Mr. Speaker, I must point out that an amendment will be ready for presentation before I finish speaking, in case the decision is along the lines of the recommendations of the government House leader.
Getting back to my speech, I had reached the environmental impacts of climate change.Climate change will have not only environmental impacts, but significant economic impacts as well, in future, particularly for the insurance industry. This major industry is in many ways bigger than the oil industry. We need only think of the costs surrounding the ice storm that hit Quebec so hard in 1998. Insurance claims totalled $1.75 billion, for $3 billion in damages. The economic impacts will, therefore, be considerable for industries such as the insurance industry.
There will also be major impacts on health. There is talk of the costs related to climate change being in the order of $500 million annually, This a pretty sizeable amount. When reference is made to the economic costs of climate change, I feel it is also important to consider all costs together. Costs will have to be borne by certain industries in Quebec and in Canada, and there will also be health costs relating to the failure to act to combat climate changes—