Liberals blasted for taxpayer-funded rap performance at COP30
The Liberal government’s delegation to COP30 has sparked outrage with a taxpayer-funded rap performance at its official pavilion
The Liberal government’s delegation to COP30 has sparked outrage with a taxpayer-funded rap performance at its official pavilion, a $392 million climate financing pledge, and a refusal to answer questions from the media on the ground.
During a “wellness break” in the Canada Pavilion, attendees were presented with a rap-style performance focused on breathwork, mindfulness, and emotional regulation in response to climate grief. Lyrics included, “In through the nose, out through the mouth / Cross off your body, it pays down,” in what organizers described as a mental health–oriented moment amid the climate talks.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Canadian medical professionals used the summit to highlight what they describe as the hidden health costs of fossil fuels. “Those health costs are not on anybody’s budget table. They are treated as uncounted externalized costs, and that is unacceptable,” one doctor said during a panel, warning that emissions-related illness is being ignored by policymakers. Other panelists said a clean energy transition would ease hospital burdens and improve public health outcomes across generations.
The federal government also announced $392 million in new international climate financing at the summit, targeted toward disaster preparedness, food security, and early warning systems in developing countries. The new funding follows years of multibillion-dollar pledges aimed at helping poorer nations adapt to climate change.
Canada’s spending records at past editions of the COP event have also been subjected to intense scrutiny. The COP28 delegation in Dubai cost nearly $3 million, including $1.3 million for a Canada Pavilion that featured another rap song, this time about “climate disinformation.” That trip also included hotel stays costing up to $816 per night, as well as almost $300,000 in meals and travel expenses.
Adding to the criticism, current Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin and former minister Steven Guilbeault both declined to answer questions from True North while on the ground in Belém for COP30.