EDITORIAL: It's time to cool down Canada's climate zealotry

There are many Canadians deeply passionate about activism and advocacy when it comes to environmental and climate issues.

We share their concerns about being responsible stewards of the land and environment for future generations. But in recent years some of that activism has become more extreme and disconnected from reality.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his radical Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault increasingly appear like climate zealots. They are proposing more and more punitive laws in the name of fighting climate change that may not do much good but will definitely cause harm to regular Canadians.

For an idea of just how unhinged the government has become, take a look at this line from a federal discussion paper released in May:

“The science is clear that existing efforts are not enough to avoid catastrophic effects and that more needs to be done to address climate change, and on a faster timeline.”

This, in a nutshell, appears to be the Liberal government’s driving ideology. They believe imminent catastrophe is around the corner and more needs to be done faster.

It explains why the feds are now bringing in a second carbon tax so soon after fighting the provinces in court over the first carbon tax.

It explains why they’re now charging ahead with wild abandon to introduce worrisome restrictions on Canadian farming, which industry experts say will cause farms to close and see the price of food only increase more.

That’s not all. Everywhere you look, the feds are bringing in climate-related laws and regulations.

The feds are also fully aware of the harms these policies will bring about — the big one being increased costs to regular folks, with lower income Canadians most disproportionately harmed. Their own reports acknowledge these looming problems.

Whether it’s the turmoil in the Netherlands or the near economic collapse in Sri Lanka, restrictive farming policies enacted in the name of fighting climate change are causing big problems all around the world.

It’s troubling that the Trudeau government sees this happen and thinks it’s a good idea to bring the same policies over here. It’s time to cool this all down.