I’m actually writing this column while listening to a debate in the House of Commons about a private members bill on the Kyoto Accord. In essence, the bill calls for a plan to implement Kyoto 100 days after the passing of the bill. Now, all this sounds wonderful and marvelous, (everyone loves the Kyoto Accord, even though no one knows what it does), but it is about as practical as passing a law repealing gravity.

The effect of the bill would be a 40 per cent decrease in Canada’s emissions of greenhouse gases. This could be achieved if Canadians didn’t drive cars, and gave up a few basic industries, such as agriculture. But– in the real world, this is not going to happen.

Now, I’m not writing this column to scare people, or to imply that cars are going to be banned in Canada, or that farming will be illegal in a few years. I’m writing this column to make a point that I think most people instinctively understand. A lot of legislation, a lot of politics, a lot of the news about government, has absolutely no connection to reality. Sometimes politics is all about symbols and rhetoric.

Symbols can often be important because of what they communicate. But symbols that are disconnected from reality do more harm than good. They do harm by giving the impression that action is being taken when nothing is being done. Irrational symbolic gestures can also end up wasting huge sums of taxpayers’ money. (Remember the long-gun registry?)

So in the future, when you see something on the news about politics that seems too good to be true, or perhaps a little odd, take it with a big grain of salt. After being an MP for two years, I’m still amused by all of the baloney that I see in Ottawa. Amused by, but unfortunately, not surprised.

I’m Brad Trost your Member of Parliament for Saskatoon-Humboldt. I welcome your feedback.