Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to have a few minutes to speak on such an important topic. Climate change is the most serious threat that poses imminent, dangerous consequences to our communities, families, and economy.
The debate on whether this threat exists is over. Rapid change in climate is real. We have seen the damage it has caused over the past decade. Deadly storms, odd weather patterns, and the rapidly melting polar ice caps have produced a significant human and economic impact. This is a very real and present danger. It is a danger that is of paramount concern to all Canadians. This was demonstrated to me at a town hall meeting on climate change that I hosted with my fellow Mississauga MPs this summer. The over-capacity crowd at the town hall made it clear that people are looking to their government to take steps, to take leadership to change our current course. Leadership on this file over the past 10 years under the previous government's regime saw little to no action.
As a result, our reputation around the world was badly damaged. We made a promise, during last year's general election, to change course on climate change. We promised to stop the cycle of setting arbitrary, unreasoned targets.
We have worked with our provincial, territorial, and indigenous partners to achieve realistic targets. Since taking office, our government has taken steps to work with our partners, to establish realistic solutions, consistent with international obligations, that work toward growing the economy and protecting our planet for my children and all our children.
By signing onto the Paris agreement last October, just after we formed government, we emphatically signalled to the world that Canada is here to help.
I am very glad to be able to contribute to the debate today.
As we come to accept the reality of the extent of this climate disorder and start to take steps to curtail the current trend, let us double our efforts and reinforce our actions on the conditions that we must improve.
Already, global temperatures are one degree above pre-industrial levels, and rising. I mention pre-industrial, as this factor of industrialization significantly adds to the seriousness of the time we are at with climate change.
In addition, specific factors in our country substantially contribute to this disorder; namely, our geography and our climate. Our broad weather latitudes demand considerable fuel to warm us in winter and to cool us in summer. Our coast-to-coast-to-coast geography represents immense transportation requirements of fuel. Canada's reliance upon such primary industries as resource extraction and manufacturing adds further to the complications of our climate disorder.
The worldly repercussions of this disorder caused UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to declare that we are in a race against time. The rate at which temperatures are rising exceeds the capacity of our ecosystems to adapt naturally, so that our food production and our economic development are now threatened.
Here in Ontario, suddenly, climate changes or prolonged periods of drought and heat waves have had threatening consequences on our farmers. This summer alone, the weather has had devastating impacts upon our farmers' crops, their livelihood, and ultimately, our food source.
Even in my urban riding, extreme weather has taken its toll. In July 2013, the city of Mississauga was hammered by a flash flood of over 123 millimetres of rainfall in just a couple of hours. The result was mass flooding and power outages for many residents, causing extensive damage to their homes. They called it the 50-year storm—once in a lifetime. The sad thing is that we have had three so-called 50-year storms in the last 10 years.
Another example of this extreme weather was the severe ice storm that struck southern Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes in December 2013, when roads and trees were covered with 30 millimetres of ice, sending broken branches onto power lines and causing thousands of people to be without power for days and weeks following.
The Paris agreement on climate change awaits final ratification. I stand today to support its ratification. In signing this agreement initially in April on our behalf, our Prime Minister indicated that climate change would test our intelligence, our compassion, and our will, but we firmly believe that we are equal to these challenges. For Canada, this agreement would mean that our government is providing national leadership by working with provinces and territories to take action on climate change. We as a government realize that economic growth and implementing climate protection policies go hand in hand.
The Conference Board of Canada acknowledges Canada has a long way to go. Indeed, that is an accurate assessment for this vast and complex country. With our country's extensive geographic differences, significant adjustments in our technology and economy and attitude will be required. This government has promised to protect the environment and grow the economy. Vital to this is providing leadership, along with collaborating with our provincial and territorial partners to develop balanced solutions in establishing plans that are amenable to our partners in Confederation. Our government is providing this leadership. Appropriate federal funding and flexibility will be afforded to our territorial and provincial partners so they can design policies to meet the climate commitments we have made as a country, and so they can also keep in mind the economic requirements of their respective areas.
As our Prime Minister stated two days ago in his address to the House, “Because pollution crosses borders, all provinces must do their part.” New investments in green infrastructure, clean-tech manufacturing, and innovation, and incentives for clean investments are just a sample of the climate change assistance our government promised to its voters. In anticipation of the requirements of the Paris agreement and with awareness of the unique and demanding climate issues in this country, the 2016 budget provides full allocations for a framework that endorses and shapes a cleaner, more sustainable environment. As well, that same budget addresses the special economic requirements of the country as it adjusts to the intricacies of climate change.
Already, provinces and territories have envisioned a carbon-restricted future in some of their budgets, projects, and future plans. Some of our provinces have made an early start to their commitments by initiating their plans for carbon pricing appropriate to their own geographic and economic needs. It is promising to see the encouragement of electric and hybrid vehicles here in Ontario, for example. Even in my riding of Mississauga East—Cooksville, a constituent I met last week was telling me that he takes trees that have fallen due to the weather or that have been cut down because they are diseased, and reuses them for things like furniture, etc.
Forward thinking on counteracting carbon use was on the agenda of the Premier of Saskatchewan when he went to Paris in April with our delegates. He sought to promote carbon capture and storage technology. That is also really pioneering for that province. The world awaits such forward, intelligent thinking that is required in inventing technology for the impending non carbon age and in making the required economic adjustments and alterations in this upcoming era.
With the announcement two days ago of our new carbon plan, the potential is there for this to help our middle class and job creation, and to help our businesses be more competitive on the world stage. If we take the appropriate approach, keeping in mind our provincial counterparts' priorities, by working together we can achieve the results we want.
Canada already has an excellent reputation in the world when it comes to a technological zone for such forward thinking and inventions. We invented the Canadarm, for example. The innovative, flexible, hard-working, compassionate, never-give-up attitude of Canadians puts us in the right place to take on climate change.
We can do our part the Canadian way conscientiously, superlatively, and compassionately. Let us support the ratification of the Paris agreement. We need to do our part, and we will.