I did not vote for the Liberals in the recent Canadian election because I feel that they have failed to live up to promises about the environment and the climate emergency which every creature on the planet now faces. The confounding choice to buy a pipeline in the West sealed the deal for me and I've been hugely frustrated by attempts to make this purchase and promises of another pipeline sound like it will ultimately work in favour of meeting environmental targets.
I've watched Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna as the point person for some disingenuous nonsense issuing from this government. Still, I appreciate that she agrees with the science on climate change and has developed some measures to mitigate it. And I don't doubt her sincerity that she wants a livable world for her own children.
I should add that I'm appalled by the vile, gender-based attacks against McKenna and admire her grace in responding to them.
A few days ago McKenna posted a brief Twitter reflection on the papal encyclical called Laudato Si: Care for Our Common Home. As she holds the copy given her at the Vatican she agrees that it is a moral imperative and a matter of justice that we care for our common home, which is planet Earth. I thank her for doing so, and I ask her and the Canadian government to do better -- much better -- during this second term. I pray that other parties will press them to do so. Who knows whether McKenna will still be in this portfolio once a new cabinet is announced, but perhaps she deserves a second chance to make a difference.
I wanted to share #LaudatoSi because it's one of the most meaningful things I've ever received and, whether you're religious or not, I think the lessons within these pages are important. It talks about working together and caring for our common home — because it's our only home.
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