House of Commons Hansard #86 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was targets.

Topics

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1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry that the member did not have a chance to hear my speech. I articulated many different initiatives that our government brought into force and implemented across sectors. We talked about conservation, about technology, and about carbon sequestration, which we invested heavily in. I talked about a biofuel strategy, which we invested heavily in. I talked about coal-fired electricity and regulating that sector so that over time we would move away from coal to cleaner energy. I talked about regulating the light and heavy-duty vehicle sector so we could do our part to reduce the pollution emanating from the vehicles we drive in Canada.

We have a good story to tell as the former Conservative government in setting our country on the path to becoming environmentally sustainable. I would say to the member that rather than attacking and attacking, understand that it is incremental progress that we have made. We acknowledge that more needs to be done. Our party is supportive of many initiatives that are going to move Canada forward to a sustainable future.

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1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Alex Nuttall Conservative Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON

Mr. Speaker, winners and losers were just mentioned. Being a member of Parliament from Ontario, I have been under a government that has chosen winners and losers under the Green Energy Act. As a result of that Ontario act, a lot of the Liberals' friends are winners and all Ontarians are losers. There have been huge increases in hydro rates. It is somewhat ironic that the member, whose brother was premier at the time, asked the question. It is also ironic that the Prime Minister's principal secretary, who was the chief of staff at the time in Ontario, has been so integral in that process.

With the introduction of carbon taxes and a price on carbon, could you outline who we believe the losers will be going forward?

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1:05 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

I am sure the hon. member for Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte meant the hon. member for Abbotsford and not me, the Speaker, when he said “you”.

The hon. member for Abbotsford.

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1:05 p.m.

Conservative

Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC

Mr. Speaker, who are the losers? They are Canadian taxpayers, Canadian families, and Canadian small businesses who will bear the burden of this tax. That is what happens when there is a top-down approach to governing, by not collaborating with the provinces and territories, not understanding that each province and territory has it unique characteristics and unique challenges, as I outlined in my speech. Those are the losers and Ontario is a classic example. These are the mistakes we need to learn from. There were mistakes made in the European Union, which had a disastrous experience with cap and trade. Now we are seeing it with Ontario as well, which has been dramatically driving up taxes on Ontarians, Ontario families, and small businesses.

I also talked about co-operative federalism and mentioned that the premiers are meeting today with the environment minister. Guess what? This just came out. Apparently, the Yukon environment minister, Currie Dixon, says that when the Prime Minister announced the federal plan to impose a carbon tax on the provinces, the air was sucked out of the room at the Montreal meeting. Need I say more?

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1:10 p.m.

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Mr. Speaker, in tabling the motion, the government has presented us with a quandary. My constituents, in fact, the majority of Canadians, want Canada to take action on climate change. There was cheering when the Paris agreement was signed. Canadians were delighted when the Minister of Environment and Climate Change took Canada's commitment one step deeper and agreed to take action to limit temperature rises to only 1.5 degrees centigrade.

However, all in this place, including her own colleagues, are faced with this dilemma. Are we facing a repeat of 2002 when another Liberal government ratified Kyoto with no plan to deliver and then did nothing for 13 years? Absent a concrete action plan with measurable carbon reductions to achieve that target, is this just another photo op?

As the Minister of Environment stated in this place, last January, “It would be irresponsible to come up with a new target without actually having a plan to implement it, as the Conservatives did.” However, is this not exactly what she agreed to in Paris, deeper reductions?

The Department of the Environment has reported that even with collective action on the commitments made to date by the present government, the provinces, and the territories, Canada will fail to meet even the pathetic reduction target set by Harper.

The motion before us says that the House support the government's decision to ratify the Paris agreement, and second, support the Vancouver declaration, calling upon the federal government, the provinces, and the territories, to work together to develop a pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change.

What exactly has the government committed to deliver under the Paris agreement?

