Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for Outremont for his question and assure him that contrary to what has been asserted, this government has a track record of leadership on the environment.
It is under this government that Canada will for the first time ever be regulating the big polluters to require them to reduce in absolute terms their greenhouse gases. We have a plan and a national goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. That is an absolute reduction of 20% in 12 years.
Our plan will also see us reduce emissions by 60% to 70% by 2050. It is not going to be easy to achieve those reductions. It will be difficult. This government is committed to reducing emissions and improving the environment for both present and future generations of Canadians.
Our goals in our national plan are further espoused by a number of key principles that were set out by the Prime Minister. Any long term post-2012 climate change agreement must include the major emitting countries like China, India and the United States. It must be fair and economically realistic without placing unfair burdens on any one country. It must be long term and flexible. It must have a balanced approach that preserves economic growth and protects the environment.
Set out clearly, we need all major emitters on board and that is absolutely essential to fight global warming.
It is this message which we brought to the most recent United Nations climate change meeting held in Bali, Indonesia last December. As the conference began, Canada and the United Nations worked cooperatively on three main goals.
First, the world must come together and agree to launch negotiations for a post-2012 agreement.
Second, there must be an agreement on what the building blocks should be for the framework.
Third, there must be an end date of the negotiations by 2009.
Canada was successful in achieving those goals. We are committed to the United Nations process. We are committed to a new international framework driven by science. We are committed to action in our turning the corner plan.
Our government is proud of the principled position we have taken on the environment. We are proud of what we have helped to achieve at the Bali meeting. We will continue to work with our international partners in the lead-up to the 2009 build-up of the international climate change framework built on good and sound principles.