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Take it from a Quebecker—the oil and gas emissions cap is a self-defeating policy

When federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault tabled his first draft emissions cap specific to the oil and gas sector in early November, he was hailed by one and all as the magic-bullet solution to our climate change woes. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was so impressed that he immediately stepped down and handed Guilbeault the keys to the kingdom.

I’m kidding, of course. In reality, the announcement ticked some people off quite a bit. For instance, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith accused the federal government of pretending to work collaboratively with the energy-producing province, only to come out with “exactly the same policy that [it] put forward a year ago with no changes whatsoever.” Smith said her government was considering “every legal option” in its arsenal, and has since announced several measures to fight back against the cap.

It is indeed hard to escape the conclusion that the federal government is playing politics, pure and simple, and that this emissions cap has nothing whatsoever to do with fighting climate change.

Read the full op-ed on The Hub.

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