Image via Flickr by Andre (aka Cx15)

In an ideal world, given Canada’s vast size, natural bounty and historic presence on the international stage, sustainability should be intimately paired with Canada, as the Belgians are with chocolate or the Finns with a piping hot sauna.

Yet, the Canadian image overseas, especially in Europe, is the environmental laggard, a climate fossil where the prevailing symbol of a clubbed seal has been replaced by a ruinous oil sands operation.

The reality, of course, is much more complex.

But as long as Canada lacks an integrated national strategy to leverage our abundant natural capital, we will continue to be vulnerable to the profit-oriented trends that make us fritter this privilege, testing our ecosystems’ tolerance and the bonds of national unity, further degrading our image.

With the right choices and a change in political mindset, Canada can legitimately stamp itself with an enduring brand—call it the “Maple Leaf Seal of Approval”—and in the process, enhance both the state of the planet and its own reputation over the long run.

Tar sands of time

The core problem is a prioritization of short-term benefits at the expense of long-term opportunities. This is ironically manifested in an area where planning takes decades—the oil sands.

Oil sands are projected to take up an increasing share of Canada’s carbon emissions, threatening our country’s ability to meet its goal of reducing emissions by 15 per cent by 2020. In response to criticism, the federal and Alberta governments have reacted defensively, attempting to explain their environmental record rather than change it, touting the product as an “ethical” option compared with oil sourced from more suspect regions. This is a multipartisan phenomenon. When the National Geographic ran a damning article and photoessay on the ecological impact of Alberta oil sands operations in March 2009, Liberal Party of Canada leader Michael Ignatieff was one of the first to cry foul.