I appreciate the chair's sense of urgency. We have moved more than five motions to get the thing done. The only Liberal comment was to move on. I was hoping for a bit more substance from them on this, but that's okay.
On the question Mr. Jean raised in terms of the stringency of Canada's target and that we have to drive, well, we were driving a lot more than anybody else before 1990. We were producing a lot of oil and gas. We were doing many of the things we're doing now. If you start to look at where the places have changed—and he knows very well where the places have changed—we are actually consuming less heat than we were.
So let's get off what I think is a fundamentally useless debate of trying to backcast in time, saying that this happened and this happened. We know Canada's record on this to this point.
I'm sure the chair would avoid our getting into any kind of budget debate. I also know that what the government has brought forward in terms of means and measures is simply not enough. I know the government is hoping to bring forward its own timelines and targets, which will be intensity-based and will lead to further emissions increases in this country—guaranteed.
We think it goes back to the importance and the need for something like this. It gives people a certainty. People need certainty. The other types of targets are not. To suggest this economic collapse—I mean, that's ridiculous. It doesn't bear repeating or comment.
The propositions the NDP made in its climate change budget that was released more than two and a half years ago talked about the economic impacts and the positive reconstruction of the Canadian economy around the environment.
Ultimately, Mr. Chairman—and this is my last comment—we are trying to find the line on the budget sheet of businesses in Canada for where pollution goes. Right now it doesn't go anywhere. At some point it has to be accounted for. If it's not, then that's just irresponsible government.