Rethinking Lifestyle

In the run-up to the federal by-election I will be profiling the four major parties in relation to their stance on sustainability. In this first installment we look at the current governing party and long-time local favourite, the Conservatives (or, Tories).

Perhaps the greatest criticism of the Harper Conservatives is that they have not recognized that conservation is a significant conservative value. They have pursued the expansion of the Alberta oil sands at all costs: they have dismantled numerous laws that protected our environment, often been the only country in opposition to international environmental legislation, told the US that they won’t take “no” for an answer regarding the development of major pipelines from Alberta to Texas, vilified any who oppose new pipelines to the BC coast, cut funding to charities supporting the rights of people negatively affected by such projects, approved the sale of Alberta oil sands projects to Chinese state-owned oil companies, publicly supported selling carcinogens that are illegal in Canada (i.e., asbestos) to other nations, publicly denied climate change, and muzzled scientists who research climate and other environmental issues by cutting their funding, closing important research bases, and controlling their abilityto present their findings to the public. While I’m sure that all of these points would be denied or justified, it’s clear that sustainability is not a top priority for the Conservative party!

It doesn’t have to be this way. In spite of the way the current party has handled the environment and economy, conservative values and sustainability go hand-in-hand. It makes sense that conservatives support conservation – both in relation to the economy, and in relation to the environment that supports and sustains us and our economy. The Harper Conservatives’ approach prioritizes short-term economic gains over long-term economic and environmental sustainability, but any farmer understands the need to respect the land that supports him if he expects to get more than a few good seasons out of it. A truly conservative plan with respect to Canada’s resources would favour a long-term approach that benefits Canadians first, develops resources at home, avoids the boom and bust model of rapid expansion (and all of the social and moral issues that tend to go along with it), and maintains adequate protection of our other natural resources (air, water, forests, fish, etc.). A genuine conservative economic plan would not build on the presumption of endless growth, but would plan for a future in a world of finite resources, developing an economy based on efficiency rather than endless growth and exploitation of resources.

Despite what we’ve seen from the Harper Conservatives in recent years, sustainability is a conservative value! Green Tories may be hard to find, but with an election on the horizon, this is the perfect time to tell the Conservative party that you value a sustainable approach to the Canadian economy and environment. Here’s to the true conservative: the Green Tory!