Mr. Speaker, upon reflection of this government's record on greenhouse gas reductions and the actions taken by the Minister of the Environment, in particular our reductions of 20% by 2020 and 60% to 70% by 2050, Canadians will see that this country has finally taken aggressive steps toward achieving reductions on greenhouse gases.
For 13 years under the Liberal government these reductions were not only nonexistent but actually plunged further down to a negative situation. Emissions actually went up by 35%.
Our government has done something about that, but we have also done more. CO2 is not considered to be a pollutant. It is a greenhouse gas but not considered a good one. This government has decided to reduce those things that make us sick and has identified over 220 negatives in the environment.
Canadians are applauding that and they will continue to applaud what our government is doing. They will see some concrete action, some direction.
We heard earlier this morning the NDP ranting and raving, and complaining about inaction. What they should really be talking about is a way of working collaboratively with the government to make sure that we reach these achievable goals.
One of the things that Canadians really need to know about all the bluster that we have been hearing from the NDP is that it will cost literally thousands of jobs. Yes, we have to do something about this, but it goes down a path that I do not think any reasonable Canadian wants to go down.
We heard during question period and during questions from the NDP in debate this morning about some of the serious threats we are under from the global economy vis-à-vis our manufacturing jobs and the actions that the finance minister has taken to stop that flow.
I fear that the action that the NDP is taking will have an even more negative effect not only on manufacturing jobs, jobs in the forestry sector, mining jobs and other sector jobs but on Canada's ability to be a world provider of energy. I refer specifically to things like nuclear energy, natural gas and petroleum that are actually helping to drive the economy.
On Saturday we had a town hall meeting in my riding and we discussed industry and jobs and manufacturing. ESCO is a company in my riding makes furnaces and items such as that. It ships a huge percentage of its products to the oil sands in Alberta and to Saskatchewan. I wonder about this preoccupation by the NDP members. How can those members tell companies like ESCO that it has to do away with its huge market that is providing jobs to people in my riding who have lost manufacturing jobs? I caution the NDP from going down that road.
In my previous intervention, I talked about some of the statements made by environment ministers in the previous government. That should send a signal to Canadians. No matter what official opposition members say about the environment, they should be ashamed of their track record. Once they come to that realization, they should then work with the government to make this better. I do not see that from them right now.