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Under the NDP plan, Ottawa would set a national standard and invite the provinces to meet it.

“You don’t reinvent the wheel,” noted Mulcair. “If somebody’s already doing some part of what you’re asking them to do and they’re getting the result that you’re hoping for, you don’t move in and replace it — you bring it in. … So I’m not going to tell the provinces to remove something that’s working.”

Alberta, B.C., Ontario and Quebec either already have emissions-control operations, or are planning them. And Alberta Premier Rachel Notley hinted broadly in Montreal on Monday that Alberta will soon follow suit. Since those four provinces hold 30 million people, the “national” NDP plan would potentially only apply to the other five million. In effect, Mulcair could establish his nation-wide network by simply announcing a minimum limit for emissions control that is already being met by the provinces. He’s not fussy about how they do it: a carbon tax, or cap-and-trade, it’s all the same to him, as long as he can claim some credit.

To be fair, Mulcair wasn’t the first to dream up this ruse. Liberal leader Justin Trudeau offered a similar promise in February. He said he would sit down with the provincial leaders for discussions before setting the standard, a convenient way to ensure his government could set a number that was already being met, while enabling the Liberals to declare victory and take credit for saving the environment. It might even offset the sour memory of the Kyoto accord, which the Liberals signed, bragged about, then did nothing to implement.