I want to respond to Mr. Jean. He may have gotten involved in politics because of the environment, but with a different purpose I would say; he was more interested in standing up for the interests of the oil companies. I can appreciate his position; they are in his riding after all. The purpose I had in mind was really to protect the environment for generations to come.
When the environment minister says the Kyoto Protocol is going to cost Canadians $14 billion, he's missing some information. The environment minister, who is supposed to ensure that environmental protection measures are put in place, is making false statements. Government officials or anyone else will tell you that the exact cost is not known. His $14 billion was pulled out of a hat and has absolutely no basis. It is nothing more than a scare tactic. The cost of doing nothing, however, is much higher.
I agree wholeheartedly with my leader about the problems and the need to internalize the costs associated with the environment. At this stage in the game, we are doing the exact opposite. The Kyoto Protocol is one of the ways to determine the costs generated by greenhouse gas emissions. The government isn't even considering the negative impact of global warming on the economy. It is acting out of pure ideology. I just want to wrap up by saying how utterly irresponsible that is.