Steven Guilbeault at the Environment | Finally both hands on the handlebars

This is a strong message that Justin Trudeau sent with the formation of his new cabinet. The appointment of Steven Guilbeault as Minister of the Environment is a real green light in the fight against global warming.

Hat ! We can no longer sleep on gas. Canada, which is one of the world’s largest consumers of energy per capita, must face up to its responsibilities.

The former Greenpeace activist and co-founder of Équiterre knows the issues and the players wonderfully. His credibility will make him a perfect representative of Canada at COP26, which begins next week in Scotland.

Steven Guilbeault, who has already climbed the CN Tower in Toronto for Canada to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, will certainly prefer to take firm action, even if it means losing his post, rather than contenting himself with timid gestures, just to hang on. to his duties.

Some will say that the appointment of Mr. Guilbeault will change little since he already played an important role in the government in environmental matters. But from now on, he will have both hands, not on the steering wheel, but rather on the handlebars, since he mainly travels by bike 12 months a year.

The environment will therefore be its primary task, and not the Department of Heritage, which has given it a hard time. Justin Trudeau’s Quebec lieutenant, Pablo Rodriguez, will replace him. Hopefully he will quickly revive Bill C-10 to force web giants to fund Canadian content that died on the soap opera after being unfairly demonized by the Conservatives.

But let’s come back to the Environment, where Mr. Guilbeault will not be riding alone. He will advance in tandem with former Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, who finds himself at the helm of Natural Resources, a ministry that has often been headed by an elected official sympathetic to the industry.

Mr. Wilkinson will rather be an ally of the environmental cause, he who has succeeded in establishing a carbon price whose price will climb to $ 170, at a rate of $ 15 per year. This asset will be a trump card in Canada’s plan to fight climate change.

But the Liberals must go even further.

Justin Trudeau has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% to 45% by 2030 compared to 2005 levels (while the Harper government was counting on a 30% reduction). But it is not with the current action plan that we will get there.

To meet the target, Ottawa must live up to its electoral pledge to reduce emissions from the oil and gas sector, which is responsible for a quarter of the country’s emissions, a major change of course for a government that has bought a pipeline in the past.

He must also convince Canadians to swap their cars for walking, cycling or even public transport. We have to take a step back, because in recent years, the growth of the vehicle fleet has been higher than that of the population. And it is not by migrating to electric vehicles that we will solve all the problems.

In terms of freight transport, Canada must promote the opening of new rail corridors, a mode of transport much less polluting than the heavy trucks that crisscross the continent.

We must also reduce greenhouse gases by attacking buildings. But this poses a huge challenge, as some provinces remain dependent on natural gas for heating. Hence the importance of building an electricity distribution network that would allow surpluses to be exchanged in neighboring provinces. But how do you get there without the provinces accusing the federal government of interference?

Yes, it will take skill and courage. But if Justin Trudeau meets these challenges with the help of Steven Guilbeault, he can claim to be leaving a green political legacy.

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