Over the weekend, CP’s French language service reported that Jean Charest had met with EPA Commissioner Lisa Jackson on the margin of the premiers-governors meeting. According to these reports, which were not translated by the English language service, the EPA was about to issue guidelines on tailpipe emissions that would be the same as Quebec’s — according to Mr. Charest, that is.
Yesterday, the Globe’s Washington man, Konrad Yakabuski, wrote that Mr. Charest and Mr. Prentice could eventually square off for the leadership of the Conservative Party when Stephen Harper retires. And he cited their dispute over tailpipe emissions as an early round in the contest: “If the EPA does move in California's direction, Mr. Charest will be vindicated.”
In this morning’s Le Devoir, Mr. Prentice says that he will be meeting today with Ms. Jackson toward harmonizing Canadian and U.S. standards. And he reiterates unequivocally that these standards will differ in several respects from Québec’s.
It’ll be interesting to see whether this re-starts the kerfuffle between the two that we saw a couple of weeks ago. Or, whether one of the two now backs down.
