<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail-moat-trackable gmail-pb-f-theme-normal gmail-pb-f-dehydrate-false gmail-pb-f-async-false gmail-full gmail-pb-feature gmail-pb-layout-item gmail-pb-f-article-article-topper" id="gmail-f0h0fpgQrmV6lr" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;float:left;width:803.594px"><div class="gmail-border-bottom-off gmail-border-bottom-100-pct" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent"><div id="gmail-article-topper" class="gmail-article-topper" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent"><div id="gmail-topper-headline-wrapper" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;display:flex"><div class="gmail-topper-headline" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent"><h1 style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 8px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:PostoniWide,"Bodoni 72","Bodoni MT",Didot,"Didot LT STD","Hoefler Text",Garamond,Georgia,serif;word-spacing:-0.02em;line-height:1.1em;color:rgb(42,42,42);display:inline-block">This issue could define Canada’s elections — and it’s not SNC-Lavalin</h1></div></div><div class="gmail-clear" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;clear:both"></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail-pb-container" style="box-sizing:border-box;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;width:803.594px;margin:0px auto;max-width:1440px;clear:both"></div><div class="gmail-moat-trackable gmail-pb-f-theme-normal gmail-pb-f-dehydrate-false gmail-pb-f-async-false gmail-full gmail-pb-feature gmail-pb-layout-item gmail-pb-f-article-article-deck" id="gmail-f0S2d6XQrmV6lr" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;float:left;width:474.594px;padding:0px"></div><div class="gmail-moat-trackable gmail-pb-f-theme-normal gmail-pb-f-dehydrate-false gmail-pb-f-async-false gmail-full gmail-pb-feature gmail-pb-layout-item gmail-pb-f-article-article-body" id="gmail-f0t8cdyQrmV6lr" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;float:left;width:474.594px"><div id="gmail-article-body" class="gmail-article-body gmail-content-format-ans" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent"><div class="gmail-inline-content gmail-inline-photo gmail-inline-photo-normal" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 10px;padding:0px 0px 12px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent"><a name="EH3U3ASA4YI6TBNNO6PPAX6Z3A" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;color:rgb(25,85,165)"></a><img class="gmail-" src="https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/nCmBaOIHNtWC-F7xPTSnBWfHPWs=/1484x0/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/EH3U3ASA4YI6TBNNO6PPAX6Z3A.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18.2095px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; width: 474.594px; cursor: zoom-in;"><br style="box-sizing:border-box"><span class="gmail-pb-caption" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;line-height:1.25em;color:rgb(110,110,110);display:block">Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at a climate action rally in Toronto on March 4. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)</span></div><div class="gmail-author-sig-line-wrapper gmail-analysis-story" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 18px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:16px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;line-height:22px;color:rgb(102,102,102);display:flex;max-width:inherit"><div class="gmail-author-headshot" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/david-moscrop/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(25,85,165);height:70px;display:block"><img class="gmail-_1-to-1 gmail-hi-res-lazy gmail-courtesy-of-the-lazy-loader" src="https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizer/xlSWAz0LAexPB-YgVnQkKZEaUWM=/90x90/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/washpost/f7eb927a-9f10-4c91-b93b-e77ba6613fb2.jpg" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent; border-radius: 50%; width: 70px; height: 70px;"></a></div><div class="gmail-author-sig-line" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent"><div class="gmail-author-byline-wrapper" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent"><div class="gmail-author-byline" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent">By <a class="gmail-author-name" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/david-moscrop/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(25,85,165);font-weight:bold;font-family:FranklinITCProBold,"Franklin Gothic Medium","Franklin Gothic","ITC Franklin Gothic","Apple SD Gothic Neo","Myriad Set Pro","Helvetica Neue","Helvetica Neue Light",Helvetica,Arial,"Lucida Grande",sans-serif">David Moscrop</a></div></div><div class="gmail-author-wrapper gmail-arrow-left-moved" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent"><div class="gmail-author-info" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;float:none"><div class="gmail-author-role" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent">Contributing columnist</div></div><span class="gmail-author-timestamp" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent">April 5 at 1:14 PM</span></div></div></div><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif">In October, Canadians will go to the polls in the country’s 43rd general election. Nearly seven months out, the numbers suggest a tight race. The Conservative Party <a href="https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/poll-tracker/canada/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">currently leads the governing Liberals</a>, who have been dragged down by a <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/6/18249949/trudeau-canada-snc-lavalin-scandal-wilson-raybould" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">lingering scandal</a> concerning whether undue pressure was put on a former attorney general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, to secure a deferred prosecution agreement for Quebec engineering firm SNC-Lavalin. This week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5123526/liberal-caucus-wilson-raybould-jane-philpott/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">removed Wilson-Raybould and another former Cabinet minister who supported her, Jane Philpott, from caucus</a> and barred them from running as Liberals.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif">As the SNC affair continues to dominate headlines, it feels as though the saga will set the agenda right up to the election. But a lot can happen in a half-year or so — including a shift in what the country is talking about and, importantly, what voters view as key priorities.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif">A <a href="https://changingclimate.ca/CCCR2019/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">report</a> released on Tuesday by Environment and Climate Change Canada says that the country is warming at twice the global rate. According to the findings, Canada’s average temperature has grown by an estimated 1.7 degrees Celsius (approximately 3 degrees Fahrenheit) in the past seven decades, driven in part by a 2.3 degrees Celsius annual average temperature increase in northern Canada. On <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/canada-warming-at-twice-the-global-rate-leaked-report-finds-1.5079765" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">Monday, the report was leaked</a> to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. — the same day that the Liberal government’s carbon tax backstop <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/federal-carbon-tax-supporters-defend-1.5079955" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">came into effect amid</a><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/federal-carbon-tax-supporters-defend-1.5079955" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)"> a campaign of misinformation </a><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/federal-carbon-tax-supporters-defend-1.5079955" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">against the measure</a>.