Lost his last election, in 2006, with 43% of the vote.
Kyoto Protocol December 6th, 2002
I understand, but just in closing, if we are trying to say that because of a different level of environmental regulations the exodus of companies from one jurisdiction to another will happen, then California should be an example because it has been this way for 20 years and California has seen wonderful growth.
Kyoto Protocol December 6th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, again I thank the hon. member for his question.
If what he has stated, that lesser degrees of environmental compliance or regulations are the basis for companies to move to some constituencies from others, California would be bankrupt. California is one of the most progressive environmental communities in the world, certainly in North America. We have seen California put forward a number of environmental issues and it was one state that said to the president that the developed countries should take the lead in combating climate change. Developed countries should also commit to voluntarily stabilizing their emissions--
Kyoto Protocol December 6th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, one aspect I would like to address immediately is U.S. support for Kyoto. In fact, the Attorneys General of 11 major states, including California, New York and Massachusetts, wrote to President Bush deploring his current policy as failing to mandate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. They stated:
To fill this regulatory void, states and others are being forced to rely on their available legal mechanisms...[which] will necessarily lessen regulatory certainty and increase the ultimate costs of addressing climate change, thereby making the purported goals of the Administration's current policy illusory.
I think there is widespread support for addressing climate change, but I think the process is what we should be focusing on. I feel that the goals, at 6% below 1990 levels, are very modest, and I understand that there have been issues around consultation.
What I would like to focus on now in going forward is setting a target and trying to achieve that target in consultation, with industry, provinces, municipal governments, provincial governments, NGOs and citizens' coalitions around the table, so that we can all work together to look at a solution that is implementable.
This has to be done on a regional basis to make sure that regional interests and concerns are addressed. Certainly in the case of Alberta, for example, which has a large oil and gas sector, we must take that into account in looking at job creation and opportunities for corporate growth in the oil sector.
I think that the issue here is not about the ratification, but more so about the implementation, in a consensus building fashion.
Kyoto Protocol December 6th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, various people have predicted 60,000 jobs, others 450,000, depending on whose estimates we look at.
Let me talk about the cost of inaction. Let us talk about quantifying those costs of inaction in terms of health costs and costs to various industries such as the insurance industry. Let us talk about the opportunities such as helping new industry evolve in Canada and becoming a centre for environmental technologies geared toward greenhouse gas emission reduction. Those opportunities have not been quantified. In fact, if we look at the cost, often the cost of inaction is not mentioned whatsoever.
There would definitely be health impacts by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are not only talking about CO
2
emissions. When we reduce emissions, we are reducing all emissions and CO
2
is certainly the target. However, we are looking at and dealing with NO and NO
2
, and SO and SO
2
in particular. They all have levels of chemical loading in our atmosphere that are serious. It is not only CO
2
emissions, there are many other types of noxious chemicals as well.
We can agree there is a problem. Most members would say greenhouse gas emissions and global warming are issues that must be dealt with. If members talk to their constituents they would also say that yes, we understand there are issues around global warming. Where should we go from here because we know there is a problem?
The intergovernmental panel consisted of 1,800 scientists. It talked about a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. We are talking about 6%, which is modest. The question is, where do we go from here? How do we implement this? How do we work with industry, governments, and various stakeholders to bring in an implementation plan that would be as user friendly and built on consensus as possible?
I had a round table in my riding specifically on Kyoto. Some of the recommendations that came from industry, government, and individual citizens were heartening to see. They came up with a number of recommendations and thoughts on this issue. One gentleman, for instance, said that he had solar panels installed in his summer cottage to heat his water, operate his lights and heat his home in general. He said the payback on that looked like it would be about six years. It is heartening for me to see people looking at those opportunities, coming up with their own solutions, and in fact working with renewable energy technologies like solar power.
There are other renewable energies that we could look at: geothermal technology, ethanol and biofuels. Coming from an agricultural riding I am happy to see that biofuels offer an opportunity. Farming is very difficult and farmers are going through rough times. We know they face international market conditions that are difficult. Farm profits are decreasing. We have seen problems with smaller farms as well. There is a reduction in the numbers of smaller farms.
Biofuels would offer farmers an alternative revenue source because they do have the input or the natural resource to put into a biofuel process. That is something that we can explore and that is good news for the agriculture sector.
Another example is wind energy. California has made great strides with wind energy. Prince Edward Island has 11 wind turbines that are working very well. They are feeding into the provincial grid system and doing a great job of it.
One other example that was mentioned at this round table was how hot water heaters are some of the least efficient appliances in our homes. Why is that so? It had not been significantly questioned before. Issues like this were brought forward by citizens who were concerned and I thought that was commendable.
Habitat protection for species at risk was mentioned. I had a hard time equating that with Kyoto. However, people said that we could look at our forests and reforestation to help rebuild habitats.
I would like to voice my support for Kyoto. We should look at creating an implementation plan where we look, on a regional basis, to come up with regional solutions involving the consultative process. We should bring all sectors, industry, municipalities, provincial governments, the energy sector, the resource sector, the citizens coalitions and non-governmental organizations around a table, to develop a regional approach that would address the regional issues and challenge this group to come up with solutions in conjunction with the federal government.
This cannot be a top down process. The implementation plan must be a “community up” process in my mind, where we build consensus among all the stakeholders around the table, bring them to Ottawa and hash out a plan.
Kyoto Protocol December 6th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise in the House on such an important issue to the future of Canadians. I will be sharing my time with the member for Ancaster--Dundas--Flamborough--Aldershot.
I would like to describe the issue as people across Canada see it and as I see it. About 90% of scientists agree that greenhouse gases contribute to global warming. There are about 10% who do not agree and have alternative theories. An intergovernmental panel of 1,800 scientists has recommended a 60% reduction in CO
2
emissions. We are looking at 6%. This is a serious problem.
