PREMIERS MEET JAN29/08

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . The other premiers, despite their posturing and preening about how green they are, understand that kind of hardball politics. And Stelmach is not alone when it comes to political troubles at home.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty wants to be seen as a leader on climate change. But he has a huge industrial economic base that's currently on its knees.
Despite McGuinty's bravado on the issue, he is one of the only premiers who has not come out in support of California-style tailpipe-emission standards for automobiles.
Why? Because just as Stelmach doesn't want to offend the oil barons, McGuinty doesn't want to tick off Ford, GM and Chrysler.
Every politician wants to look like they're saving the planet. They just don't want to stick their own necks out while they do it.
While the other premiers grope toward some kind of winning position on the issue, there was one guy yesterday who's clearly sitting in the cat-bird seat: B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell, the official host of yesterday's backslapping festival.
Campbell has promised to cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050.
But he doesn't have an auto industry to worry about. Most of the province's domestic energy comes from zero-emission hydro, not coal-burning power plants. Going green is easier for Campbell and it's transformed him into a national leader on the issue, to the frustration of his domestic political enemies such as NDP Leader Carole James.
The bottom line: Climate change is a losing political issue for a guy like Stelmach. It's a winner for a guy like Campbell. And he's milking it for all it's worth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THESE ARE VERY INTERESTING TIMES FOR THE PREMIERS OF CANADA'S 13 PROVINCES . . . . . .THE ABOVE ARTICLE IS AN UPDATE FOUND IN THE VANCOUVER PROVINCE NEWSPAPER

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