A needed push

It's been a couple of days since IP praised Nathan Cullen for his message on the need to work with other parties. But with Parliament out of session at the moment, Cullen is going out of his way to work with more than just his political friends and rivals.

Babbler Ken S sets out the big picture:

Nathan Cullen is on a national speaking tour right now encouraging environmentalists to speak up so that the government feels the pressure. I saw him in Halifax today.

That's a measure of his personal commitment. Nathan is by no means assured of re-election and this parliamentary break is prime time for incumbents to be pressing the flesh at home.

And for a more local perspective, Northern Life wrote about his stop in Sudbury earlier this week:

NDP Environment Critic Nathan Cullen is on a five-day Canada-wide tour that stops in Sudbury Tuesday to hear from ordinary Canadians about their environmental concerns and learn more about local sustainability initiatives.

Cullen will also be informing Canadians of the NDP’s victory in achieving real progress on climate change by engineering the complete revision of the Conservatives’ failed Clean Air Act...

Cullen’s Sudbury visit will include meetings with local environmental organizations, a meeting with Greater Sudbury Mayor John Rodriguez, and a visit to local campuses that are engaging in sustainability research.

Credit certainly goes to Cullen for his willingness to make a cross-country push to pass the amended C-30 his top priority over what's increasingly looking like a pre-campaign period.

But the biggest question is whether the tour is likely to make a difference in the Cons' thinking. And while it hasn't been particularly well reported, the NDP's track record of forcing results is an impressive one, as past coordinated efforts within the community have forced the Cons to follow through on investments contained in the Libs' previous budget, as well as to move forward with needed funding for housing on multiple occasions.

Of course, Bill C-30 may run into a far more entrenched Con position. But enough of a push from the environmental movement may well be the factor which makes the Cons choose not to be seen as the party which held up sorely-needed progress. And hopefully Cullen's tour will help to make sure that the Cons get the message.