Mr. Speaker, since January 23, we have had a new government in Ottawa, a Conservative government, a government which has already demonstrated a different way of managing and conducting government business.
One need only look at what took place with the softwood lumber agreement, or with the budget, or even last week, in the red chamber, with the agreement on Quebec’s place within UNESCO.
In any case, we see that, in less than three months, the Conservative government has made some commitments that it is fulfilling pragmatically and realistically. This is what we have had here for three months, and it is what we call turning a new leaf. We have a government that fulfils the commitments it makes. That is what it is all about today. That is why I am not able to support the motion presented by the Bloc Québécois. This government wants to make commitments it can keep.
I would like to reassure my colleagues in the House, particularly Quebeckers. The members of the Conservative government are concerned about environmental issues. That is why we are unable to support this motion. It is easy to say that we are going to support it and say nice things and make fine promises, but for 13 years, that is all we have heard concerning the environment. We see the results today. Staggering figures prevent us from respecting our commitments; we have overruns which, according to one of the environmentalist groups, result in proportions beyond control.
I care about the environment. I had the good fortune of working in this area for many years, in wastewater treatment and in the processing of pig slurry. I am also a member of RÉSEAU environnement, the largest Canadian movement, the largest organization of environment professionals in the country, and I salute them. These are people from all over, especially Quebec, I must say, who work on the development of solutions and technologies to make us more competitive, so that we can seize the opportunity represented by climate change to contribute to our economic prosperity.
The reason why we cannot support this motion is that there is a plan, which we cannot support. You will understand why. You will understand why Quebeckers and Canadians deserve better. I have the quote here. The previous government's plan was actually written on the back of a paper napkin on the plane en route to Kyoto: “There was no long term planning. There was no real negotiation with the provinces or with industry sectors. In fact it was a last minute, hastily drafted agreement”.
Do you think that today in this House, I am going to endorse a motion that supports that plan and those initiatives? Canadians certainly deserve better than an agreement written on a scrap of paper when we are talking about our children's future. And that is exactly what we are talking about today.
As you know, this government promised an effective plan to address climate change. That plan will be introduced shortly. Of course, our friends will have to wait patiently for a few more days, but Canadians have been waiting for 13 years, so I think we can give this new government a bit more time to deliver a plan that will produce tangible results.
Let us talk about that other plan. Today people are telling us that we should support it. Let us even talk about the Kyoto protocol targets. I have an article from Équiterre, written late last year, that refers to that famous plan written on a napkin. The article, which was written after the famous Liberal plan was unveiled, asks whether the federal plan to implement the Kyoto protocol, announced in April 2005, will allow Canada to reach its targets.
While the environmental experts wish it success, a number of analysts in the environmental community doubt that this is possible.
My colleague from Alberta and I are not the ones saying that the targets are not realistic. It is environmental experts who are saying it, experts who recognize that the targets are difficult to achieve. To all intents and purposes, those targets are the ones we hope to be moving toward. That is exactly what this government wants to do. We hope to move in the direction of Kyoto and we hope to move toward it more broadly and more exhaustively, so that we can reach the targets for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. Canada contributes about 2% of global greenhouse gases. Some countries contribute more. Those countries have to be part of the solution.
For 13 years we were promised a lot of things. I would now like to talk about a party that did something for the environment. I would like to talk about a party that signed an agreement on acid rain. I would like to talk about a party that in 1987 signed the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances. I would like to talk about a party that in 1988 recognized the importance of the Brundtland report on future generations, Our Common Future. In 1988, the environment was not as popular a topic as it is today. I would like to talk about a party that created a priorities and planning committee to ensure that attention was given to environmental concerns in every department. I would like to talk about a party that the United Nations Program described as a model for the world, whose government was in Rio in 1992, whose government made the commitment to clean up the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. That party is the Conservative Party. It is that party that today, in this House, is saying that it is preparing a plan to combat climate change.
That party invites the members of this House to support it when the plan is presented. Canada deserves to have an effective plan to combat climate change.
