Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with the member for Surrey Central.
It is a pleasure to rise today to address the issue of Kyoto. This issue is of great concern to Canadians. What concerns Canadians is the unknown. They have no idea what the plan will cost, no idea what costs will be put on them in the future, and no idea what the plan in fact is supposed to do.
The government says to trust it with the many unknowns of Kyoto and all will be fine. This is a government that has become, over the past 10 years, a government of distrust, and now it demands that the Canadian public place full trust in it with the Kyoto plan.
Ten years ago, the Liberals promised Canadians they would solve the problem of the GST. They promised they would solve the problem of ethics in government. They promised they would solve the declining morale in the military. Ten years later, we know that fraud in the goods and service tax is running rampant. Ten years of Liberals at the helm have set new standards in ethics far more ethically challenged than those of any government it preceded. Ten years of spending less and less on the military have left Canadian soldiers feeling vulnerable and discouraged. Now there is a $1 billion gun registry boondoggle. What next?
Broken promises have become a staple of the government. The Prime Minister is desperate for a lasting legacy. I suggest that the legacy of the Prime Minister will be based primarily on the promises he broke rather than the promises he attempted to keep.
Now we have the promise of Kyoto. The government has promised the provinces that they will not bear an unreasonable share of the burden. It has also promised Canadian businesses that they will remain competitive. However, the government states in its documentation that it is impossible to be precise in forecasting the estimated economic impact over 8 to 10 years. It obviously has no clue as to the effect.
Every day Canadians are learning more about Kyoto and every day Canadians are asking more and more questions. Clearly, Canadians are growing more concerned about the unknowns.
I want to address a few things that have been outlined in the Kyoto package sent to my office by government. One pamphlet is entitled “Challenge for Canadians”. This is what it states:
On average, each Canadian generates just over five tonnes of greenhouse gases per year by driving vehicles, heating and cooling homes, washing and drying clothes and using other appliances. By making choices that reduce our GHG emissions, we are doing our part to address climate change.
In its draft plan, the Government of Canada asks that every Canadian set the goal of cutting personal greenhouse gas emissions by one tonne. It states:
Together, we can reduce our GHG emissions, just from small actions that we take at home, at work, or on the road.
Perhaps we should talk a bit about the need to make choices. When members of Parliament walk from their Parliament Hill offices to the centre block each day, we walk past the limousines of cabinet. It does not matter whether it is 30° below or 30° above: Those limousines are sitting there running. In the cold winter months they are running so that when the minister is ready to go, the car is all nice and warm.