Debates of Feb. 16th, 2005

The Environment

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I still hope that we will have a constructive opposition and that we will work, all Canadians together, in order to reach our Kyoto target and do our share for the planet. It is unfortunate that the opposition does not understand that part of the plan, not the main part but part of the plan, must be to use the trading mechanism of the Kyoto protocol.

[Bob Mills, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, today Kyoto comes into effect and this government has no plan.

When the current public works minister voted against Kyoto, this is what he said: “The job losses from Kyoto ratification will affect all regions of Canada”. Or how about this: “This is a government that could not organize a two car funeral, let alone implement a Kyoto agreement...”.

Will the minister tell Canadians exactly how many jobs will be sacrificed by living up to Kyoto?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder why the opposition thinks Canada will lose jobs. We are becoming one of the leaders for renewable sources of energy. We are becoming one of the leaders of all the sources that--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order, please. Once again hon. members, I recognize, are trying to assist the minister but I cannot hear a word the minister is saying. The minister has the floor.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, it is a mystery why the opposition does not understand that if Canada becomes a leader for renewable energy and a leader in having cleaner technology with better conservation of energy, we will be more competitive around the world.

[Bob Mills, Conservative, Red Deer, AB]

Mr. Speaker, obviously his cabinet colleague thinks he is wrong.

The latest revelation in the Liberal embarrassment called Kyoto is news that the environment minister is planning to send billions of dollars overseas for non-environmental purposes. While Canadians choke on smog, live near waste dumps and dump raw sewage into the ocean, the minister is using Kyoto money for foreign aid.

Why has the minister taken this long to admit that his hot air plan is simply to cover his boost in foreign aid?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, most of the plan will be in Canada. Part of it will be--

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order, please. I know it is Wednesday but we do have to be able to hear the questions and the answers. There is a great deal of unnecessary noise which makes it almost impossible to hear the minister and is resulting in a significant waste of time, so members will miss chances to ask questions and get answers today.

The Minister of the Environment has the floor.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the official opposition does not understand a word about climate change. The sole thing they understand is hot air that they are breathing all the time when someone tries to explain to them how it will work.

Let me tell the House that part of the plan will be to use the trading mechanism to export Canadian technology, to confirm new markets and to decrease greenhouse gas emissions around the world because in global warming the word we need to understand is global.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Kyoto protocol has come into effect but, regrettably, there is no cause for celebration in Canada. Instead of decreasing, Canada's greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 20% since 1990. The federal voluntary approach has proved to be a failure, and Ottawa still lacks any credible implementation plan to force the hand of the major emitters.

On this historic day, will the Prime Minister admit that his government still has nothing on the credit side of the greenhouse gas emission reduction balance sheet?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Bloc Québécois is well aware that not only has the government introduced and implemented a number of initiatives, but more will be forthcoming.

There is, however, one thing I find disappointing: the leader of the Bloc Québécois, who represents a Montreal riding, is not prepared to congratulate the City of Montreal, the Province of Quebec and Canada for hosting the most significant meeting held under the auspices of the United Nations on protecting the environment and managing the impact of climate change.

I do not understand. For once at least, he should be congratulating Montreal, Quebec and Canada.

[Gilles Duceppe, Bloc, Laurier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister does not understand, but this is not the first time he does not understand, nor will it be the last.

He is talking about Kyoto 2 ,when he has not even signed Kyoto 1. We know that this Prime Minister, the author of the 1993 red book, promised a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2005, yet the opposite has occurred. Emissions have increased by 20%.

Rather than playing at smoke and mirrors, he ought to be ashamed of turning up at a conference empty handed. I am pleased for Montreal, but it is distressing to see that he has no plan whatsoever. When is he going to present one?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, Canada has had a plan since 2002, a plan that will yield results. For example—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker]

Order. Once again, it is very hard to hear the minister over so much noise. It is vital, when the Chair recognizes an hon. member, for him or her to have the right to give an answer or ask a question.

The Hon. Minister of the Environment.

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Saint-Laurent—Cartierville, QC]

For example, Mr. Speaker, the green plan for municipalities is working very well, but it will not lower emissions immediately. It will be a few years before we see the effect.

One thing is certain, however: this plan needs beefing up. The Government of Canada will be announcing a consolidated plan in the near future. At that time, I will be only too pleased to discuss it with my colleagues, if they are willing to listen.

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as an example of inaction, we have the automotive industry. Did the government announce a reasonable plan? No. Its plan for the automotive industry is limited to a voluntary program. The government's approach is to not give any direction. This is pure improvisation. It is magical thinking.

Can the Minister of the Environment deny that his strategy for Kyoto is nothing less than magical thinking, and nothing else?

[R. John Efford, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the Bloc does not understand the policies that the government has in place when it comes to dealing with the auto industry and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

It is very clear that the auto industry has already honoured 14 previous voluntary agreements. It has already accomplished a 6% reduction in its emissions for the target of 2010, far ahead of its partners down in the United States. The voluntary agreement that we will be putting in place will accomplish the targets by 2010. Canadians will be very proud of that.

[Bernard Bigras, Bloc, Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, QC]

Mr. Speaker, since this morning, the Minister of the Environment has been trying hard to lull us with his fancy rhetoric and to have us understand that he is doing everything possible. Still, can he deny that he has no plan or strategy and that he is unable to speak his mind on Kyoto? While he calls himself a talented architect, is he not in reality nothing more than a busy beaver?

[Stéphane Dion, Liberal, Minister of the Environment]

Mr. Speaker, coming from a member from a province where many dams were built and greenhouse gas emissions reduced, that is not a bad comparison.

More seriously, the new plan will soon be released. I am sure it will galvanize Canadians and that, together, we will be able to achieve our objective by working together, ignoring the forces of separation.

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, if the Prime Minister goes to the NDP website he will see his own pollution counter. It was at 1.543 billion tonnes this morning. It goes up by 8 tonnes a second. Every tonne is the difference between where we are and where the Prime Minister promised we would be by this time. It is no wonder he did not want to get up yesterday to defend his record. I would not want to have to defend it either.

The fact remains that we need a plan. We need something that we can judge. After all these years of dithering, when are we going to get a plan?

[Paul Martin, Liberal, Prime Minister]

Mr. Speaker, not only has the government set out a very clear set of initiatives, one of which was cited by the minister and is a very successful plan working with the municipalities, but we have also said that in the budget to come a further series of initiatives will be set out.

What is important is the leadership that Canada is taking. This is a global problem and the most important global conference on the issue will take place in Montreal next fall under the leadership of Canada and its Minister of the Environment.

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, if the future of the planet depends on Canadian leadership, so far it is a doomed planet because nothing of any significance has come from the government. A conference is not a plan. I hope for the Prime Minister's sake that it is not a smog day in Montreal when the conference takes place. We will have hot air on top of smog and still no plan.

After all this dithering, when are we going to have a decent plan?