In Paris, last December, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change committed this country to take action to support global actions to deliver deep reductions in greenhouse gases. Canada committed to do our part to ensure that the world can hold the increase and global average temperature to well below 2 degrees centigrade, above industrial levels, and pursue efforts to a lesser increase of 1.5 degrees.

Less than a year later, the same government is asking members in this place to embrace its decision to backtrack on its promised greenhouse gas reductions. While the Paris agreement allows the parties to adjust their nationally determined commitments, the undertaking is to move to reduce more, not less, greenhouse gases. Paris calls upon parties to expedite action as rapidly as possible, reflecting the highest possible ambition.

Canadians are aghast that the Liberals are seeking support for the decision to ratify the agreement, while simultaneous backtracking on their commitments here at home. The present government is now adopting the same Harper reduction targets that the Liberals called inadequate, the weakest, and catastrophic. Today, it has asked us to vote to adopt them. This we cannot and will not do.

Our glaciers are melting. Arctic ice is receding at an unprecedented rate. I learned last evening that the major glacier in Gwaii Haanas National Park has receded so far, it is now only feeding one of two rivers. Communities are experiencing catastrophic fires and flooding, with experts advising they will only worsen as the climate changes.

Second, the motion before us calls upon members to agree that Canada has shown sufficient evidence of an action plan to be made binding to our share of reductions by submitting to the Vancouver declaration.

Yes, Paris also commits Canada to recognize the importance of engagements of all levels of government and other actors in addressing climate change. The present government has engaged the provinces and territories in a dialogue and an aspirational agreement for action. However, the Vancouver declaration is just an aspirational document, not an actual strategy for action. It offers no concrete plan with concrete actions to achieve measurable reduction targets. It simply says the signatories will “work together to develop”.

The Paris agreement requires that Canada, in ratifying, provide clear, accurate, and transparent information on how exactly it will deliver the reductions. As the Climate Action Network has said, “Show us the tonnes”.

We have yet to have presented to us the action plan showing the quantity of emissions that will be reduced under provincial, territorial, and federal initiatives, and by what date. Surely, we are not setting about ratifying another international agreement without a clear, credible action plan, and the legal measures to measure how exactly Canada can and will deliver its commitments. We witnessed that with Kyoto. Surely this time around Canada will not move to ratify the Paris agreement until first finalizing and submitting a credible plan with legislative measures and a timeline to achieve compliance.

Today the announced targets appear encouraging but where is the implementing instrument? The starting point of $10 a tonne is far below that imposed even by the provinces. What concrete measures if any are actually offered by the Vancouver declaration? The declaration states:

First Ministers commit to:

Implement GHG mitigation policies in support of meeting or exceeding Canada's 2030 target of a 30% reduction below 2005 levels of emissions, including specific provincial and territorial targets and objectives....

Again, as noted, this target backtracks on Liberal promises of deeper reductions.

The Vancouver declaration provides no actual reduction targets nor does it specify the measures that would be taken to achieve those targets. The declaration states that it provides merely a vision and principles. It does not document how any of the commitments would deliver specified reductions. As the Climate Action Network has called once again, “Show us the tonnes”.

The provinces, territories, and federal government admit they need to act to address the climate risks facing our populations, infrastructures, economies, and ecosystems, particularly in Canada's northern regions. They all agree our country needs investment in climate-resilient and green infrastructure, including disaster mitigation, but to date, the provinces and territories have merely agreed to develop a strategy. Where are the working group reports? What concrete progress has been made? As far as we are made aware, there is no agreed strategy, most certainly no comprehensive reduction commitments. Where is the accountability?

We still await the federal law that would impose national reduction targets either on emitting sectors or the provinces and territories with potential for equivalency. Some provinces have stepped forward with concrete measures and target dates and in some instances the intent to impose caps on specified sectors. To its credit, Alberta has committed to accelerating the phase-out of coal-fired power and is imposing a cap on greenhouse gases from the oil sands. Is this enough?

