Evidence of meeting #5 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was going.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Right, so then—

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

We could—and again I'm cutting into you and I apologize—do things in parallel. I want to be mindful that we did not discuss that yet. It doesn't have to be sequential. We can do some things in parallel because it's going to be a bit of an effort depending on which ones we pick.

We could get started on the Federal Sustainable Development Act, and the accountability, and getting some teeth in to the commissioner. At the same time we could start working on one of these other three buckets as we call forward witnesses and start to gather the data.

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

What other three buckets?

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

I'm hearing that we have three other ones. There are the two that are from Mr. Amos, and the other one is the clean tech.

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Just to get your assessment here, you have the sustainability piece going out first, and you imagine something around CEPA or...?

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

Or the federally protected areas.

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Or conservation.

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

I'm still not clear exactly where we're landing with that.

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Is some notion on clean tech the fourth one you threw in there?

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

Yes. That's what I'm hearing, but again correct me if I'm wrong.

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

We could keep talking about it until this proposed time you said to come to the resolution point. What I'm trying to do is cut to the chase.

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

Yes.

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

I am going to move my motion on climate change. I think it's incumbent upon me to do so. Committee members will go the way they wish.

If this is the general path that we're headed to then let's get to it. Let's just have it. Let's have the sequence that you've suggested as a proposal standing in front of the committee right now. I'll move my motion now, if that helps, and then we can get on with making our decisions.

I feel like we're sawing a bit of sawdust here.

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

Does everybody...?

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

Mark Gerretsen Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON

I want to speak to the motion.

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

Okay, hold on.

You're going to bring forward your motion. You will probably want to read it.

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Sure.

12:15 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

There was some discussion. You had made some changes and amendments, so—

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Yes, Mr. Fast had some helpful language like “given the economic context“. I think it was something to that effect.

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC

Consideration of the positive and negative economic impacts—

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Okay...“given consideration of the positive and negative economic impacts”.

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC

—of such measures.

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

Okay. I'll try to slip that in as ineloquently as I can.

I move:

That the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development undertake a study and call witnesses, including the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, to examine measures necessary for Canada to contribute its fair share to international efforts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels as committed by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, including a review of a) national and regional trends and projects; b) carbon pricing methodologies—

I think I'll put the amendment in here, “and (c) opportunities within the clean energy” or perhaps it will go in after (b), then. It would say, “(b) carbon-pricing methodologies, given the positive and negative impacts, and (c) opportunities within the clean energy and clean-technology sectors.”

Does that make sense, or would you rather it go at the end?

12:15 p.m.

Conservative

Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC

No, do it—

12:15 p.m.

NDP

Nathan Cullen NDP Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC

At the end?