It’s all in how you spin it.

It’s a day ending in “y” so Big Daddy and the Kewl Kidzzz must be up to something. Let’s find out, shall we?

The Harper government is being accused of misleading the world about the toughness of its plan to force industry to bury greenhouse gas emissions underground.

Opposition parties and environmental groups say a submission made by Canada to a United Nations climate change conference this week in Bangkok is "deceitful" since it suggests the government is imposing immediate reductions in pollution through the deployment of new technology, when in fact, there are no regulations in place.

The submission says Canada "will require" new oilsands facilities and coal-fired power plants to bury their greenhouse gas emissions underground, keeping them out of the atmosphere. In fact, Environment Minister John Baird has said that his plan would get facilities built after 2012 to capture and store their emissions by setting caps on pollution and then allowing them make "pre-certified investments" in the technology over the next 10 years to meet the targets.

As well, existing facilities and those built over the next few years would have less stringent targets under Baird's plan, but those targets have not been specified yet through regulations.

Why I am just shocked. Never say that Big Daddy’s proposal might be just the tiniest bit different than previously advertised? That can’t possibly be true ... can it?

"There's no question that Canada should be looking to capitalize on this (carbon capture and storage) technology, but the way this is being presented at the UN, is very deceitful," said Liberal Environment critic David McGuinty.

NDP Environment critic Nathan Cullen said the government was pretending real action was taking place when in reality, it was running in the opposite direction. "They proposed a plan that they are not doing, and now they are supporting their international lie with that plan," said Cullen. "How are they expected to be taken seriously?"

Ooopsie. But it gets better. But then you already knew that, didn’t you? (emphasis gleefully added)

The Harper government has also listed a number of other actions in its submission to the UN which have left opposition parties and environmental groups scratching their heads. The measures include requirements for Canada to generate 90 per cent of its power from energy sources that produce zero heat-trapping emissions and to increase electricity from wind and wave power by 20 times. A spokesperson for Environment Canada said on Monday that he could not explain how the government's plan would achieve those goals, but would try to find out the details.

So there you have it, boys and girls — Big Daddy’s super-secret plan is sooooooo super-secret, even Environment Canada is in the dark about it. Canada’s New Government™, making shit up for more than two years.

Just in case you missed it. Big Daddy needs to work a little harder on putting up that “caring for the environment” front — it seems to be slipping.

Thanks to its place of prominence in the capital, 24 Sussex Dr., the Prime Minister's residence, is always easy to spot. As Ottawa went dark last night for Earth Hour, it was even easier. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's lights stayed on.
[…]
But two ground-floor rooms in Harper's house stayed on and inquiries to a PMO spokesperson were not returned. The third-floor offices on Parliament Hill that house the Prime Minister's Office were also among the few lights that stayed on, prompting a jeer from a handful of Green Party activists who had gathered in the cold to mark the occasion.

Seriously, how fucking hard is it to turn the lights off? Come on.