The commitment under the Vancouver declaration is to increase the level of ambition of environmental policies over time in order to drive greater greenhouse gas emissions reductions consistent with the Paris agreement. However, the Liberal government is already backtracking to a low bar starting point. The Vancouver declaration also provides no clear timeline for improvement, by how much or by taking what specific actions.

Under the Vancouver agreement, the jurisdictions promise to promote clean economic growth to create jobs. They assert this will be achieved by a transition to a climate-resilient and low-carbon economy but only by 2050. In the meantime, Canada will continue to support their agreed Canadian energy strategy for sustainable energy and resource sector economy as Canada transitions to a low-carbon economy.

The measure of commitment to an energy transition is zero emission target dates and zero commitment of dollars to renewable energy, jobs, and training. We see some evidence of that commitment at the provincial levels by way of an example of the Northwest Territories, which is adopting a renewable energy strategy. Alberta has at long last committed to joining others and establishing an energy efficiency program.

The Vancouver declaration promises the development of an integrated economy-wide approach that includes all sectors, creates jobs, and promotes innovation to be determined at a later date. The same goes for investments in clean technology solutions, especially in areas such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and cleaner energy production. Few solid commitments are yet stated on achieving reductions.

While the federal government and the provinces promised to make deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, to foster and encourage clean technology, and to implement measures grounded in the idea that clean growth and climate change are of net economic development, we still await the concrete measures.

On the central issue of imposing a price on carbon, we are advised there is no consensus. It is equally important to recognize that the Vancouver declaration specifically references the Canadian energy strategy, a strategy developed through a process excluding the public. It is a strategy that in large part endorses co-operation and continuance of the carbon-intensive energy sectors.

What concrete actions has the federal government taken to reduce greenhouse gases? The federal government committed under the Vancouver declaration to take specific and early actions, including investments in green infrastructure, public transit infrastructure, and energy-efficient social infrastructure. However, the government has yet to release any detailed plan for green infrastructure, including what portion of infrastructure dollars would be dedicated to greening.

During the election campaign, the Liberals promised to tackle climate change and invest in the green economy. However, even their first budget came up far short. After promising over $3 billion for public transit and over $3 billion for green infrastructure in the first two years of their platform, budget 2016 was short by over $800 million for transit and green infrastructure. The budget failed to deliver on their promise to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies, which continue to give hundreds of millions of dollars to polluting industries.

Much of the funding announced in 2016 is just repurposed money, with only $100 million in new money out of the $300 million promised for a clean growth economy this year. The investment in Sustainable Development Technology Canada is just $50 million over four years, far less than previous investments in this entity of $40 million each year. Is this enough action to deliver rapid change? The Canadian investment in clean tech has fallen by 41% over the last decade, while global investments in this sector grew exponentially, surpassing investments in fossil fuels.

We have a lot of catching up to do if we hope to provide economic opportunities for our youth. The Liberals promised to advance the electrification of vehicle transportation, foster regional plans for clean electricity transmission, and invest in clean energy solutions for indigenous, remote, and northern communities, yet their budget commits to levels that will not deliver expedited action on any of these. At least their commitment to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas production substantially by 2025 is good news, as it finally plays catch-up with Alberta.

Canadians had hoped for better. Of concern, the thrust of the Liberal action plan to date has, in the majority, been to download the federal duty to reduce greenhouse gases to the provinces and territories, not to mention the municipalities. When asked what actions her government is taking, the minister now repeats the same refrain, that she is consulting the provinces on a plan.

We are expected to agree to ratification without the courtesy of even seeing the working group reports, which I understand may be coming forward today, including, for example, the report on carbon pricing mechanisms. It is important to recognize that the burning of fossil fuels delivers impacts beyond climate change. They emit significant sources of pollutants, causing well-documented impacts to our health and the environment. The Government of Alberta strategy recognizes this aspect in announcing the accelerated phase-out of coal power. Many others are calling for the federal government to follow suit and amend its regulations. It is high time the federal government finally replace its absurd Canada-wide standard on industrial mercury with a binding regulation. Also, when can we expect federal action on harmful particulates?