</p><span id="gmail-slug_inline_bb" class="gmail-wp-inline-bb gmail-pb-centered-bb" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:auto;width:300px"><div id="gmail-google_ads_iframe_/701/wpni.opinions/global-opinions_5__container__" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0pt none;outline:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;display:inline-block;width:300px;height:250px"></div></span><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif">The report finds that — surprise, surprise — humans are causing climate change. “The human factor is dominant,” the report’s authors state. Last fall, a United Nations climate report warned that <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/8/17948832/climate-change-global-warming-un-ipcc-report" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">we had 12 years to mitigate the worst effects of what was coming</a>. Of course, we have collectively decided to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/07/climate/world-emissions-paris-goals-not-on-track.html" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">miss our Paris Agreement targets</a>, even though a vast majority of nations <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/16/what-was-agreed-at-cop24-in-poland-and-why-did-it-take-so-long" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">recently adopted a plan to step up efforts</a>.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif">That’s the bad news. The good news is that the environment is increasingly on the collective register in ways it has never been before — save for some important but more modest instances, such as the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/acid-rain-bush-climate-change-mulroney-1.4934402" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">acid rain crisis in the 1980s and ’90s</a>.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif">Today, climate change is increasingly a front-of-mind issue. More and more, it intersects with our daily lives in ways people recognize, due in part to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/03/29/extreme-weather-fueled-climate-change-disasters-hit-62-m-last-year/3304707002/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">extreme weather events</a>, warnings about <a href="http://theconversation.com/rising-insurance-costs-may-convince-americans-that-climate-change-risks-are-real-105192" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">its effect on practical concerns such as insurance rates</a><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-why-are-canadas-oil-patch-ceos-changing-their-minds-on-carbon-pricing/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">, </a><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-why-are-canadas-oil-patch-ceos-changing-their-minds-on-carbon-pricing/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">growing </a><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-why-are-canadas-oil-patch-ceos-changing-their-minds-on-carbon-pricing/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">industry support for carbon taxes</a>, signals from political leaders (including <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/08/norways-1tn-wealth-fund-to-divest-from-oil-and-gas-exploration" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">Norway divesting from oil and gas exploration</a>) and routine coverage of the issue by the media.</p><span id="gmail-slug_inline_bb_2" class="gmail-wp-inline-bb gmail-pb-centered-bb" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:auto;width:300px"><div id="gmail-google_ads_iframe_/701/wpni.opinions/global-opinions_6__container__" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0pt none;outline:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;display:inline-block;width:300px;height:250px"></div></span><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif">To what effect, though? Could 2019 be the climate change election in Canada? It ought to be. And it might be — at least sort of.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif"><a href="https://abacusdata.ca/will-climate-change-be-a-ballot-box-question-in-2019/" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">Recent polling by Abacus Data</a> finds that 83 percent of Canadians are concerned about climate change — with 30 percent “very” concerned and 27 percent “extremely” concerned. Only 12 percent of them say that climate change policies will be their top issue, but 19 percent say it will be their second issue, and a further 38 percent rank it in their top five. A full 70 percent say climate change is a “practical” rather than “emotional” problem.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif">The data shows that a lot of people care about climate change. A considerable amount of them will be assessing parties based on their climate change policies. And a significant majority of folks consider climate change to be a practical problem that needs to be solved. That’s as good of a reason as any to make the next election a contest about getting serious when it comes to the most significant existential threat humankind has faced in a very long time — perhaps ever.</p><span id="gmail-slug_inline_bb_3" class="gmail-wp-inline-bb gmail-pb-centered-bb" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;margin:auto;width:300px"><div id="gmail-google_ads_iframe_/701/wpni.opinions/global-opinions_7__container__" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0pt none;outline:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;display:inline-block;width:300px;height:250px"></div></span><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif">Expect to hear a lot of talk about a Canadian Green New Deal. The idea <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/green-new-deal-us-socialist-climate-change-ambitious-explainer-1.5041645" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">has gained traction in the United States</a>, though the precise makeup of such a plan has yet to form. But at least it’s on the radar. Americans, and now <a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/02/26/opinion/ndps-only-hope-green-new-deal-canada" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">Canadians</a>, are talking about the idea of a massive, structural, coordinated plan to mobilize in defense of the planet. This move will force parties to demonstrate they have a comprehensive plan for addressing climate change or be left behind.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif">Strategically, this is probably good news for the New Democratic Party and the Green Party in Canada, as both parties will probably be considered honest and ambitious brokers. The Liberals, who have introduced a carbon tax plan in Canada, should do well, too, though they will face pressure to do more and to explain how climate change is consistent with <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberals-trans-mountain-pipeline-kinder-morgan-1.4681911" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;font-size:18.2095px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;text-decoration-line:none;color:rgb(44,108,180);border-bottom:1px solid rgb(213,213,213)">buying a pipeline</a>. The Conservatives, who just days ago pulled a bizarre anti-carbon-tax stunt — taking photos across the country at gas stations, filling up before the price of fuel “increased” — could well end up left behind.</p><p style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:4px 0px 16px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent;font-family:Georgia,Times,"Times New Roman",serif">Political scandals and controversies, while significant, come and go. But the future of the country and planet depends upon how we respond to climate change. Wise parties will meet voters where they’re headed and develop wide-ranging, detailed plans for saving humankind. Only time will tell whether Canadian parties rise to the challenge.</p></div></div><div><br></div>-- <br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies                     <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone:  (215) 898-7475<br>Fax:  (215) 573-2138                                      <br><br>Email:  <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a>    <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>