As if this was going to happen

The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE), an independent federal advisory agency, suggested to the Canadian government the implementation of Canada's very own emissions regulations such as new vehicle emissions standards and a cap-and-trade-system to start addressing the problem of rising greenhouse gas emissions. This would be a dream come true if that government actually did a step towards emissions cut-downs, especially since we are now in 2011 and the issue has been present for a not insignificant number of years and lots of other countries worldwide have reacted long ago. 
 
Anyway, the NRTEE is at the same time concerned about the economy so they want to have a solution that helps the environment and the economy which is very ambitious but not impossible. It seems to be the big problem though. If Canada's regulations were to be stricter than what the US does or intends to do they suspect it will weaken the Canadian economy.  Personally, I am against the cap-and-trade system since it turned into more emissions in Europe. Alone the phrase "to allow firms to pollute more" (through buying carbon credits) sounds wrong. The goal is to REDUCE pollution, not to shift it from one place to another. But Canada obviously considers the trade system because the US does so. The sovereignty of Canada does not seem to go far once it comes to the environment. I wished for once Canada would just ignore the fact that the 'Big Brother' exists at all and do the first step. Germany implemented lots of environmental regulations and still has a fairly strong economy. We are not so depended on one trade partner though. May I conclude that Canada lacks a "yes, we can"- attitude? This reminds me of a book that was written recently about Canadians, by an Indian who lives in Canada, saying that Canadians have a 'head-in-the-sand"-attitude when they face problems. And I thought ostriches lived in Australia.