It is also important that we pursue energy generation alternatives that reduce environmental impacts or impacts to treaty or constitutional rights. The over 190 conditions to the approval of the Petronas LNG plant and the associated pipeline of fracked gas indicates additional significant, and in some instances, unmitigable impacts to the environment and indigenous rights and interests. Government and independent scientists have documented significant environmental impacts from oil sands operations, including localized and long-range pollutant loading. Indigenous communities near the oil sands operations still await a health impact study and have called for action.

What would an ambitious strategy actually look like?

Both the Paris and Vancouver agreements commit the government to a just transition to a clean energy economy. The federal government must contribute more generously to programs already in place, including building Canadian expertise and offering hands-on training in the renewable and energy efficiency sectors. In my province alone, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, and the Lethbridge College, all provide these programs, and they are oversubscribed.

As the Pembina Institute has said, Canada needs to be at the front of the race for a new global, clean, sustainable economy.

First and foremost, the government must expedite the promised removal of the perverse fossil fuel subsidies. Some have called for a 2050 target of zero-emitting electricity. This could readily be enabled by federal investment into a grid that better serves renewable power sources, including localized generation sources. While support for cleaner energy research must continue, with particular emphasis on energy storage, I encourage much greater support and attention to increasing the actual deployment of renewable power.

By finally imposing a price on carbon and a steadily rising price, the federal government will provide an important driver for both investments in renewable technology and cleaner technology, but also hopefully for installation.

A report by a parliamentary committee a few years back documented the potential for substantial savings if the government committed greater funds now to retrofit federal facilities, saving in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars. Canada could also mirror U.S. federal directives prescribing efficiencies in energy and water use and purchase of renewable power.

It is long past time the government revised the National Building Code and the National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings. The federal government should also contribute more generously to provincial and municipal energy retrofit programs. Some have called on the federal government to assert its powers to take concrete measures to expedite greenhouse gas reduction in transportation by prescribing targets for Canadian manufacturers of electric vehicles and zero-emission vehicles. People have also called for increasingly stringent low-carbon fuel standards for all transportation fuels.

Where is the promise in the Vancouver declaration for public engagement? What Canadians want more than vacuous consultations is measures to actually help them lower their heating bills or to install solar panels. They want their governments to switch to cleaner energy sources that do not impact their health, their environment, their farming operations, or their treaty rights.

Finally, Canadians want the right to share their voices for a cleaner energy future. Let us expedite the reform of federal law, policy, and practice on environmental protection, assessment, and project review to actually enable that voice. Therefore, I wish to move the following subamendment.

I move, seconded by the member for Trois-Rivières:

That the amendment be amended by:

a) replacing the words “, the provinces, and the territories” with the words “to work with provincial, territorial, municipal and indigenous governments and the Canadian public”; and

b) deleting all the words after the words “combat climate change” and substituting the following: “that commits to targets that deliver on Canada's undertakings from the Paris Agreement, and finalizes the specific measures and investments to achieve those greenhouse gas reductions prior to ratification.”

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1:25 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

The subamendment seems to be in order.

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1:30 p.m.

Liberal

David Graham Liberal Laurentides—Labelle, QC

Mr. Speaker, I have a quick question for my colleague. It was a good speech with a lot of interesting ideas, and I was quite happy to hear it.

We all heard last week that the earth has passed the level of 400 parts per million in carbon. That was in the news quite widely. I was wondering if the member could speak to the importance of ensuring that all provinces are participants in the process of getting anywhere on this file.

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1:30 p.m.

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Mr. Speaker, I am a little puzzled by the question because our amendment is very clear: that the provinces, territories, and indigenous governments and the public should be directly engaged in coming forward with specific measures whereby this country will take action to reduce greenhouse gases in the country.

