Bernier questions climate science

Maxime Bernier may not be in Cabinet, but he’s certainly finding his way back into the headlines. The Beauce MP published an open letter La Presse on Wednesday in which he unreservedly embraces climate change skeptics, arguing that "every week that goes by brings more confirmation of the wisdom of our government’s moderate position." An unedited version of the letter obtained by the CBC shows Bernier going even further in his criticism of climate science. "Satellite data show less warming than terrestrial stations, which may have been contaminated by heat coming from more extended urban areas," Bernier asserts. "Data from tree rings in the forests even show some cooling; that’s why they were replaced by temperatures considered more accurate from meteorological stations in the IPCC graphs." Given that "there is no consensus among scientists" as to the extent of the climate change problem, Bernier concludes the best way to address the issue is to sit back and wait. "It would be irresponsible to spend billions of dollars and to impose unnecessarily stringent regulations to solve a problem whose gravity we still are not certain about," he writes. "The alarmism that has often characterized this debate is no longer appropriate."

CBC News