Climate backsliding,
but at what cost

Undoing decades of ecological progress is nothing less than sheer folly

By Georges Dupras

May 28, 2026

Sixty years ago, when environmental concerns weren’t even a consideration, there were those who fought to protect our natural world from reckless development. The cry for job creation and economic growth, without any thought of the consequences to our natural environment, ruled political and business agendas. This way of thinking was fueled by media interests and, for the most part, went unquestioned by the public.

This mindset fell into disrepute during the sixties, when a series of corporate practices were exposed as causing serious, permanent damage to the natural environment and, by extension, human health. Many of these practices, sanctioned by the Canadian Government, went well beyond national borders (DDT, or dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane; Agent Orange as a defoliant; mercury in mining; asbestos in building, and much more). I am not suggesting that our government was or is worse than others that live by the same credo.

As mentioned in the Hill Times, it appears that Donald Trump’s pressure, or the current right-wing political views, convinced the Prime Minister that we should deregulate at the expense of the environment.

Moving slowly

During the 60s, environmentalism and human health sciences began to develop, allowing for a gradual understanding of the interconnection of life on this planet. Unfortunately, then as now, we remain prisoners of our own cultural “entitlements” which run counter to both sciences.

Economics = jobs

This brings me to Mark Carney. There is little doubt that The Right Honourable Mark Carney has unprecedented experience in economics. I admit that Prime Minister Carney is the right man to deal with President Trump and the latter’s deal-making shenanigans. My support for the PM begins to wane when he unilaterally abuses his parliamentary majority at the expense of the environment. Rolling back hard-fought environmental safeguards, without consultation, is beyond reckless.

When I read of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s fast-tracking yet another pipeline (The Hill Times, May 16), I couldn’t help but think… of Donald Trump’s… “Drill Baby Drill” comment of a few years ago. With the stroke of his pen, Mr. Trump expunged decades of work to protect our increasingly fragile ecology. Prime Minister Carney has done no less by exempting projects from environmental impact assessments. Stephane Dion, former Liberal Environment Minister, stated in the same article that Ottawa’s proposal to streamline major project reviews is a backlash against climate policy.

As mentioned in the Hill Times, it appears that Donald Trump’s pressure, or the current right-wing political views, convinced the Prime Minister that we should deregulate at the expense of the environment.

‘It seems that Donald Trump’s pressure, along with the present rightward drift, has led the prime minister to view deregulation harmful to the environment as an acceptable option.’

What about climate change, a scientific reality that the extreme political right refuses to acknowledge? If we, as a Nation, don’t meet our climate goals, why should others?

Should we not seriously consider the opinions and collective experience of experts in the field, such as Stephane Guilbeault, Stephane Dion, David Suzuki, Clifford Lincoln, Ian McCallister and others?

Cities in a dome

By sacrificing nature until there is no more to give, we destroy what has made us. The greatest threat to the environment is a growing human population. Each person has a mass of energy that requires more of the same to survive. At present, this energy comes from our living environment at exponential levels. If we continue as we have, future generations may well end up in climate-controlled domes, surviving like people in a prison, alive but not living.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WestmountMag.ca or its publishers.

Feature image: James Daisa, CC BY-SA 2.0

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