We have been deeply concerned. We have had a process in Canada whereby provinces, territories, and the federal government have signed on to an energy strategy in which the public has had absolutely no voice. It is absolutely critical that, as we move forward, the public be directly engaged in all decisions. Frankly, that is required under both the Paris agreement and the Vancouver declaration.

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1:30 p.m.

Conservative

Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB

Mr. Speaker, I have a question in regard to global emissions and the impact of them globally and what Canada can do. Certainly we want to do our part, and that is why we agree that these targets are important. We agree that we need to work together. We have different ideas on how to achieve those targets, but what has not been talked about is the fact that, even if Canada does meet every one of these targets, we account for 1.6% of all global GHGs. However, other countries that are major emitters, such as China and the United States, have the ability to reduce their GHGs—China specifically—if they replace some of their coal fired production with, for example, Canadian LNG.

Is there room in this discussion and in this plan to account for the impact that Canada can have globally, because I think after all, that is our goal? We want to have a global effect, not just a domestic effect. We want to do our part domestically, but our aspirational goal is to protect our entire earth, so should we not have a goal and have some measurement for what Canada can do to affect global emissions, not just at home, but more important, abroad?

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1:30 p.m.

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for raising some good points.

As she will have noticed, both the United States and China have stepped forward well before Canada to state that they will take substantial measures to reduce greenhouse gases.

Second, there is absolutely nothing that Canada can do to assure that, even if we do export our gas to China, it will use that gas to replace coal fires. What I am aware of is that China has made monumental investments, and has committed to additional monumental investments, in deploying renewable energy instead of coal fired.

What would be really nice is if her government had expedited, and if the Liberal government would expedite, the accelerated phase-out of coal fired power in this country. I think that would set a far better example than simply asking why China is not doing enough.

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1:30 p.m.

NDP

Robert Aubin NDP Trois-Rivières, QC

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech and especially for her proposed amendment. I must admit that before entering politics, I had a moment of pride as a teacher when Canada signed the Kyoto protocol. I say a moment because I later realized that it was all talk and no action. I soon became disenchanted.

Does my colleague think that this is Kyoto, take two?

Indeed, the motion before us is so vague, nebulous, and non-committal that it will make us look good internationally, but will do nothing to solve the problem.

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1:30 p.m.

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Trois-Rivières for the question and for his hard work on addressing climate change and protection of the environment, and representing his community.

We have put forward this amendment for the specific reason that we witnessed what happened when the previous Liberal government ratified Kyoto. Absolutely nothing happened. That ratification would still sit here if the previous Conservative government had not shredded that signature.

We do not want a repeat. Regrettably, in the motion the Liberals state that we should stand in this place and vote for them to ratify the Paris agreement based on the Vancouver declaration, but the Vancouver declaration is a rather vacuous statement that we agree to work together toward some kind of action on climate change in the future.

What the Paris agreement compels us to do when we move forward to seek to ratify is to table with the UN the specific targets and the specific measures that will be put in place to reduce specified amounts of greenhouse gases.

We do not have that here. We do not have that in the Vancouver declaration. We have the beginnings of a gleam of hope from the other side of the kind of measures it is thinking of proceeding with, but we do not really have any solid, concrete instruments yet, or what those measurable targets will be.

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1:35 p.m.

Green

Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC

Mr. Speaker, I commend my friend from Edmonton Strathcona for her dedication in working on the climate for many years.

I do need to correct the record somewhat. It is always awkward for me as leader of the Green Party to insist on historical accuracy, because it will inevitably look as if I am defending a Liberal record. I just believe in telling the truth about things. There was a very good climate plan put in place in the spring of 2005. It would have taken us very close to the Kyoto targets.

Unfortunately, the new government of the day in the spring of 2006 cancelled that plan without any debate in the Parliament, and then also sent the current leader of the official opposition to Bonn in the spring of 2006 as our environment minister to announce that we no longer felt compelled to meet legally binding targets under Kyoto.

