Leaders should be leading by example

By Medicine Hat News Opinon on October 4, 2019.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade

The message we have heard this week when it comes to action against climate change is that you don’t actually have to make any adjustments to your lifestyle – just pay the equivalent of a fine.

That seems to be the message Justin Trudeau wanted to get across in the leaders’ debate on Wednesday, after being challenged on his use of not one aircraft but two to jet around the country during the election campaign.

He said two aircraft help him meet more people, which is hard to understand unless there are two Justin Trudeaus. It is also OK because the Liberals bought carbon offsets, he said.

According to David Suzuki’s website, “A carbon offset is a credit for greenhouse gas reductions achieved by one party that can be purchased and used to compensate (offset) the emissions of another party. Carbon offsets are typically measured in tonnes of CO2-equivalents (or CO2e) and are bought and sold through a number of international brokers, online retailers and trading platforms.”

Andrew Scheer, leader of the Conservatives, was called out for not buying carbon offset.

The NDP is also using a chartered aircraft.

It is astonishing that the leaders of the leading parties did not see any need to modify their use of private aircraft to whisk them around on the campaign trail.

Perhaps Greta Thunberg, the a Swedish environmental activist on climate change, would say: “how dare you.”

It is very telling when “leaders” send a message of “don’t do what I do just do what I say.”

Of the three leaders Trudeau is the most outspoken about climate change and a plan to take action. Yet he appears to not want to take any action that would personally inconvenience himself.

It is so easy to introduce a carbon tax or pay a carbon offset fee. The harder part is changing your lifestyle to make a lasting change and we are not seeing any of that yet.

Regardless of what your personal position is about climate change and how urgently we need to address it, we all know that we can’t keep going the way we currently are.

The best way to get that across of the population as a whole is leadership by example and we have not seen that yet.

Just imagine if these leaders had taken the train across Canada, hopped on public transit, or taken a scheduled flight and had to sit next to an ordinary member of the public.

If you are thinking that security would be an issue, it is worth noting that the Queen of England takes a regular train from London to Scotland and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have travelled with their children on budget flights with ordinary people.

Talk is cheap and buying carbon offsets is so convenient but we really need is leaders who can lead by example.

(Gillian Slade is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to https://www.medicinehatnews.com/opinions, email her at gslade@medicinehatnews.com or call her at 403-528-8635.)

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