House of Commons Hansard #124 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was chair.

Topics

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:30 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, does the minister have the answer now to what the budget is for the delegation?

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:30 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Chair, I thought I was quite clear about that. That will be determined as we determine the shape of the delegation and the timing of the attendance in Rio. I will be glad to share those figures with my colleague and with the official opposition in the fullness of time.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, could the minister give us a rough ballpark of what the budget will be for the delegation? Surely he has a lot of resources at his fingertips, and I am sure that there must at least be an estimate.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Chair, I have abundant resources at my fingertips, but many attending delegations are still in the same situation that we in Canada face.

There are last minute determinations of exactly what panels will be necessary to attend. The size of our delegation could vary by as much as 50%.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, would the minister clarify about accreditation to opposition members of Parliament? When it came to Durban, that courtesy was not extended to the opposition.

Would he clarify that he will assist members of Parliament from opposition parties who wish to attend.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Chair, to clarify for my colleague, while members of the opposition were not the members of the Canadian delegation, we did assist two members of the opposition, who decided to attend, to get their accreditation. One of them, in fact, my colleague's counterpart who attended on her behalf, made her application very late in the game. Our delegation enabled her last minute accreditation.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, I will take that as a yes.

Has the government consulted Canadians as to its official position at Rio Plus 20 and if it has, could the minister please tell us who it has consulted with?

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Chair, we have consulted widely with our provincial and territorial counterparts. We have consulted with industry and a variety of public policy boards. I have consulted with first nations.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, I would like to switch gears and ask a few questions about the Kyoto protocol.

When the government made its decision to withdraw from the protocol, the government and the minister stated that it was designed to save Canada $14 billion in penalties. Was an economic analysis done to come up with this number?

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Chair, my colleague should know that because of the extremely volatile nature of the international carbon market, that price is not fixed in time. It is a price which relates to a particular moment when the market was at that value.

I can assure the member that this government, by not embracing the Kyoto protocol, probably the biggest mistake the third party made during its term in government, did save Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars in funds sent offshore.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, billions of dollars is different from what the minister quoted. He quoted $14 billion. Did the minister do an analysis to come up with this number?

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Yes, Madam Chair. That figure was the result of an analysis which represented a certain value at a point in time. However, that market is exceptionally volatile and rises and falls on the whims of the market.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, if it was the result of an analysis, then precisely what would the $14 billion would be spent on?

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Chair, that $14 billion of hard-earned Canadian tax dollars would be spent out of the country to buy hot air credits from depressed eastern European economies. It would do nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:35 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, if this is the result of an analysis, then I would ask the minister to table that analysis in the House. Is he able to table that analysis?

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:40 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Chair, I will take that request and I will provide that backup. That is not part of budget 2012, or our jobs, growth and prosperity act or the responsible resource development legislation that I assume we are here to talk about tonight.

I can provide that information to my colleague in the fullness of time.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:40 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, by how much did the government calculate that it would miss its Kyoto target?

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:40 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Chair, from the moment our government assumed power in 2006, we made it quite clear that we would not embrace Kyoto, that we would abide by the reporting requirements of Kyoto. We embarked on a mission to achieve a global climate change initiative, which would include all major emitters. We are doing that through our compliance with Copenhagen.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:40 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, the Commissioner on Environment and Sustainable Development said last week that he believed Canada would miss its target of 17% below 2005 levels and furthermore that the government had no plan to reach it.

Has the government done an economic analysis on the cost of reaching this weak target?

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:40 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Chair, as I have informed the House a number of times in the weeks since the environment commissioner tabled his report, his points of reference were almost a year out of date and did not take into account our latest report just a month ago with regard to the 2009-10 greenhouse gas inventory reports that showed a significant decrease.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:40 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, that was not my question. My question was, has the government done a costing of reaching its target?

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:40 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Chair, as I explained in answer to the comment from the environment commissioner, it is premature to offer total costing of our sector-by-sector regulation process, simply because we are only partway through that process. We are engaged in consultations that will determine what many of those costs will eventually be.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:40 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, will the minister then confirm that the government has not done a costing of what it will cost to reach its target?

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:40 p.m.

Conservative

Peter Kent Conservative Thornhill, ON

Madam Chair, as I have explained, we are in a sector-by-sector regulatory process. We addressed transportation, which accounts for almost one-quarter of our annual greenhouse gas emissions, with regulation of cars and light trucks, and now most recently, heavy trucks. I am about to bring final regulations down for the coal-fired electricity sector. We are in consultations with oil and gas and we will continue around that sector wheel.

Environment—Main Estimates, 2012-13Business of SupplyGovernment Orders

9:40 p.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Madam Chair, on that, when the Canadian Electricity Association first suggested a capital stock turnover approach to tackling coal, it suggested a 40-year end of life. Environment Canada has given it 45 years in the Gazette, yet we have seen reported in several news outlets that some coal producers are seeking a further weakening to 50 years. Does the minister deny the reports of the 50-year end of life?