The UN Climate Summit of 2014 was held in New York earlier this week. More than 125 world leaders were present, including US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron. Amongst the most noteworthy no-shows were the leaders of some of the world’s largest GHG-emitting countries, such as China, India, Russia, and Germany. Joining his colleagues on the no-show was our own Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. The Canadian government did send a delegate from the ministerial level, however. This did not satisfy the official opposition–The New Democratic Party, as MP Megan Leslie used question period to ask the Conservative government to justify Harper’s non-appearance in New York on Tuesday. Here’s the clip (Leslie’s first offering is in French, so if you don’t follow, the English transcript is provided on youtube:
Clouds, Clocks, and Sitting at Tables 
Climate changing pollution is increasing globally, and will do so for decades to come without far more aggressive and effective action. The issue of global climate change is considered by many high-level decision makers to be one of the most pressing challenges within the international sphere. The UN Climate Summit is specifically designed to tackle the issues surrounding climate change and to bring efficient policies to the forefront. It is unfortunate that our leader, Mr. Harper, fails to see the importance of this issue. In my opinion, it is disrespectful and even ignorant to not attend such a conference where many world leaders, like President Obama, made the effort to make an appearance to further grasp knowledge and understanding regarding climate change. If the conservatives want to convince Canadians that they are serious about responding to climate change, conferences of this nature cannot be unattended by their leader, our leader, Mr Harper.