Canadians are among the nicest people on planet Earth as those who have had the good fortune to have Canadian friends can attest. Indeed, one running joke about Canadians is that the first words that come out from their mouths are often "I'm so sorry…"

Against this backdrop, it was truly shocking to hear a Canadian politician say on BBC Radio that Canada's actions on climate change would not make a real difference since the country contributed only 1.5 per cent of current global emissions. She added that it was all up to China and India, the largest new emitters, to save the world from climate change.