Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about a particular issue that is at the forefront of many Canadians' concerns and that is the environment. I would like my colleague to clarify something.
We get criticized for the rise in greenhouse gas emissions under our watch by 27%. That is true. We could have done a better job. What is not known is that our economy grew by 47% over the same period of time as a result of wise management. This drove our unemployment levels to the lowest levels in more than 30 years. Yes, our greenhouse gas emissions did go up, but not nearly as much as the increase in our economy.
I wonder if my hon. colleague would elaborate on the fact that we implemented a number of programs under the previous prime minister, including a very large sum of money for alternative energies, and also the EnerGuide program, which was an outstanding program that enabled homes to be built better thereby dramatically reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.
I wonder if he could shed some light on the fact that those programs were implemented by us, but the Conservative government has taken those programs, watered them down, renamed them, and suddenly claimed to be green.