Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this.
I would just start by saying that emergency meetings are to be used in emergencies. While we are 100% in a climate emergency—and I think some of the members of this committee agree with me on that—calling this meeting does not fall into the category of that requirement, especially given that we have the environment commissioner appearing at this committee—agreed to by all members—on Wednesday of next week at our second meeting. To have an emergency meeting to discuss whether or not the environment commissioner is going to appear seems a little bit presumptuous, or at least a little bit premature, especially given that in less than one week we'll have an opportunity to discuss these with him.
I'd also just question the genuineness—if I can use that word, if it's a word—of some of the members to actually hear from the Minister of Environment and Climate Change when, instead of filibustering two of the previous three meetings, we could have had the minister here. He wanted to come to talk about Bill C-73, so I welcome the friendly amendment from MP Sauvé to add the Bill C-73 study.
I have an amendment to that, as well, because I would like, for the Bill C-73 study, to be a little bit more rigorous and to include, perhaps, multiple days to look at Bill C-73 specifically. I'd also say that, five times in the last two or three weeks, I've tried to pass a similar.... I'm sorry. I think I was confused.
I will be moving a motion to add Bill C-73, if Mr. Sauvé's amendment doesn't already include it. Again, despite opposition from the Conservatives and the NDP, I've been trying for weeks now to move a motion to look at Bill C-73 and have been blocked. It's disappointing, because I don't think that biodiversity is such a contentious or partisan issue. I think we all agree that we need to protect species that are endangered by the triple threat of pollution, climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
I also call into question.... I know that Mr. Deltell is sincere when he talks about his desire to lower emissions and fight climate change. He will repeatedly say that Canada is not on track. However, by many measurements, we are indeed on track, and we are only on track because of the over 100 measures undertaken by this government to reduce our emissions. Indeed, it is irrefutable that our emissions are now lower than they've been since 1997 and that they would have been 41% higher than they are today had we not undertaken these over 100 measures.
These over 100 measures have been voted against by Conservatives every step of the way for the last eight or nine years. When asked pointedly if they have alternative measures that they'd like to propose to lower emissions, to hold oil and gas to account, to electrify, to decarbonize and to reduce our impact on the environment, they use one word: “technology”. In some ambiguous way—