It is a very bad record for Canada as a whole, but it is important that we know that targets do work when we adhere to them. We had targets for acid rain. We used targets for ozone. I completely agree with my friend from Edmonton Strathcona that to adopt the Harper target now as our legally binding nationally determined contribution into the UN system is to condemn the Paris agreement to failure before we even get started.

I ask the member if she agrees with me that it would be wise in the ratification document to include language to say that Canada reserves the right, in very short order, to bring forward a more ambitious racheted-up target?

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1:35 p.m.

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Mr. Speaker, I cannot accept the hon. member's clarification.

What I stated was that, when the previous Liberal government ratified, it did not have in place any kind of specific plan with concrete measures and the targets they would meet. As the member mentioned, several years later, it came forward with the beginning of a plan. The previous Liberal government was in power, as I understand it, for 13 years. Then it was ousted for different reasons.

We do not want to repeat that. I do not think the hon. member wants to repeat that. We want to go forward to ratification with specific measures that the government is committed to and that it has worked out with not just the provinces and territories but also indigenous governments, and has conferred with the public.

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1:35 p.m.

Winnipeg North Manitoba

Liberal

Kevin Lamoureux LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons

Mr. Speaker, we need to recognize exactly what we have here today, what we are debating.

We have seen recognition, whether it is from young people or political leadership, which incorporates provincial entities, territorial entities, indigenous entities, and world leaders. All of them have recognized that the time has come for us to take some tangible action.

I do believe, as the government has set a very progressive agenda for dealing with the issue of climate change, that we have an opportunity here, through a vote on this particular motion brought forward by the Prime Minister, to send what I believe is a powerful, positive message that not only is Canada in touch with and listening to what Canadians are saying but that we are prepared to act.

My question to the member is very specific. I will not get into Kyoto and what took place there. The member will recall what her party ultimately caused and precipitated as result of Kyoto. Would the member not at least acknowledge that this is a positive step forward, and something that is worthwhile for all members of this House to vote on, showing that they are actually listening to what Canadians want?

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1:40 p.m.

NDP

Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that the question put to me has even less certainty than the motion that is before us, which is precisely our problem.

We hope that the government moves expeditiously to ratify the Paris agreement, but in order to do that, as per the Paris agreement, it must come forward with specific measures and targets of how it is going to meet those commitments. Let us hope that it does that in a way that confers with others.

I just have to add that the absurdity continues, that my party is being blamed, unfairly, for the fall of the Liberal government. I do not stand by that.

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1:40 p.m.

Bloc

Luc Thériault Bloc Montcalm, QC

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order following discussions with the leader of the Green Party and the other leaders.

I believe that, if you were to seek it, you would find consent to allow the leader of the Bloc Québécois, the member for Rivière-du-Nord, to be the first person to speak when the debate resumes following question period.

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1:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Assistant Deputy Speaker Liberal Anthony Rota

Does the hon. member have the unanimous consent of the House to move the motion?

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1:40 p.m.

Some hon. members

Agreed.

No.

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1:40 p.m.

Liberal

Mike Bossio Liberal Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to be sharing my time with the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands.

As we know, rapid global climate change is occurring, which will have far-reaching impacts on society, biodiversity, and ecosystems. We have only to look at my own riding of Hastings—Lennox and Addington, which stretches from Lake Ontario to Algonquin Provincial Park. This summer, for the first time ever, a level 3 low water condition was declared by the Quinte Conservation and the low water response team. This is the most severe low water level.

In parts of my region, we have experienced the driest summer since 1888. The rivers are so low, conservationists had to go out with nets this summer to rescue fish trapped in tiny ponds caused by the historic low water levels.

The effects of climate change in my community are real. I cannot tell members how many times I have witnessed farmers pulling tanks of water multiple times a day in order to get enough to take care of their livestock. Wells have dried out earlier than anyone can remember.

