private members bill calling on Harper’s “New Government”
to honour the Kyoto Protocol. Yet with a dismal showing in
the summer’s by-elections sparking that quintessentially nasty
Liberal business of infighting and backstabbing, Liberal cap-

environment if Dion finds his stride through set-
ng the terms of public debate on making Canada

greener in a hurry.’

great progress under Kyoto. While Canadians know meeting
our Kyoto targets might be near impossible at this point, it’s
at least a goal that is better than winging it with China, India
and the US. There’s a reason Harper and his Conservatives
can’t break through their mid 30% public support ceiling.
Dion’s problem is that he’s playing Harper’s game by argu-
ing that Kyoto is in fact relevant and looks like an academic
apologist for his party’s initial lack of action. Worrying that
today’s polling numbers dictate post-campaign election results
is downright myopic. Standing up for Kyoto (and by extension
the environment Canada’s people love and rely on) by voting
against the Conservative’s Throne Speech pronouncement of
its death would set the environment as the wedge issue the
next election is fought on.

least the NDP, the Bloc and maybe even a Green MP or two
would be apt to putting aside their differences temporarily in
order to finally get something done on the environment and
Afghanistan. After all, there is enough consensus between
opposition parties to make progress where the Conservatives
cannot, even for all their bully and bluster.

For now, however, Dion has chosen to continue treading
water. In abstaining to vote for the Throne Speech, Liberals
look like they lack the stomach to take on such a self-assured
Conservative party. Admittedly, Liberals can say they didn’t
vote for the death of Kyoto, but their front-bench symbolic
vote against the Speech did little to assure the public of their
staunch championship of the green agenda. So it seems that
not much will change in this gridlocked Parliament as each
party tries to eke out its relevance by trying to make the other

parties look bad in question period. Nothing substantial will

be done to address climate change. No progress aside from
piecemeal tinkering of laws the Conservatives don’t like will
define this sitting of our representatives. No one will agree to
anything. No wonder no one seems to care...

Down on the Corner

Rory Conroy, Columnist

BANANA

The structure of societies has evolved from
a simple mating couple to family, expanded
to clans and tribes, and finally progressed to
a social order, the town, city, state and na-
tion. Within that structure, there exist many
associations; again the family, clubs and so-
cial entities, unions, alliances and neighbour-
hoods. Also within that structure are bodies
of opinion, conscience and circumstance most
born out of a process of socialization — what
we learn, earn and what we choose to accept
as fact or truth.

Social Darwinism is a term coined by 19th
century British philosopher, Herbert Spencer.
As we know, Darwin espoused the theory
of natural selection or survival of the fittest.
Theorists believe that Social Darwinism ex-
plains imperialism and colonization, capital-
ism, racism, sexism etc. Those in society who

evince this social construct would have us
believe that society and governments should
not intervene in the economy or attempt to
cure such ills as poverty, homelessness, dis-
ease or mental illness. In fact, our society is
built on and encourages imbalances; winning
in politics and life in general is all pervasive.
Those left behind — well, that’s the law of the
jungle.

Which brings us to NIMBY (Not in My
Backyard). This is the opposition of some to
the imposition of a social good into the con-
fines of an imaginary geography, usually the
neighbourhood. This condition is alive and
well in Prince George, as is evidenced by the
response to the construction and operation of
the Friendship Lodge on Queensway Street.
Millar Addition residents have voiced their
collective opinion that such an ill-conceived

facility should not be foisted upon them by
inconsiderate governments. Local residents
fear for their security and wish to maintain the
integrity of their neighbourhood.

This response is somewhat perplexing con-
sidering that Queensway is and always has
been the site of commercial enterprises and
multifamily residences. Further, the previous
motel attracted a less than desirable clientele,
was the scene of many nefarious ‘goings-on’
and added nothing to the aesthetics of the lo-
cal surroundings.

But I do not want to castigate the locals.
They already have shelters in their area and
are fighting to have their area free of pros-
titution and drug dealing. Social initiatives
are the responsibility of all of society. Are
the residents being asked to carry too much
of the load? However, when you view other

facilities such as McQuaid Place and Bridget
Moran Place, you wonder if their misgivings
are misplaced! Both of those facilities re-
ceived their fair share of opposition, but sur-
vived and have come away with high marks.

To a degree we all fear and resist change —
sometime that’s a good thing! Other times we
have to move over and accept the inevitable.

But let’s not end on a sour note - what has
all of this to do with an imported fruit ?

The idiots of idiom were not satisfied with
NIMBY — try these on for size.

CAVE- Citizens Against Virtually Every-
thing. NIABY — Not in Anyone’s Backyard.
NOTE — Not Over There Either. NOPE — Not
On Planet Earth. BANANA - Build Absolute-
ly Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone.