They have a story to tell, and they won’t let the facts get in the way.
Former Liberal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna often lamented how harsh and aggressive people could be on social media.
McKenna wasn’t entirely wrong about this, as social media often brings out the worst – and the best – in people, many of whom still don’t see it as ‘real.’
However, where McKenna got it wrong was to act is if she was merely a victim of social media negativity, rather than an active participant in it.
After all, what would you call the following post other than ‘harsh,’ ‘aggressive,’ and ‘negative’?
That is about has harsh as it gets.
Not only that, but it’s entirely dishonest and manipulative.
McKenna is exploiting a tragedy and – with absolutely zero evidence – blaming her political opponents for it.
Unfortunately, these remarks aren’t just a one-off from McKenna. While she is no longer a federal minister, she is still closely connected to the political ambitions of the Liberal government, and her rhetoric is being echoed by current Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, who is attempting to –politically – link the Conservatives to the wildfires:
“The science is irrefutable. We’re in the age of climate change – the new normal. We must reduce emissions, build a sustainable economy, and protect our communities.”
The science is irrefutable. We're in the age of climate change – the new normal. We must reduce emissions, build a sustainable economy, and protect our communities.https://t.co/Ss1NmRJoJd
📷@SOPFEU pic.twitter.com/31rriqlR5l
— Steven Guilbeault (@s_guilbeault) August 22, 2023
“Regrettably, the Conservative Party is missing in action. Being forced to cancel anti-carbon pricing events due to wildfires is sadly telling — literally smoked out on climate denial!”
Regrettably, the Conservative Party is missing in action. Being forced to cancel anti-carbon pricing events due to wildfires is sadly telling — literally smoked out on climate denial!
— Steven Guilbeault (@s_guilbeault) August 22, 2023
“As her own constituents are being forced from their homes by climate-fueled fires, this Conservative MP from Kelowna wants to fan the flames by making pollution free again.”
As her own constituents are being forced from their homes by climate-fueled fires, this Conservative MP from Kelowna wants to fan the flames by making pollution free again. pic.twitter.com/qwP22o7vOC
— Steven Guilbeault (@s_guilbeault) August 21, 2023
‘Post-Truth’ Liberals
The Cambridge Dictionary describes ‘post-truth’ as “relating to a situation in which people are more likely to accept an argument based on their emotions and beliefs, rather than one based on facts.”
This clearly describes the Liberals ‘climate action’ policies.
They have not met their climate targets. With a carbon tax, they have reduced emissions at about the same pace as the Harper Government did without a carbon tax. They know that Canada is a miniscule percentage of global emissions. They know that rising emissions in China easily cancel out any change in Canada.
Most egregious of all, their attempt to blame wildfires on Conservative opposition to the carbon tax ignores the fact that the carbon tax is already in place. If it actually worked as the Liberals claim, then there wildfires shouldn’t be happening.
The Liberal embrace of ‘post-truth’ politics is profoundly ironic, and profoundly dangerous.
The Liberals have long seen themselves as the party of science and facts. The party of objective reality. By contrast, they saw their opponents as too ideologically rigid and ‘too religious’ to be objective.
Yet, it is now the Liberals who are in full thrall to eco-religion, believing that the ‘ritual’ of imposing a tax on Canadians will change the weather and deliver us from apocalyptic ‘climate end times.’
What makes this so dangerous is that while Canada is not a powerful nation on the world stage, the Canadian government is very powerful within Canada, and can thus do significant damage to our rights and freedoms and the economy.
A government in thrall to irrationality and which feels they are on a historic mission to ‘save the world’ from climate change is a government that will view the individual as nothing in the face of such ‘important work.’
Yet, history shows us that governments which dismiss reality and discount the individual will often inflict tremendous suffering and squander economic potential.
Thus, the more the Liberals embrace ‘post-truth’ politics, the more they demonstrate their unfitness for national leadership.
Spencer Fernando
