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Michael Smyth: Canada’s massive Paris contingent almost outnumbers France The massive Canadian contingent at the UN climate-change conference in Paris was originally estimated at 350 people, but it appears the trans-Atlantic road trip has expanded. The “provisional list of participants” just released by the UN has an amazing 383 names from Canada, ranking us among the largest entourages in the entire confab. Don’t nitpick over the newly bloated number, as it’s understandable some jet-setting bureaucrats may have been initially overlooked during such a busy travel period. If you’ve ever seen the classic Christmas film “Home Alone” you’ll know how easy it is to get the head count wrong during a mad dash to Paris. “Canada is back, my good friends,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the conference, and he wasn’t just blowing greenhouse gases. Canada has sent more people to Paris than Australia (46), the U.K. (96), the U.S. (148), Russia (313) and almost as many as host-country France (396). Not a bad turnout for a country that emits just 1.6 per cent of the planet’s greenhouse gases, eh? Or maybe it’s not something to admire when you consider how much polluting fossil fuel was burned to fly so many hundreds of people across the ocean to talk about burning less. Looking down the list of Canada’s participants in Paris, it’s hard not to conclude we’re vastly over-represented. Did we really need to send the deputy environment minister for the Northwest Territories? Theclimate-change youth ambassador for the Yukon? The leader of the New Brunswick Green Party? The interim leader of the Bloc Quebecois and his press secretary? The “security co-ordinator” for Hydro-Quebec? Many of these fine folks are so marginal to the climate-change file that calling them “bit players” would be a stretch. Premier Christy Clark is there, of course, though critics says she’s just taking credit for someone else’s work. (Former premier Gordon Campbell brought in B.C.’s groundbreaking carbon tax, which Clark promptly froze in 2012). But while Clark has been called a laggard on the climate-change issue, she’s no slouch when it comes toclimate-change photo-ops. Clark’s entourage includes her “official photographer” and her “events co-ordinator.” Hey, who could save the planet without them? Back home, meanwhile, Clark’s “Climate Leadership Team” just reported that the government will fail to meet its own greenhouse-gas reduction targets and called on Clark to double the carbon taxwithin five years. The government said it won’t do that unless “emission-intensive, trade-exposed” industries are“fully protected” from any tax hikes. That’s clearly meant as a reassuring signal to the big oil-and-gas companies Clark wants to lure to B.C. to build her promised liquefied natural-gas industry. But that’s all down the road. For now, it’s time for another climate-change photo-op in Paris. Mon Dieu, I shudder to think what it’s all costing taxpayers. http://www.nationalpost.com/m/wp/news/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/michael-smyth-canadas-massive-paris-contingent-almost-outnumbers-france&pubdate=2015-12-03