Mr. Speaker, I will clarify for the hon. member. The motion is for $256 million. This is for one-quarter of NRC's $256 million budget for grants and contributions. I appreciate that one of the members is specifically talking about $250,000.
This motion by the President of the Treasury Board is to approve the estimates for funding one-third of the grants and contributions for Natural Resources Canada. If the motion is not supported, the amount will be $64 million. The member may want to check his facts and ensure he has his numbers right. I appreciate that he wants to focus on one small part but by not supporting this motion he is voting against energy efficiency, renewable energy, wind energy, tidal power and science and technology projects that would clean up coal powered projects. By not supporting this motion the member would be voting against CO2 sequestration.
These are initiatives that will have the greatest impact on reducing greenhouse gases. These are initiatives that will have the greatest impact on reducing the pollutants that we put in the atmosphere. That is why we on this side of the House feel so passionate about these very important initiatives. They are initiatives that we will continue to support.
As I said earlier, my hon. colleague, the Minister of the Environment, introduced a bold new approach to force Canadian industries, the polluters, to meet tough regulations. These regulations will be achievable. They are realistic but they are tough. We will enforce them, unlike the previous government that has a record that speaks for itself.
I appreciate the one issue that the member is talking about. Yes, a few members in the House would like to cut $250,000 in funding to the Chrysotile Institute. We spend that money to promote the safe use of chrysotile. Our government supports this institute and we will continue to do so because we believe it is in this country's interests. We have led on this file and we will continue to do so.
There is far more at stake by voting against this motion. By voting against this motion, the member would be voting against every initiative that we will be working on this year for the environment. I challenge the member to read the motion and ask himself how he could vote against these initiatives. He does not get to pick and choose as to which piece we fund. He would be voting against the funding for initiatives that are good for the environment.
I would challenge the member to be careful in what he says. This motion is not about one $250,000 program. This motion is about the most important work that we are doing at Natural Resources Canada to reduce greenhouse gases and pollutants. We will continue to do that. This is an area in which our government is committed
There are three fundamental ways in which we can have the greatest impact on the environment. We know that the energy we use is largely responsible for greenhouse gases and pollutants. The first way to have an impact on the environment is energy efficiency. As I said, the largest untapped source of energy is the energy we waste.
The second most important part is the use of technology. We must invest in technology like we never have before. We can use technology to remove 80% to 90% of the pollutants from coal-fired electricity generation. That technology is available today and we need to continue to advance that technology.
We can also use CO2 sequestration to remove the greenhouse gases that have an impact on climate change. We can take those CO2 gases that we sequester and put them back in the ground.
Those are the types of programs that we are funding and supporting. We are forming partnerships with provincial governments and with industry. We are working with the universities and the research institutes across the country. We are all working on this challenge together and we are delivering results. We are having a very positive impact. We will continue to promote that.
I want to make it crystal clear to all members of the House that if they vote against this motion they will be voting against renewable energy, energy efficiency and investing in science and technology to help us develop technologies to reduce greenhouse gases and pollutants. This is something that is very important to the government and we will continue to support it.