Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. I believe that in the French version, the motion reads as I said in my introduction, which is that we call for absolute targets to implement a carbon exchange.
My colleague’s question gives me an opportunity to explain briefly what we mean by “intensity targets”. We sometimes have the impression that the Conservative government, and especially government members from Quebec, do not understand the difference between intensity targets and absolute targets.
We could, perhaps, take a very concrete example that would help people create a mental image and understand the real definition of an intensity target and the impact that could have for Quebec.
For example, let us look at the petroleum industry. Let us suppose that they are required to make a 20% reduction for every barrel they produce. The companies will comply with their targets. However, if they increase their production by a significant number of barrels, at the end of the day, the intensity targets will have been achieved but the amount of greenhouse gas will have increased because growth and production have increased. That is an important distinction. Having established intensity targets does not mean that greenhouse gases will be reduced. On the contrary, greenhouse gases will increase if production increases.
The Bloc Québécois supports the setting of absolute targets. That will enable us to truly reduce greenhouse gases and establish a carbon exchange market. Moreover, in addition to reducing greenhouse gases, with a carbon exchange, we will be creating economic wealth. Our companies are calling for that.
The call for a carbon exchange is not a whim on the part of the Bloc. The economic community demands it. We are into an era of emissions credit trading, and we have the means at hand to create wealth for our own Canadian companies. Since all the major industries in Quebec and Canada agree on that, we wonder why the Conservative government insists on its intensity targets and rejects the idea of establishing a carbon exchange.
There is clear evidence everywhere in Canada that we have reached a crossroads and we must now choose this direction so that Canada can achieve its objectives in terms of greenhouse gas reduction, as set out in the Kyoto protocol.