Canada’s Captain Carbon, Prime Minister Trudeau, jetted from Ottawa to Frederickton to Ottawa to Bermuda to Ottawa to Lima to Rio to Ottawa to Toronto to Ottawa to Montreal to Ottawa to Charlottetown, PEI to Ottawa to Florida between November 11 and 29… but not to Italy. He left that one for Canada’s overwhelmed foreign minister Mélanie Joly who offered “a media call back to discuss her participation in the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting that took place in Italy from November 25-26, 2024.” We are not invited to such events… but if we were we’d ask what the carbon footprint of the Canadian delegation was, and what it accomplished. And why Canada will “host eighth Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Commission meeting in Vancouver, B.C.” where delegates from some 11 countries will fly vast distances on jet airplanes to Canada and back for two inaction-packed days of praising partnership, commissions and the trans-Pacific, and themselves, before jetting off to their next destination.

Trudeau and his cabinet are not alone in their valiant commitment to traveling the world to fight the climate breakdown thingy. The Climate League Universe is full of such heroes, like the British bureaucrats on whom the Telegraph reports that “Net zero civil servants rack up over three million air miles this year/ Staff in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero took 1,130 flights between January and September”. At least they’re a bit embarrassed to be found out, though.

Not the Canadian government. Instead it seems to regard piling up the miles as something to boast about, as with many of its dubious achievements. Hence “The Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development, is headed to Jakarta, Indonesia, to lead Canada’s largest-ever Team Canada Trade Mission, to Indonesia and the Philippines.” Largest ever. Wow. How many bureaucrats and lobbyists does it take to fill an airplane? (A: Over 300. Ha ha ha.)

As for Ms. Joly, she had barely touched down from her arduous world-saving activities in Italy, and Vancouver, before blasting off again for Europe “to attend the second Canada-Baltic “3+1” Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and to Brussels, Belgium, to attend the NATO Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.” And of course you can’t just use a telephone or computer screen to “build on the long-standing friendship between Canada and Latvia” which we totally abandoned to Stalin’s tender mercies in 1945 and took credit when they escaped in 1991 though if Putin threatens them today we will send copious nothing except words. In a real crisis we might call them vibrant.

Still, what seems to us to take the cake here, or whatever it is they’re serving up there in business class, possibly a plum in chocolate, is that Canada’s Ambassador for Climate Change (no, really) told the House of Commons environment committee with regard to having flown to five different continents with a huge carbon wingprint from her home in Bern where her husband is our ambassador to Switzerland, that “As Canada’s climate ambassador I have been asked to represent Canada internationally. That is why I travel as part of my role. I take that responsibility very seriously.”

She actually refused to discuss the size of her carbon output with mere MPs. But with regard to flying even from Ottawa to Toronto, a one-hour flight for which there is an alternative, the heavily state-subsidized VIA rail service, or two of Canada’s main highways, she sneered, “When I am invited to be somewhere I do look at all the options. You know, sometimes it makes more sense. It’s faster, air travel, as you know, than train.” And I’m in a hurry to go to important places to talk to important things with important people, unlike you shleps.

In reporting the story, Blacklock’s Reporter noted acerbically that:

“Access To Information records show Stewart’s travels, including business class flights, took her to Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Bali, Beijing, Bern, Brasilia, Brussels, Cairo, Copenhagen, Delhi, Florence, Geneva, Helsinki, Istanbul, Kinshasa, Leipzig, Lisbon, London, Milan, Mumbai, Munich, New York City, Paris, Rome, Sao Paulo, Sharm El-Sheikh, Vienna, Washington and Zurich.”

But, you see, it’s all worth it because I am. No, wait, because:

“I speak about the devastating impacts of climate change, demonstrating that Canada is not immune to its devastating impacts including on health and security but also the economic costs associated with extreme weather events, natural disasters and rising temperatures”.

Who would consider videoconferencing with the need to mention that stuff to people who all fly about regularly talking about it already? And not even get the little mints.

Still, all right-thinking people deplore such excesses, right? The press know we must not fly or “carbon pollution” will slay us all, and your little plankton too. Uh, except maybe the bien-pensant at the Globe & Mail, who invite the rich among you to “Choose your own adventure” by going on theirs: “Join a small group of like-minded, inquisitive Canadians and Globe journalists on an extraordinary journey through Spain with The Globe and Mail.” As for the poor, well, the carbon tax has rather eaten into their travel budget. But they’re not like-minded, are they? Including on the existential climate crisis elites know all about and rubes don’t believe in.