Thank you, Chair.
Mr. McGuinty was quite right that it was a previous Liberal government that appointed the Commissioner of the Environment. I had a chance to review some of the summary reports that the commissioner did provide to Parliament on that. Back in 1998 she said:
the federal government is failing to meet its policy commitments.
In 1999 she said there's:
additional evidence of the gap between the federal government's intentions and its domestic actions.
In 2000 she said the government:
continues to have difficulty turning that commitment into action.
In 2001 she said:
The continued upward trend of Canada's emissions demonstrates that the government has not transformed its promises into results.
In 2002 she said the government's:
sustainable development deficit continues to grow
In 2003 she said:
My review found a gap between the commitments made and the results achieved.
Good intentions are not enough.
In 2004 she said: Why is progress so slow? I am left to conclude that the reasons are lack of leadership, lack of priority, and lack of will.
In 2005 she said: When it comes to protecting the environment bold announcements are often made and then often forgotten as soon as the confetti hits the ground.
Mr. Speaker, the current leader said:
I think our party has gotten into a mess on the environment
I guess the important question is, why couldn't Mr. Godfrey get his sustainable development legislation through under a previous Liberal government? Mr. Speaker, it's because we're a government of action and getting it done.
Thank you very much.