Canada sends nearly 300 bureaucrats, and one ex-minister, to COP26 in Glasgow
https://westernstandardonline.com/2021/11/canada-sends-nearly-300-bureaucrats-and-one-ex-minister-to-cop26-in-glasgow/
Other Canadians in attendance included the Prime Ministerâs official photographer, official videographer and lead speechwriter, seventeen press secretaries and communications directors, four CBC reporters and the entire Green Party caucus comprised of two MPs.
Canadaâs Environment department sent a plane full of bureaucrats â and perhaps one former minister â to the Glasgow COP26 conference on climate change.
Blacklockâs Reporter says Canada had a whopping 277-member delegation in Glasgow, 17 press aides and former Environment Minister Catherine McKenna as a VIP.
New Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault is also in attendance and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke to the delegates
âCanada has taken steps to ensure diverse perspectives are reflected in international forums,â said Samantha Bayard, spokeswoman for the department.
McKennaâs name is not on Canadaâs official delegate list though she attended meetings of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. McKenna did not seek re-election September 20. Bayard didnât say whether or not she travelled on her own dime.
A total 39,509 people from countries around the world registered for the Glasgow conference, including 3,800 media and 14,000 observers. The meeting continues until November 12.
Canadaâs delegation included Guilbeault, Deputy Environment Minister Thelma Hogan, Assistant Deputy Minister Catherine Stewart, Climate Change Ambassador Patricia Fuller, Climate Change Director Joanna Dafoe and 25 advisors and negotiators with the department.
Other Canadians in attendance included the prime ministerâs official photographer, official videographer and lead speechwriter, 17 press secretaries and communications directors, four CBC reporters and the entire Green Party caucus comprised of two MPs.
A delegation half the size at a 2019 UN climate conference in Madrid cost $683,278 according to a report tabled in the Commons. Expenses for air fare, taxis and chauffeured cars for the 144 Canadian delegates were $178,282.
âA number of invoices and claims have yet to be processed,â said the report.
Costs billed by the Canadian delegation in Spain included $93,439 for meals, another $228,881 for hotels and $21,080 billed as âhospitality.â
The report did not detail liquor expenses.
Then-Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson in a December 10, 2019 speech at the conference called for âdeeper emission reductionsâ in greenhouse gases.
âClimate change is a defining issue of our time and the main reason why I entered politics,â said Wilkinson.
âWe know we must increase our ambition. Canada is committed to working with you to advance momentum on climate action.â
Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg in a speech at the Madrid conference urged delegates to use dramatic language to illustrate the impact of climate change.
âWhen you talk in public you should start with something personal or emotional to get everyoneâs attention. Say things like, âOur house is on fire,â âI want you to panicâ or âHow dare you?ââ said Thunberg.
âWithout that sense of urgency, how can we the people understand that we are facing a real crisis? If the people are not fully aware of what is going on, then they will not put pressure on the people in power to act.â