Madam Speaker, I want to thank the minister for what I consider one of the most important speeches in the House in this term and maybe one of the most important speeches of our time.
One thing that people do not want to talk about is the effect of climate change on a day-to-day basis. I want to remind the House and let the minister know that as a northern MP, people in the north see climate change a lot more readily than members of Parliament who live in urban centres.
When I grew up, the ice always came off Lake of the Woods, which is home to the Experimental Lakes Area just down the road, in late April, early May. Now the ice comes off Lake of the Woods a month in advance. According to scientists, that has had a huge effect on one of the largest lakes in Canada.
As well, I want to remind the House that when I was a young man, there were no deer in my region. They were further south. Now thousands and thousands of deer live in my region because the climate has changed dramatically.
Could the minister explain in detail the importance of climate change vis-à-vis what is happening in the natural environment and why we have to make these decisions today for our kids and grandkids?