"If you thought this week was intense, wait until next week," said one Canadian youth delegate to me on this Sunday as conference participants and delegates prepared for the second week of negotiations, which will certainly prove to be dramatic and emotional.

My feelings for the coming week are mixed. Never before have I been so firmly entrenched and committing 24 hours a day into one single issue. My frustrations resulted in a few tears earlier this week, with the idea that my country was not showing the same sense of urgency that I felt on the issue, and putting forth proposals that have led several countries and conference delegates to question Canada's overall commitment to the environment and its concern for those that will be most impacted by climate change in the global south.

Yet at the same time there is still that tiny glimmer of hope that all hands will be thrown into the air for an end of conference game changer that vaults Canada to become the leader and stop the climate rhetoric. I'm hoping and almost depending on it, for what has happened so far is not the Canada that I know.

The Canada that I know recognizes that taking leadership on the most critical issue facing humanity could launch the world into a safe and equitable future. The Canada that I know has aware and concerned residents, the majority of whom want its government to take action on climate change. The Canada I know recognizes the big picture when it comes to climate change, and how it will seriously affect our way of living, our economy, our precious natural resources, and the people around the world who may soon become climate refugees at the hands of floods, droughts, famines and natural disasters.

This is the Canada I know. I hope the Canada that is present here in Poznan will stop being a stranger to me, and become the country that we all know it is capability of being.