Rona Ambrose, Environment Minister, RIP
Today, minority government leader Stephen Harper announced that he would be reshuffling his cabinet. One of the key ministers who will be moving is embattled Environment Minister Rona Ambrose. Stating that she found the environment ministry "too challenging", Ms. Ambrose will likely be moved off into another ministry such as Indian Affairs where she can spread her uninformed and narrow-minded views amongst Canada's aboriginal communities.
Despite her claims of finding the post to be too challenging, Ms. Ambrose has acheived a great deal during her tenure. For those unfamiliar with her accomplishments, think of Ambrose as Canada's equivalent to Christine Whitman, the neo-con appointee to head the EPA. Under her leadership Ambrose has skyrocketed the environment as the number one issue of concern to Canadians, ranking above even health care and Canada's ill-considered role in Afghanistan. Through her Clean Air Act, which attempted to befuddle the issues of global warming and air quality, to her displays of parochialism and aggression at the recent climate change meetings, Ambrose has done a tremendous amount to generate antipathy both at home and abroad. Through her actions, Ambrose has made a generous contribution to Stephane Dion's pro-environment Liberal leadership victory, paving the way for the Liberal party to return to government in the forthcoming election. In short, she has helped make the environment one of the galvanizing issues that could sink her government. Most environment ministers would consider these achievements to be a hallmark of success; though Ambrose seems too humble to stand up and accept the credit.
Not in recent memory has a politican done so much for raising public support for environmental issues, other than George W. Bush who, if not for the larger boondoogle in Iraq might have more of the American public paying attention to the environmental super-villains that they've become. Farewell Ms. Ambrose, we will miss you.