Part of the skill of being human is to figure out what really matters; to choose what priorities you will place at the front of your life. Since it’s impossible to do everything, we need to pick what things we’re going to be truly, deeply committed to fulfil.  I think that’s true in our individual lives, and for me, I carry it into my political work.

Politics is how we make collective decisions, and it touches on every aspect of our shared lives. Part of the art of politics, I believe, is in choosing what priorities get placed at the front of the line. The word priority quite literally means “prior to” – what things need to be done prior to the rest. In that sense you can’t have a whole bunch of priorities, only a few.

When I hear people saying that we don’t need to do anything more to reduce carbon emissions it is tempting to label them as “climate change deniers.” We often hear that term bandied about in reference to political parties that are fighting against carbon prices or arguing in favour of the continued use of oil, gas, and coal as primary energy sources. But within my experience “climate change deniers” are actually pretty uncommon, at least in Canada.  There are only a few stubborn souls left who refuse to accept the overwhelming scientific evidence and still claim that human activities are not having an impact on the global climate.

Last week I wrote a blog with my “Thoughts on grandchildren and grand challenges” which explained why I became involved in politics 25 years ago and why I believe our response to the risk of climate change is the defining challenge of our generation. As political leaders in the 21st century, we must carry the heavy responsibility of making the policy decisions that will determine whether or not we will “leave a habitable home for those that follow us.”

I take this responsibility very seriously, which is why I have become so discouraged by the recent approach our provincial government has taken on this issue.  In 2016, our Premier signed the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change committing PEI to introduce carbon pricing to meet our Paris Accord targets.  Yet, since then, he and his government have been trying to evade their responsibility under the Framework.

On October 3, 2016 Prime Minister Trudeau announced that the provinces had until 2018 to adopt a carbon pricing scheme, or the federal government would create one for them.  Each province had complete latitude to create the plan in its own best interests, so long as certain minimum thresholds were met. All revenue generated under the carbon pricing scheme would remain within the province.

Provincial reaction to the announcement varied: Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec already have carbon pricing regimes in place, and are generally fine with the federal mandate.  They have indicated that their economies have suffered no ill-effects under carbon pricing.