This year, those conversations about the weather that take place in coffee shops everywhere across my community have taken on a sadder, more ominous tone. People are worried. These are people who know the land well. They take pride in being the caretaker of their farms to protect them for the next generation.

I have also met with countless people from a wide cross section of businesses, and they have told me of the efforts they are taking to adapt to and tackle climate change. Farmers, businesses, community organizations, and ordinary Canadians are all showing real leadership in combatting climate change. Our government should do the same.

Increasingly, protected areas are being recognized for the important role they play in adapting to and mitigating climate change. There are many ways in which they will form a part of our natural solution to climate change, through the actions of our municipal, provincial, territorial, and federal departments, agencies, indigenous people, also private landowners and not-for-profits.

Canada has a long tradition of establishing and managing protected areas. Whether in the form of national and provincial parks, national wildlife areas, migratory bird sanctuaries, marine protected areas, ecological, or nature reserves, protected areas in Canada safeguard important ecosystems and habitat, maintain the essential ecosystems services, and provide opportunities for personal connections with nature. Protected areas strengthen both our ecological and social resilience to climate change.

Like so many Canadians, I grew up inspired by the wilderness that surrounded us. I have many fond memories of hiking around the forests in Madoc where I grew up and taking my kids to Bon Echo Provincial Park in the north part of my riding near Cloyne.

Those who have visited Bon Echo might have seen the pictograph markings on the spectacular cliff base. There are places like this through time and across culture which draw us in and show us that there is much to learn from our natural environment. It is fitting that these very old indigenous pictographs in Bon Echo show us how Nanabush, the trickster figure, was sent by the Gitche Manitou to teach the Ojibwe people, and who named the plants and animals around us.

We still have a lot to learn. I know I do. The more I speak to indigenous people both in my riding and in my work as an MP, the more I know for certain that there is much we can learn from them about protecting our lands and waters.

Water is sacred, and it gives life. In protecting our watersheds, we protect the life that springs up around them. Yet up to 70% of historic wetlands have been filled in or drained in settled parts of Canada, particularly in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region. This contributes to some of the terrible flooding we have seen along places like Moira River, Thurlow, and Tweed, where a short few years ago, historic spring flooding forced the community to come together to fight against the rising water. The community did come together, because that is what neighbours do, but these types of events have a very large economic cost to them.

By protecting our wetlands and allowing them to do their job of natural flood mitigation, water purification, and provision of wildlife habitat, we not only live in better harmony with our environment but we also save money, too. We ensure that people continue to benefit from the services that are supported by healthy and diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Protected areas also support the capture and storage of carbon in terrestrial and marine vegetation, soils, and peat. Conserving and protecting natural areas help to maintain their ability to sequester carbon and avoid greenhouse gas emissions that come from disturbance.

It has been estimated that 15% of the world's terrestrial carbon stock, 312 gigatonnes, are stored in protected areas around the world. In Canada, over 4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is sequestered in 39 of our national parks.

We know that climate change will also the risk of extinction for many species. Projected temperature increases may exceed the biological tolerances of many species and ecosystems in Canada. A large, connected, and diverse network of protected areas can help wildlife adapt to a rapidly changing climate by ensuring that the loss of suitable habitat is offset by access to other similar habitat. It will ensure that areas of refuge from climate change impacts are identified and protected for species to migrate to.

The preamble of the Paris agreement notes the importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including oceans, and the protection of biodiversity when taking action to address climate change. Article 5.1 of the same agreement requires parties to take action to conserve and enhance sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases.

Last year, Canada adopted the 2020 biodiversity goals and targets for Canada, which described results to be achieved through collective efforts of public and private players. Canada's targets are aligned with the global targets in 2010 under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which includes a commitment to conserve by 2020 at least 17% of terrestrial areas and inland water and 10% of coastal and marine areas through networks of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures.

This target presents a powerful and timely opportunity for Canada to make progress and demonstrate leadership on climate change and biodiversity conservation. At the end of 2015, only 10.6% of Canada's terrestrial area and 0.90% of its marine territory were recognized as protected so far.

