OTTAWA—It was meant as a gotcha moment in the election debate, as Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer accused Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau of climate change hypocrisy for using not one but two jets for campaign travel.But in an election where climate change worries have Canadians marching in the streets, the scene of two political leaders trading barbs over their personal campaign jets left environmental experts shaking their heads.They say the debate tussle distracts from the bigger climate change challenge and left the impression that carbon offsets — Trudeau’s rationale for why it was acceptable to have two jets — gives licence to environmentally harmful behaviour.And there are questions about whether it’s time to shake up the traditional style of campaigning, which has buses and planes criss-crossing the country, especially in the wake of a report from the United Nations panel on climate change last year that said more urgent action was needed to curb emissions.Green party Leader Elizabeth May — who travels by train and electric vehicles when she can — has long brought an environmental focus to the way she gets around. And the New Democrats say they plan their campaign travel to minimize the number of flights.“I know that political leaders would say it’s a campaign, we need to reach out, we need to be in touch with the people, we need to hear from the people,” said Kate Ervine, an associate professor of international development studies at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.“That report was really clear. It said that we need sweeping transformation of all our systems in society, including transportation. That includes air travel,” said Ervine, author of the book “Carbon.”“Yet nothing changes in terms of the idea that perhaps we need to campaign differently. Perhaps we need to cut back,” she said in an interview Thursday.Scheer used Wednesday night’s Fre ...
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