Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague who, in passing, does an excellent job as leader in the House of Commons.
The same thing can be said for the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, on which I serve. Experts put forward recommendations and, unfortunately, most of the time, they are not followed.
For weeks, for months, it has been recommended that we carry out a study on combatting climate change. Climate change is a top priority for all Canadians and for the people of Drummond, who raise the issue with me every day, yet the Conservatives flatly refuse to conduct a study on combatting climate change in the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.
The same thing occurred here regarding Bill C-52. Experts who know what they are talking about, who are well versed in what is really needed, proposed six reasonable recommendations, yet because of a deliberate, ideological, head-in-the-sand attitude, or plain arrogance, perhaps, as my colleague so astutely pointed out, the expert recommendations unfortunately fell on deaf ears.
We are going to vote in favour of the bill because it at long last addresses needs that have been evident for years, yet this is not enough. Once again, the Conservatives have missed a golden opportunity to do something positive.