Mark Warawa

[The Environment, April 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I love the irony of a Liberal asking questions on the environment.

This is what David Suzuki said, “I certainly agree with the Conservatives that the Liberals just did not do the hard things that needed to be done to meet the target”.

There is another quote and it is one of my favourites. This is from a former Liberal minister. She said, “On the record, our record on delivering on any kind of greenhouse gas emission reduction on Kyoto was abysmal”. She also went on to say that it was the member for Wascana who was viciously opposed to Kyoto. No wonder they did not get it done.

[The Environment, April 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the only people who are laughing are people in the Liberal Party, the NDP and the Bloc who are opposing a plan that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. We will also reduce pollution levels by 50% over the next eight years. That is getting it done.

[The Environment, April 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the only fraud in the House was when the Liberals promised 13 years ago that they would do something about the environment and they did absolutely nothing. The fact is it was not nothing; they did worse than nothing. Emissions rose 35% above target. They owe the House an apology.

[The Environment, April 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the only people who are opposing this plan, which is a good realistic plan, are the radical environmentalists and the opposition.

I have a quote from the FCM president, who said:

We applaud the Minister for recognizing the important role municipal governments can play in the national fight against climate change.

The plan is real. It reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. That is huge. We will cut pollution levels by 50% in the next eight years. We are getting it done.

[The Environment, April 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that if the plan we introduced yesterday had been introduced in 1997, we would have met the Kyoto targets. I ask members to listen to this quote:

--my initial reaction is that this is a strong step in the right direction. The federal government seems to finally have its priorities straight on climate change....

Do you know who said that, Mr. Speaker? The leader of the Liberal Party in Alberta.

[The Environment, April 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, if the Liberals had taken action on the environment when they were in government, we would have met the Kyoto target, but the reality is that they did not get it done. We have heard that they did not even plan to get it done. They made a lot of promises but they did not get it done.

Our plan is realistic. We have heard that it is the toughest plan in the world. It is true. Yesterday was a historic day because the 20% reduction by 2020 is a tough target. It is a realistic target. It is a balanced target. We are getting it done.

[The Environment, April 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, well-known Liberal supporter, Mr. Buzz Hargrove, has also been quoted today. He says that he thinks the minister has taken a major step forward that will deal with some of the environmental concerns but will not throw tens of thousands of workers out of work.

The Liberal plan was to destroy the economy. All they know is how to mismanage.

We have a tough, realistic plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is balanced. Canadians support it. We are getting it done.

[The Environment, April 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, his own leader said, “I will be part of Kyoto, but I will say to the world I don't think I will make it”. It is that party that abandoned Kyoto. It is that party that created the environmental mess. It is that party's deputy leader who said, “We didn't get it done”.

Today in The Globe and Mail, Jeffrey Simpson said that this plan was better than anything the previous Liberal government advanced.

Our plan will be effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We are turning the corner and we are doing it.

[The Environment, April 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the fact is that it was the Liberals who abandoned Kyoto when we saw greenhouse emissions go 35% above the target. They owe this Parliament an apology.

During the committee, it was Dr. David Keith, from the University of Calgary, who told that member, “This is the kind of grandstanding that is the reason we're not having policy in Canada”.

They did not get it done. We are getting it done.

[The Environment, April 27th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the question because we finally have a government that is taking serious the importance of the environment.

For 13 years, we had a Liberal government where emissions continued to rise. The Liberals promised but obviously they were not concerned.

We now have a government that has made firm commitments: a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a 50% reduction in air pollutants. We are getting it done.