They mean it. They really mean it.

I get CPAC's Prime Time Politics on podcast, which means I end up listening to it a day or two after it airs. And on the way home from work today, I got to hear a great interview with NDP environment critic Nathan Cullen and Liberal MP David McGuinty that aired on the Tuesday edition of the show.

Now, I have little time for hyperpartisan rhetoric of any shade, so if you've ever seen this show, you probably aren't surprised that I regularly roll my eyes during the MP panel. It seems to be near-impossible these days for any of our parliamentarians to sit in a room together with a camera in it and refrain from slamming each other. But this time they spoke with a unified voice about the importance of working together. Cullen did mention that the NDP had been on board with this since the beginning, but he didn't waste any time slamming McGuinty and the Liberals for having dragged their feet. And rather than just turning the whole six or seven minutes into a venomous bash-the-Conservatives-fest, they both expressed doubt that the Tories would join them, but said they still hoped they would. They didn't pull any punches, but it was about more than just partisanship and a chance to toot their own horns--it was real. Which is pretty refreshing, if you ask me.

Anyway, the full interview is [here] for download.

Oh, and for any Edmonton-area locals who would be interested in hearing Cullen speak in person, he's going to be here to do a panel discussion together with Edmonton-Strathcona's own Linda Duncan on Saturday, March 31st. Cullen will be fresh from the Clean Air Act Committee's final report the day before, something Duncan can comment on as an international environmental law consultant, former Chief of Enforcement for Environment Canada, and former Assistant Deputy Minister for Renewable Resources for the Yukon government. Should be an interesting afternoon!