JUAN ANTONIO SISON
NEWS REPORTER

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s expected absence at next month’s climate change conference in Copenhagen will stain Canada’s reputation, said Troy Dettwiler, vice-president of the Environmental Action and Awareness Group at North campus.

World leaders will be attending the conference Dec. 7-18 to discuss how to reduce greenhouse gases and curb climate change.

“It blows my mind that he won’t be there. I’m shocked,” said Dettwiler, who is also a third-year film and television production student.

“On the federal level of government we definitely see a lack of commitment on the world stage, and it’s seriously hurt Canada’s image in the last two years worldwide from an environmental standpoint,” said Dettwiler.

Canada could be taking the lead on addressing climate change, said Laura Matheson, professor of environment issues at Humber.

“Canada is an industrialized nation; we like to think of ourselves as a leader amongst the many nations. We’re clearly not standing up to be a leader for climate change,” said Matheson.

“It’s rather embarrassing for Canada that our prime minister can’t make time to be at something that’s clearly important,” she said.

Matheson said Harper doesn’t have any long term plans for climate change because there’s no guarantee of his length of time in office.

“Why put so much effort into creating a long term strategy when the prime minister will be there for four years or eight years? In Stephen Harper’s case, it’s certainly not guaranteed he’ll be there for four years,” said Matheson.

Matheson said countries like Canada may be hesitant to cut carbon emissions because it could have crippling economic effects. “Canada has a lot to lose by signing a protocol to reduce our emissions. The energy sector is really important to our economy,” she said.