The White House just did something you'll likely never see from Stephen Harper's office: release a YouTube video linking the polar vortex to climate change.

"A growing body of evidence suggests that the kind of extreme cold being experienced by much of the United States as we speak is a pattern that we can expect to see with increasing frequency as global warming continues," Barack Obama’s Science Advisor, Dr. John Holdren, explains.

Setting aside the off-script comment this week by Conservative MP Peter Braid, Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure, don't expect a similar shout-out from the Prime Minister's Office or Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq.

Aglukkaq began her tenure in the environment portfolio last summer by saying climate change is "debatable." Meanwhile, Harper effectively fired his National Science Advisor by eliminating the position in 2008.

Since then, the Conservative government appears to be taking its cues from the Science, Technology and Innovation Council, an arm of Industry Canada that’s mainly concerned with economic development. The muzzling of government scientists is also a popular pastime.

This is what an unmuzzled scientist who works for a leader who believes in tackling climate change looks like: 

//www.youtube.com/embed/5eDTzV6a9F4