It's embarrassing to be Canadian now

[CHIMO]

George Monbiot wrote a real porcupine of a column this week, excoriating Canada on its failure to act on climate change. The headline read, "Canada's image lies in tatters. It is now to climate what Japan is to whaling."

Brilliant! Just what smug Canada needs, a real seeing-to by an environmental wise man. Monbiot, a hero of mine, had earlier written a toned-down piece for the leaden opinion page of Canada's dullest newspaper, the Globe and Mail. I wish he hadn't done that.

The headline was "Please, Canada, clean up your act." Canada was not now the "corrupt petro-state" of the Guardian piece. Monbiot in the local version seemed to treat Canada more like a student who had let not just himself down, but had brought sorrow to the entire school. Monbiot wanted to add his voice to those "pleading" with Canada's hard-right minority government to change its ways.

We have shamed our better natures. But we Canadians will rid ourselves of Harper and rise again to be the decent and intelligent nation you Brits once patronised with such delight.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/02/embarrassing-canadian-corrupt-petro-state