Let us look at the evidence. The boreal forest out west is in recession. In the last five years Nova Scotia has had some serious storms. Manitoba had four or five serious floods in the nineties. There is also the unprecedented melting of polar ice caps.
This is a problem which we can try to ignore. There are some members who claim we should do nothing about greenhouse gas emissions because they say they are not a problem. The argument that greenhouse gas emissions do not contribute to global warming is absolutely false. Let us recognize at least among us here that this is an issue.
Some members look at this issue as a problem, and preach doom and gloom. I and many members of our government believe this is not a problem, but rather an opportunity for Canadians and for Canadian industry as well. Opposition members should get down off their soap boxes and stop preaching doom and gloom for the Canadian economy. Let us look at this as an opportunity and progress as opposed to doom and gloom.
In 1973 the head of Ford said that the company and the industry were forced to install catalytic converters in cars to reduce air pollution. This would cause Ford to shut down and reduce gross national production by $17 billion, increase unemployment to 800,000 and decrease tax receipts of $5 billion at all levels of government. This would result in some local governments becoming insolvent. Some years later that same leader in the American industry said his company was continuously faced with great opportunities, brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems. That amazing and accomplished leader of industry was Mr. Lee Iacocca. This was an example of how people who preached doom and gloom at the beginning, but through time and actuality realized it offered solutions and opportunity for industry, private citizens and governments.
It has been predicted that 60,000 jobs would be lost as a result of the Kyoto implementation.
Kyoto Protocol December 6th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for her very informative speech.
With regard to CO
2
emissions, a question was asked previously about how the contaminants that the member spoke of were not dealt with specifically because Kyoto is focused on CO
2
. I would like to remind the member of this point and ask her opinion. While we are making CO
2
emissions reductions, we are also making NO and NO
2
emissions reductions, we are making SO and SO
2
reductions and we are making particulate reductions, because we cannot isolate CO
2
and say we are only acting on CO
2
. When we talk about emissions we do not separate them out. They all come together in a package. What we see from a smokestack is not strictly CO
2
. It is all of these in combination, so we are actually dealing with that specific issue of the contaminants being put into our atmosphere. By reducing CO
2
emissions and emissions generally, we are reducing all of those noxious chemicals.
I would like to hear the member's comments on that.
The Queen's Jubilee November 7th, 2002
Madam Speaker, the year 2002 marks the 50th anniversary of the coronation of Her Majesty the Queen. It is an opportunity to reflect on the role she has played in the past 50 years, as well as an opportunity to look to the future of our nation.
As a way to commemorate the jubilee anniversary, the Golden Jubilee Medal was created to honour Canada's most extraordinary citizens. Twenty of these exceptional individuals are from my riding of Tobique—Mactaquac. These recipients have exemplified what makes Canada such an outstanding nation through their selfless giving of time and talent.
Today I am pleased to honour the following individuals from my riding: Rosie St-Onge, Roméo Lafrance, Noé Levesque, Morel Ouellette, Phillip Sharkey, Nina Briggs, Sister Evangeline Poirier, John Larsen, Teresa Madore, Michael Blanchard, Samuel Perkins, Eloise Craig, Roland Perry, Pauline Forrest, Hazen Craig, Dawn Lockwood, Harold Hatfield, Robert Simpson, Dr. Stephen Hart; and the 20th medal will be awarded posthumously to the late Dr. Joseph Cyr.
I once again congratulate all these deserving recipients.
Autism Awareness Month October 30th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, October is Autism Awareness Month. I would like to ask all Canadians to take special care this month to understand autism and its effects. Autism is a disease that strikes 1 in every 268 births today. This is up substantially from previous generations, where autism occurred in about 1 in every 10,000 births.
It is essential that we continue to learn about autism, both so that we can treat it effectively and understand the social ramifications. It is of great importance that not only families understand the disease but society as a whole. The Autism Society of Canada does a remarkable job of getting the message out, increasing awareness and knowledge through an extensive website.
It is time to applaud the Autism Society of Canada and those families who support these individuals daily. This allows people with autism to reach their full potential.
United Nations October 23rd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, October 24 marks the 57th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. This global institution has, for more than half a century, worked to save succeeding generations from war, reaffirm the faith in fundamental human rights, and promote social progress and quality of life.
The accomplishments of the UN since its inception are undeniable. We have seen great improvements in our handling of hostile situations. Human rights violations are taken far more seriously, and there is a growing standard of living throughout the world.
Communities throughout Canada and 188 UN member states around the world are celebrating United Nations Day. The UN is by no means a quick fix to the international problems we see today. It is however an essential instrument to deal with the various international issues we see develop daily. The UN serves an important purpose in the world today, and we should honour the work this institution has done.
I ask all members and people throughout Canada to honour this day and this fine institution which has and continues to make the world safer and more hospitable for all people.
New Denmark June 11th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the world's oldest Danish settlement outside of Denmark is the agricultural community of New Denmark within my riding, Tobique--Mactaquac.
On June 19 the people of New Denmark will celebrate Founders Day to commemorate the founding of their community in 1872. This year's Founders Day will mark the 130th anniversary of the arrival of New Denmark's first settlers.
I congratulate the people of New Denmark on preserving their proud heritage. Where else in Canada can one hear religious hymns sung in Danish on Sundays, sample typical Danish dishes at local restaurants, and see Canadian and Danish flags flying side by side at farms and homes throughout the community? New Denmark is a perfect example of the spirit of tradition tempered by a dedicated patriotism that has made our great country the rich cultural mosaic it is today.
I wish the people of New Denmark every success this June 19, and I hope the community will hold many more Founders Day celebrations for years to come.