For the final ministerial Senate QP of the year, with special guest star Environment Minister Catherine McKenna. Senator Carignan led off asking about whether she would advocate for natural gas as a transitional measure away from coal, and the development of shale gas reserves as the Obama administration did. After a bit of a preamble, McKenna noted that they were in a transitional phase which won’t happen overnight, and that while they approved an LNG project in BC, they approach each project on its own to evaluate the science of their impact while at the same time looking for opportunities to market our resources.

Senator Jaffer asked about rising sea levels risking island nations and our north, and human rights with climate action. McKenna said that they recognize the grave impact of climate change on so many people, and that there was a link with human rights and she looked forward to working with Jaffer on that.

Senator Black worried about carbon pricing in the face of the pending Trumpocalypse and its effect on our competitiveness. McKenna assured him that they did consider competitiveness, and that other countries were coming online with their own carbon pricing systems, and that this helped our clean tech industries that we can export.

Senator Batters worried that a carbon tax would be imposed on Saskatchewan and what the details were. McKenna noted how closely she was working with the province, including how she brought their Carbon Capture and Storage people with her to China, and how a price on carbon makes it a more economic model. She added that she hoped they could still come to an agreement with the province, and that they might yet adopt a model similar to BC’s.

Senator Patterson asked about carbon pricing as it Nunavut, particularly because their communities rely on diesel power and have power generators that have aged out beyond their design limits. McKenna said they were committed to working with the territorial government to find solution for the people of Nunavut, and clean power for the North was part of their vision as part of green infrastructure funds.

Senator Joyal asked about the obstacles presented by the Trumpocalypse, and McKenna said that while they need to wait and see, the new administration has committed to clean air and water, of which climate action was a co-benefit, but that it emphasized the benefits of investing in clean tech, particularly when markets like China are investing heavily in it.

Senator Griffin asked about the restoration of Province House in PEI (a Parks Canada file), to which McKenna noted her forthcoming international meetings in PEI, but would look into the issue of Province House in particular.

Senator McIntyre asked about New Brunswick’s coal phase-out and the conditions negotiated with the province around it, and McKenna assured him they were working with the province on it.

Senator MacDonald asked another question on the coming Trumpocalypse and whether there was an economic impact analysis on carbon taxes on our trade relationship. McKenna talked about their interlinked economy and the opportunities in places where they can work together, but that there are also links at the state level, where there are further opportunities.

Senator Downe asked about the pass system for Parks Canada when it was going to be free in 2017. McKenna said that she had asked her officials that question herself, but didn’t really give the reason why as she expounded upon how great the parks are.

Senator Carignan was up for a second round, asking about accessibility of Franklin Expedition artifacts being made available to Canadians. McKenna said that she was pleased that they had confirmed the second wreck, and that Indigenous knowledge had been used to find it, but again didn’t really answer the issue.

Senator Massicotte asked about carbon-intensive industries that were trade exposed, and what would be provided for them, and whether they might consider an import tariff on those countries with a lower carbon price that ours. McKenna said that our largest companies were standing with the carbon pricing plans, and they were working with the provinces to design systems that make sense for them.

Overall, there were a lot of questions about the coming Trumpocalypse and how that would affect either climate action or our competitiveness with carbon pricing, and McKenna did a reasonable job in showing that there were other aspects to look at, from state-level actions to global markets, which was all well and good. The longer that it went on, however, the more McKenna tended to ramble and the provide even fewer details in her responses. Indeed, the Parks Canada question in particular was one example where she said that she had the same question for her department, then didn’t actually relay what the answer was, which was baffling and a little disappointing. Still, it was good to see McKenna answering in both official languages off-the-cuff, which she doesn’t get to do often enough in QP over in the Commons.

Sartorially speaking, snaps go out to Senator David Wells for a tailored navy suit with a crisp white shirt and a red tie, and to Senator Pamela Wallin for a black leather jacket with a white collared shirt beneath. Style citations go out to Senator Lynne Beyak for a leopard print jacket with three-quarter sleeves and a black top, and to Senator Dennis Patterson for a dark grey suit in dire need of tailoring with a light blue shirt and dark blue tie.