True Colours Shining Through

I abhor hypocrisy. I find it most amusing that polls are reporting that the environment is top-of-mind of a large number of Canadians. Maybe they're thinking about it, but when it really comes down to it, most aren't willing to change their own lifestyle one iota.

In Ottawa, NDP leader Jack Layton is once again in an interesting position in that his party now holds the balance of power. They will decide whether the Conservative government falls or sticks around a while longer. In exchange for this, Layton is pushing for some significant environmental policy changes. As soon as he started talking about this, the Auto Workers union leader, Buzz Hargrove, started attacking Layton. Funny, because in times past Hargrove appeared to be very environmentally friendly. But when the rubber hits the road, we start to see where his real convictions lie.

Back in 1993 no one ever predicted that the Conservatives would be decimated to just two seats. It's thus not beyond the realm of the impossibility that something similar could happen to another political party. This is perhaps ten times so for the NDP with the Greens and the Liberals squeezing them from both ends at once. If the environment continues to be one of the top issues in the minds of voters then the NDP will have a severe "brand" problem come the next election. For it has become clearly apparent that the environmental cloak of labour leaders like Buzz Hargrove is wearing ever so thin, exposing the true NIMBY soul inside.