And now a word from Michael Chong

Amid all else this afternoon (more on the all else in a bit), Conservative MP Michael Chong stood up in the House of Commons this afternoon and delivered an altogether interesting minute-long statement.

Mr. Speaker, last week, the IPCC, the UN group that, since 1990, has been gathering evidence on our warming planet, issued its most sobering assessment yet.

The government should be acknowledged for the action already taken to reduce GHGs, in coal-fired electricity, passenger car and light trucks, heavy-duty vehicles and renewable fuels. These actions will result in meaningful reductions in GHGs.

However, more needs to be done. I encourage the government to roll out the rest of its climate change plan, and to introduce regulations for the oil and gas sector and for other large final emitters.

Now it is true that many are still skeptical of the science of climate change, but it is also true that governments can convince the public. As former Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said this week:

“Leadership is the process, not only of foreseeing the need for change but making the case for change. Leadership does not consist of imposing unpopular ideas on the public but of making unpopular ideas acceptable to the nation.”

One doesn’t want to make too much of such thing, but this sounds basically like a backbench MP expressing himself on a point of public policy without slavish adherence to the party line.