Shame! Shame! As They Say in Hansard: Harper's Canada Heads in the Wrong Direction at Rio and Elsewhere

The criticism of Canada's position on environmental issues has been growing at the international confernce on the environment Rio+20. Le Devoir's story this morning is just one of many that point out how the country is going in the wrong direction now, even though 20 years ago (under a Progressive Conservative Prime Minister) it was a leading force at the first Rio conference.

That gathering finished just as the Canadian House of Commons rose for the summer holiday.  The loyal forces of this Conservative government spent a lot of time in Question Period patting themselves on the back for passing omnibus bills like the budget one which does away with many, many environmental safeguards. 

In the transcripts of the Commons proceedings  it is customary to convey the burble of dissent coming from members with "Shame, Shame."  And shame is certainly what I and a lot of Canadians are feeling now.