Sometimes you don’t need a lot of words to get your point across. That was definitely the case Tuesday when the NDP issued a press release in response to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau’s climate plan.
Trudeau was campaigning in NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh’s B.C. riding Tuesday to announce his party’s climate change policies in its election platform. Trudeau says he plans to push Canada to net-zero emissions by 2050, through strategies such as tax cuts for small clean energy businesses.
“We will hit net zero by 2050. Not only because we can but because we must,” Trudeau said.
But the NDP had words to say about Trudeau’s remarks in its release. Four words, to be exact.
“You. Bought. A. Pipeline.”
That’s a heck of mic drop.
The email is referring to the Trudeau government’s $4-billion purchase of the Trans Mountain pipeline last year. It was a controversial move for a government that claimed to prioritize environmental issues, and was met by fierce backlash from environmental and Indigenous groups.
“We know that we need to keep moving forward towards cleaner sources of energy, towards greater energy efficiency, and that’s why we are evaluating projects on a rigorous scientific and environmental basis,” Trudeau said when asked about the pipeline Tuesday.
According to the National Energy Board, the production of the pipeline’s max capacity of oil could generate 14 million to 17 million more tonnes of greenhouse gases every year.
The NDP has come out staunchly against the pipeline already. Earlier this week, Singh even went so far as to say individual provinces could have the power to veto construction of national infrastructure in their borders.
Usually press releases are long-winded and full of campaign slogans and carefully picked quotes from leaders. But sometimes four words is all you need to get your point across.