Mr. Speaker, I mean no offence, but hearing that my time has been cut short comes as bad news; however, I will try to make the best of a bad situation.
The one consolation I have after this bad news is the fact that, as the Quebec caucus chair, I have had the good fortune of visiting many regions of my province. Every time, I have noticed that the bond of trust between the people and the New Democratic Party is always strong when it comes to the environment. This is no doubt directly related to the fact that our leader, the member for Outremont, not all that long ago, was probably one of the best environment ministers that Quebec has ever had.
It therefore comes as no surprise that most of the environmental measures proposed in this Parliament are introduced by NDP members, like the bill introduced this afternoon by my colleague from Honoré-Mercier. The bill introduces legislative provisions to develop a national strategy. If there is one expression we have been hearing a lot over the past year, it is just that: “national strategy”. We hear it so much these days because Canada has never been more disorganized than it is now, ever since the Conservatives came to power. We are probably seen as the laggards or as a laughing stock, take your pick. Among the OECD countries, we are always pulling up the rear and rarely a model. This is definitely true when it comes to the environment, and especially regarding protection measures against heat islands or, what would be even better, measures to eliminate them.
What exactly do we mean when we talk about heat islands? As Camus said, “to call things by incorrect names is to add to the world’s misery”. I will take just a few moments for those who are watching and might not be familiar with the reality we are talking about to explain what we mean by heat island. It is an urban area where the average temperature is higher than that in nearby areas. It is a simple definition that makes it fairly easy to understand the concept. In rural areas, heat islands do not really exist.
Two factors contribute to the temperature rise: (1) urban density, in other words the number of inhabitants per square foot and the number of urban facilities; and (2) urbanism itself. I am drawing the attention of my colleagues to these two key factors to point out that it is human activity that essentially creates heat islands.
Montreal's public health branch released a devastating report on the adverse effects of these heat islands. During the dog days of summer, for example, the branch claims that the death rate is 20%, not 2% or 0.2%, higher than average among people living in heat islands. Of course, that is not all. As you can imagine, heat islands are quite often found in the poorer neighbourhoods of urban areas. These are people who often do not have access to air conditioning, or groups of people who are more sensitive to these climate conditions, such as people with a history of heart disease or seniors. There is a statistic there that needs to be taken into account, even though the numbers are not the only things that matter.
I am running out of time, so I will skip some very interesting statistics and talk about my own riding. These statistics will probably come up in the second hour. The population of Trois-Rivières is 134,000 to 135,000. It is neither a megacity nor a metropolis. There has been a significant amount of urban development, and the city must now deal with heat islands. It is tackling this issue head-on. My riding is not immune to this phenomenon. The temperature in heat islands can be 5 to 10 degrees higher than in the surrounding areas. A study conducted by the Conseil régional de l'environnement de la Mauricie identified the main heat islands in the region.
The city immediately planted about 100 trees in some of the larger heat islands, on boulevard des Récollets, between boulevard des Forges and boulevard Laviolette, and also in the area between the Salon de jeux and boulevard des Forges. These street names probably mean nothing to my colleagues, but the people watching know exactly what I am talking about.
We put down asphalt and say that it is a good thing, but I think those days are gone. Not only do we want projects to be green, but we want them to be sustainable and consist of more than just some grass. The City of Trois-Rivières plans to bring in bylaws so that it will be more difficult for developers to put wall-to-wall asphalt in their development plans.
Organizations in my riding such as Fondation Trois-Rivières pour un développement durable are educating young people about the importance of vegetation in urban areas. The ultimate goal of these initiatives is to urge the people of Trois-Rivières to incorporate sustainable development into their way of life.
Nevertheless, not everything can be done at the local level. I certainly commend the municipal council for all of the measures it is taking. However, Health Canada also has a responsibility to take a leadership role in improving public health for Canadians. Despite their efforts, community organizations and municipal and provincial authorities do not have the means necessary to effectively combat the spread of heat islands. That is why my colleague's bill is so important.
It will be especially difficult to address this issue since by 2051, at least one in four Canadians will be 65 or older, which increases the proportion of people exposed to this risk. It is therefore urgent to pass such a bill. There is work to be done once a bill is passed before heat islands can be eradicated.
This bill offers a way out of the suffocating atmosphere that has developed under the Conservatives. There are many ways to take action when it comes to the environment. It is extremely urgent that we study this bill in committee, since public health knows no political boundaries.