How Many Economists Does it Take to Change a Government?

Hopefully just 235! These are the signatories to an open letter to the electorate of Canada to send a clear signal to politicians seeking voter support. On October 7th, more than 230 economists teaching in Canadian universities have signed an open letter to federal political leaders calling for economically coherent action on climate change. Their letter was in support of an equally powerful letter signed by 120 climate scientists in Canada urging our leaders to act responsibly now.

Canada's reputation in the international community is at an all time low - not because Canadian's ability to care has atrophied but because of the actions and ignorant opinions of a powerful few. Canada is not just looking intransigent but ignorant. Why bother to market Canada as a place worth exploring with this kind of negative publicity?  The tourism industry has waxed lyrical about sustainability for years and we have many positive role models and  heroes of our own but their efforts can be reduced to naught by a handful of people more interested in winning power than leading a nation.

Canada has been endowed with a wealth of natural resources - many it has sadly squandered and many more are under threat. The buoyancy of Canada's economy, until recently, reflected global demand for increasingly scarce resources and we are happy to let buyers bid on the open market for the resources in our back yard. The next resource, which no one owns but which every human and nation must protect and conserve, is the atmosphere and its ability to process the waste of our activities. Simply because we humans haven't figured out a way to own and thereby charge others for its use, that resource is being abused to our collective peril. It is time to rectify yet another flaw in the market system and show how we value that atmospheric resource by assigning a value to it and making all users pay for the services it renders.

On October 12th, Canadians have already much to be thankful for. Give yourselves a bonus on Monday and vote in leaders who have the courage to care for your children's future. It's time to stand up and be counted - every vote counts !