Mr. Speaker, our Arctic is considered to be one of the Earth's last pristine ecosystems. It is not, unfortunately.
Potent greenhouse gases, mercury and toxic chemicals are found there, and we can find the impacts of climate change prominently on display. In fact, last year an area of Arctic sea ice greater in size than the United States melted.
Moreover, 9 of the 10 warmest years in modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000. The extent and thickness of summer sea ice in the Arctic has shown a dramatic decline over the past 30 years, with the 6 lowest extents having all occurred in the last 6 years, and may be unprecedented in the last 1,450 years.
While scientists are enormously concerned that these changes represent a fundamental change, and very little is known about the consequences of drastic sea ice reductions, the Minister of the Environment was perturbed mainly about how navigation patterns might be affected. There seemed to be little appreciation that the loss of sea ice had the potential to further accelerate warming and to change climate patterns. In fact, during an exchange in question period, the minister proudly shot back that the government was 50% of the way to achieving its 2020 Copenhagen greenhouse gas reduction target.
The latter is a remarkable claim given the actual emission data, as well as the fact that as recently as the fall of 2011 the government was on track to reach only 25% of its very weak greenhouse gas reduction target. The government did not in fact manage to improve its performance by an astonishing 100% in just over six months, but rather used a higher start value, a projected value, rather than actual emissions, changed the accounting rules, took credit for the action taken by the provinces and territories, and removed any climate accountability measures.
Canadians living in the north face challenges in the coming years: biodiversity loss, climate change, environmental protection, ozone depletion, and the challenge of ensuring responsible and safe shipping. Neither the region nor the rest of us are prepared to manage these challenges effectively.
My question in question period for the Minister of Health, as she takes the helm of the Arctic Council, was simple, “will she allow the continued gutting of environmental protection, or finally stand up for responsible environmental stewardship?”
Unsurprisingly, the Minister of Health failed to respond, and instead the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment stood up and completely dodged my question, a tact on climate change, and used the woefully overused Conservative phrase “we're getting the job done”. The question is on what, the destruction of 50 years of environmental protection?
I ask again, what will the Conservative government do as head of the Arctic Council? Will it be a leader in the protection of Canada's north, or will it continue to gut environmental legislation and develop Canada's resources at all costs?