Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to reply today to the question asked by the honourable member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley on May 12.
The honourable member was concerned about the EnerGuide program and other programs implemented by the previous government to deal with climate change.
I would like to remind the honourable member that the Minister of Finance has committed $2 billion to the environment and energy efficiency in the budget tabled a few weeks ago. In that budget $380 million is allocated to the climate change program. It is a significant investment.
We believe that such an investment would be put to better use and give better results than the moneys spent by the previous government. Our government is committed to pursuing new avenues in the area of climate change policies. We want to establish a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a plan that will take into account the economic, social and environmental context of our country. We want to establish a plan to ensure that we have clean air, water, soil and energy for Canadians, and an effective and realistic approach to climate change issues for Canada. It is not enough to follow in the footsteps of the previous government, that is, to make an international commitment without adopting a plan to implement it and without determining the repercussions for Canada. We have seen the results of that approach.
Several years after the Liberal government brought in programs and spent hundreds of millions of dollars on climate change initiatives, we are still a long way from producing meaningful results and honouring our commitments.
The Liberals were aiming at a 6% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Today, Canada's emissions are 35% above that target. It is time to restructure our climate change programs. It is time for practical solutions.
The budget contains $380 million for climate change initiatives. This is the same amount the previous government allocated. But now we have to find the best way to use that money to have the greatest impact on climate change. Some existing programs can be tailored to our strategy. In other cases, though, we will have to see whether taxpayers' money can be better used to support the new strategy. All the climate change initiatives are being reviewed to ensure that they produce real results for Canada.
After examining the EnerGuide for houses retrofit incentive program, the government concluded that taxpayers' money could be better used and allocated to initiatives that will have a greater impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
As a result, the program ended at midnight on May 12, 2006. Homeowners who had an evaluation performed under the EnerGuide for houses program still qualify for a grant provided that they make the residential energy upgrades and meet all the program requirements by March 31, 2007.
The government is working on a new strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The various ministers responsible will announce specific initiatives in the weeks and months to come. The House will see the wisdom of investing in programs that will have a real impact on air and water quality and energy efficiency for Canadians.