Parks Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada are working with provinces and territories to develop a pathway to achieving the land-based target. On World Oceans Day in 2016, the Government of Canada announced a five-point plan to meet marine targets, to increase marine and coastal protection to 5% by 2017 and 10% by 2020. This plan includes establishing areas already under development, including five proposed marine protected areas under the Oceans Act.

Also being explored are possibilities to establish new Oceans Act marine protected areas in pristine offshore areas and in areas under pressure from human activities and to identify existing and establish new other effective area-based conservation measures, such as fisheries closures to protect sensitive coral and sponge concentrations. Budget 2016 allocated $81.3 million over five years to Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Natural Resources Canada to support this effort.

Budget 2016 also proposed more than $42 million dollars over five years for Parks Canada to continue the work to create the Thaidene Nene national park reserve in the Northwest Territories and a new national marine conservation area in Nunavut's Lancaster Sound.

To sum up, healthy, biologically diverse ecosystems increase climate resilience. They reduce the vulnerability of communities to climate change and increase their capacity to recover from climate change impacts. The careful management and expansion of our protected areas networks will help Canada protect our biodiversity and help us to succeed in the fight against climate change.

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1:50 p.m.

Conservative

Jim Eglinski Conservative Yellowhead, AB

Mr. Speaker, I have enjoyed working with the hon. member across the aisle on the environment committee.

If we were to adapt the carbon pricing mechanisms that would help realize Canada's international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, should selection of these mechanisms take into consideration the actions of competitor jurisdictions and the impact on Canada's global compliance?

Paris AgreementGovernment Orders

1:50 p.m.

Liberal

Mike Bossio Liberal Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON

Mr. Speaker, I really do enjoy working with the hon. member on the environment committee. We do some great work together.

Yes, absolutely, this is all part and parcel of the process. Canada needs to provide leadership in the world today to try to use moral suasion to get all member countries in the world to meet targets that will help us reduce the impacts of climate change. Our government is doing that very important work. However, we cannot lead from behind. We have to get out in front, and that is what these proposed changes would enable us to do. They would enable us to take that leadership position in the world and provide an example to the rest of the world that even though the impact might be minimal from an overall climate standpoint, the impact from a leadership standpoint could be huge.

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1:50 p.m.

Scarborough—Guildwood Ontario

Liberal

John McKay LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, the big trick on this idea is to in effect price the value of what ecosystems do. Therefore, in the case of swamps, what is the value of sequestration of carbon? In the case of say forest canopy, what is the value in having an effective forest canopy, particularly in urban settings?

I would be interested in the hon. member's commentary as to how the Paris agreement moves that calculation forward so there is a value attributed to carbon sequestration and a value attributed to forest canopy.

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1:50 p.m.

Liberal

Mike Bossio Liberal Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON

Mr. Speaker, right now our environment committee is studying protected lands and we have seen the tremendous value that protected lands can provide in carbon sequestration, in capture.

In meeting with the Ontario Woodlot Association on the weekend and with many other groups, part of the Paris agreement is the 17 sustainable development goals. That really does work into sustainability within society as a whole. Protected lands and wetlands, etc., play a key part in us attaining that sustainability through carbon sequestration, sustainability through putting a price on carbon so the value of the carbon sequestration can be realized.

All of these things fit together in this puzzle of the 17 sustainable development goals.

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1:50 p.m.

Conservative

Dianne Lynn Watts Conservative South Surrey—White Rock, BC

Mr. Speaker, talking about sustainability and ensuring that wetlands and ecosystems are protected, are you aware that many cities across the country have sustainability charters in place to address those issues, and have been addressing them for quite some time, as does the FCM and provincial organizations that deal with cities and municipalities? Could you tell me how this is going to fit into the entire picture without reinventing the wheel and without the federal government getting involved in what is already going on?