What Does it Mean to be Canadian at the UNFCCC?

I’m Canadian – although that’s not necessarily something I advertise at the UNFCCC. The sad reality is that my government doesn’t exactly have the greatest reputation here. From supporting Australia and Japan’s disruptive backtracking to leading the world in climate inaction, Canada’s reputation is shameful, to say the least. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that for the first time since they began, the Canadian Youth Delegation did not send any youth to this year’s COP in protest of our government’s presence here. Sadly, this has become the reality for most Canadians striving for climate justice back home: we’ve got our work cut out for us.

My being in Poland presents a lot of questions. I ask myself what it is exactly that I can accomplish here: is there any chance my negotiators will listen – truly listen – to me? Is there any hope of having positive, productive discussions with the Canadian delegation? How can I best be a voice for youth? How can I most honestly report on what is happening in Warsaw to those back home? How can I hold my negotiators accountable to the citizens they represent?

I wish that we could have honest dialogue. I wish that I could ask Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq how she could possibly call climate change ‘debatable’, considering her community of Iqaluit is experiencing some of the harshest impacts of Arctic melting. I wish I could ask our negotiators if they’d be acting in the same way if their children sat at the negotiating table with them. I want to ask delegates how they’ll be able to live with the fact that they’ll owe their grandchildren more apologies than they can ever live to make if they continue their business as usual. I want the cries of communities nationwide – from the Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick, to the town of Lac Mégantic in Québec, to the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in the Alberta tar sands – to echo deeply within the hearts of my elected representatives, to rise and reverberate, to shake these conference halls. I want so much – we deserve so much – yet I’m realistic about the government with which we’re working. I know that, as much as I want to, I might not get Stephen Harper, Leona Aglukkaq, and our negotiators here to have a sudden change of heart (how awesomely earth-shattering would that be, eh?). I’m conscious of the stark reality Canadians face.

So, where do we go from here?

Canadians are taking matters into their own hands. We’re divesting, we’re organizing, we’re bringing hundreds of communities together to defend our right to a livable future. We’re refusing to accept the fate that scientists predict for us. We’re demanding more. We’re rising to the challenge.

Over the next few days at COP I’ll be helping track negotiations – but I’ll also be exploring the ways we can make our country better beyond these negotiation halls.

Canada’s future will be brighter, I can feel it!

After all: can we get any worse? I don’t want to know the answer to that question..