Like most New England hockey fans the national anthem of Canada has been screwed into our aural memory. Some of us even know the lyrics of the English version. Few can sing the French version and no one in my immediate family has heard the Inuit rendition.
“O Canada! Our home and native land!”
The opening words were changed to ‘Oh no, Canada’, when conservative environment minister announced that his government was rejecting the Kyoto Protocol on climate change in favor of seeking a path more suitable to the present economic situation in the northern nation.
“Meeting Canada’s obligations under Kyoto would cost $13.6bn. That’s $1,600 from every Canadian family – that’s the Kyoto cost to Canadians, that was the legacy of an incompetent Liberal government.”
Fear of money and blame the old government are classic ploys from conservatives around the world as a gambit to protect the vested interests of corporate polluters such as the massive mining corporations ravaging the polar region under the aegis of Stephen Harper’s regime. The Kyoto Protocols was accepted by every nation in the world back in 1997 with the exception of the largest energy consumer on the planet, Canada’s southern neighbor.
In per capita usage Canada ranks second behind the USA.
The environmental minister extolled the nation for its 2% of consumption, even though that marks them as 9th overall. Not close to the bronze, but nothing to write home about, unless the press is controlled by the right.
Oh no Canada.
The land of frozen hockey pucks.
Bad bad bad.
Top-ten emitters
China 17% region’s emissions as a percentage of the global total, 5.8 in units of tons of GHG per-capita
United States 16%, 24.1
European Union 11%, 10.6
Indonesia 6%, 12.9
India 5%, 2.1
Russia 5%, 14.9
Brazil 4%, 10.0
Japan3 3%, 10.6
Canada3 2%, 23.2
Mexico 2%, 6.4
Inuit Version OH CANADA
Uu Kanata!
Nangmini nunavut!
Piqujatii nalattiaqpavut.
Angiglivalliajuti,
Sanngijulutillu.
Nangiqpugu, Uu Kanata,
Mianiripluti.
Uu Kanata! nunatsia!
Nangiqpugu mianiripluti,
Uu Kanata, salagijauquna!
ps Peter Kent’s expertise is journalism. He is not an expert of climate change. The man was not elected to his position and I bet that he doesn’t even know that there is a Inuit version of OH CANADA