You won’t believe what this Conservative said about extreme weather and climate change

Since extreme weather events are nothing new in Canada and the country accounts for such a tiny fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions, why should we bother to do anything to combat climate change?

That pretty much sums up what the chair of the Manitoba caucus for the Conservatives argued Thursday at a parliamentary committee meeting.

Calling it an “obvious question,” Robert Sopuck, tapped by the Conservative Party to be an “outspoken member” of the House of Commons Environment Committee, just wouldn’t let this point go. He used up all his time to press the witness, Bob Hamilton, Deputy Minister of the Environment.

So if we cut our emissions dramatically, “would we change the weather, because that’s the implication of these kinds of statements?” Sopuck asked, pointing out Prairie floods have been around long before experts started linking extreme weather to climate change.

“Our government is being criticized all the time on the climate change issue, but if we did every thing the opposition wants to do to reduce carbon emissions, it will have little or no effect on extreme weather events or climate change in Canada.”

Watch Sopuck’s “atmospheric chemistry” lesson and Hamilton”s attempt to “just nuance that a little bit”: