House of Commons Hansard #36 of the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was union.

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The EnvironmentAdjournment ProceedingsPrivate Members' Business

7:10 p.m.

NDP

François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC

Mr. Speaker, I would like to follow up on a question I asked in the House in November about climate change. I feel that the minister's response to my question was inadequate.

To begin, I would like to provide some background about what has happened in the fight against climate change since I was elected to the House of Commons.

In 2011, as we all know, a very important decision was made. The Government of Canada decided to pull out of the Kyoto protocol and, from that point on, it would try to meet the targets set out in the Copenhagen agreement.

Some people began to ask the Canadian government questions. For example, a report by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy in 2012 stated that Canada would not meet its target and that it would even have difficulty meeting 50% of its target by 2020. Consequently, the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy told the Conservatives in the current Canadian government that they needed to make far more significant changes and take more substantive measures if they wanted to meet their weak targets.

I should explain that the 2011 targets were rather significant. After 2011, the Conservatives adopted the Copenhagen agreement targets, which were quite low. They will not be enough to prevent the Earth's average temperature from increasing by 2°C, the threshold at which the changes will be irreversible and the human race will be in jeopardy.

What did the Conservative government do? It is simple. It decided to abolish the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy because it was useless. This was truly absurd, because it was the only round table that brought together the environment and the economy to move our country, Canada, toward a more sustainable economy. Unfortunately, the Conservatives did not think that was a good idea.

That same 2012 report by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy mentions that if we do not act, it will cost Canada $50 billion. It will cost Canadian taxpayers more to wait than to take immediate action and invest in fighting climate change and adapting to that change.

In October 2013, Environment Canada issued a report. Even Environment Canada issued a report to tell the Canadian government and the Minister of the Environment that they would not achieve their low Copenhagen agreement target. Even Conservative government officials are telling the government that it will not achieve its low target.

However, the Conservatives continue to say that everything is fine, that I should not worry, because there is no problem. On top of that, we are still waiting for the targets for the oil and gas industry, which were promised ages ago.

When will we get those targets? When will we also get real measures and more measures to achieve the Copenhagen agreement's low targets and do even better? Otherwise, it will be disastrous for our pocketbooks.

The EnvironmentAdjournment ProceedingsPrivate Members' Business

7:15 p.m.

Scarborough Centre Ontario

Conservative

Roxanne James ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, the government takes the challenges of climate change very seriously. For this reason, we are implementing a comprehensive climate change plan, both domestically and internationally. Our government is working constructively with the international community on a new international climate change agreement, as demonstrated by our participation at the 19th Conference of the Parties, held in Warsaw, Poland.

A new international climate change agreement must take a comprehensive approach to climate change by addressing both mitigation and adaptation. Most importantly, it must include a commitment to action by all the world's major emitters of greenhouse gases.

Domestically our government is implementing a sector-by-sector regulatory approach to reducing emissions that is working. We began implementing this plan by addressing two of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions in this country: the transportation and electricity sectors.

In the transportation sector, we worked with the United States to put in place harmonized emissions standards for new passenger automobiles and light trucks for up to 2016 model year vehicles and issued proposed regulations for later model years as well. With these regulations, it is projected that 2025 vehicles will produce 50% less in greenhouse gas emissions than 2008 vehicles.

We have taken the same approach to improving fuel efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, such as full-sized pickups, semi-trucks, garbage trucks, and even buses. As a result of these regulations, GHG emissions from 2018 model year heavy-duty vehicles will be reduced by up to 23%.

In the electricity sector, our government's coal-fired electricity regulations further strengthen Canada's position as a world leader in clean electricity production. We introduced a tough new regulatory performance standard for coal-fired electricity generation. With these regulations, Canada became the first major coal user to ban the construction of traditional coal-fired electricity generation units.

The fact is that no other government has done as much to reduce GHGs than this government. As I mentioned, our approach is generating results, and Canadians can be proud of them.

As a result of our actions, Canada's 2020 emissions are projected to be about 120 megatonnes lower than what they would have been under the Liberals. This is the equivalent of shutting down 37 coal-fired electricity generation plants.

Our government will continue to focus on a pragmatic approach to climate change that will reduce emissions while it continues to create jobs and encourages the growth of the Canadian economy. We will achieve all of this without imposing a $20-billion tax on Canadians, as proposed by the NDP.

The EnvironmentAdjournment ProceedingsPrivate Members' Business

7:20 p.m.

NDP

François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the response given by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

To come back to what she said, some European countries will meet the Kyoto targets. If she thinks that Canada is the best example in the world, she needs to have another look at the models around her. Some countries in Europe have nearly met the Kyoto targets and are still part of that protocol.

What is shameful is that Canada was the first signatory to the Kyoto protocol to pull out of it. That is really not something to be proud of. I would not stand up in this House and say that we are proud of what Canada has done when it comes to the fight against climate change.

I also mentioned that there were other reports. The round table report, the World Bank report and the Environment Canada report were not the only ones. Numerous reports revealed that Canada would not meet the low Copenhagen targets.

If the Conservatives are saying that they will continue to do nothing and will meet the Copenhagen targets, there are two possibilities: either they can do magic and will use it to meet their targets, or they have a secret plan to combat climate change. If that is the case, I would like to hear about this plan, and I think the Canadian public would as well, because the existing plan is not working.

The EnvironmentAdjournment ProceedingsPrivate Members' Business

7:20 p.m.

Conservative

Roxanne James Conservative Scarborough Centre, ON

Mr. Speaker, since 2006, our government has taken action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build a more sustainable environment through more than $10 billion in investments to support green infrastructure, energy efficiency, clean energy technologies, and the production of cleaner energy. We are seeing success, as greenhouse gas emissions have decreased while the economy continues to grow.

Canadians can also be proud of the fact that per capita emissions are at a historic low of 20.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per person, their lowest level since tracking began in 1990.

Canadians can count on this government. Our approach is working. There is something else Canadian's can count on. They can count on us to continue to oppose the NDP's $20-billion carbon tax.

The EnvironmentAdjournment ProceedingsPrivate Members' Business

7:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:23 p.m.)