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As Singh never tires of saying, climate leaders don’t build pipelines. The problem is that, until this week, the NDP leader has supported a liquified natural gas development that includes a pipeline to northern B.C.

After the loss of a previously safe NDP seat to the Greens in last week’s Nanaimo-Ladysmith byelection, Singh has been under pressure to be bolder on the environment, not least from former MP Svend Robinson, who is running again in Burnaby and who has called on Singh to “step up” and reject the $40-billion LNG Canada mega-project.

Other NDP MPs such as B.C.’s Jenny Kwan have recently praised plans that call for emissions reductions twice as deep as those called for in the Paris agreement, as part of a Green New Deal.

Catherine McKenna, the environment minister, pointed out the NDP “flip-flop” during question period, claiming the leader is abandoning a project backed by the B.C. government that will create 10,000 jobs.

Singh appears increasingly to be a man of no convictions. A Tuesday interview with Power and Politics host Vassy Kapelos was painful. He was asked directly three times whether he still supports the LNG project and three times he equivocated.

The NDP tried to discomfit the Liberals with its motion — forcing the government to vote against it because of the Trans Mountain clause

Peter Julian, the NDP energy critic, cited estimates from Canada’s Building Trades Unions as a testimonial for how many jobs could be created under the party’s plan.

But Singh’s lack of clarity is upsetting some unions. “The truth of the matter is we will be dependent on fossil fuels for many years to come and leaders need to be mindful of that,” said Arlene Dunn, director of Canada’s Building Trades Unions. “An LNG plant in B.C. has the potential to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions if it’s used to replace coal power abroad.”