Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House to speak to Motion No. 45 concerning infrastructure projects and assessing their impact on greenhouse gas emissions. I will support the motion moved by the Liberal member for Halifax at second reading.
Beginning in 2011, I worked with my colleague, Megan Leslie, who is also from Halifax and did excellent work on environmental issues. She continues to work in this area, and she is an inspiration to me. I am pleased to be able to continue working in this place to advance environmental issues.
This important motion represents a first step. However, it is unfortunate that it is just a motion and not a bill, because it does not require the government to take action. That is disappointing, especially since the Liberal government supported the Conservative government when it did not want to make the environmental assessments mandatory for green infrastructure funding.
We in the NDP believe that a serious plan is essential in order to combat climate change. As far back as 2007, Jack Layton introduced a bill on climate change accountability that would have required the government, regardless of its political stripe, to be accountable in that regard. It was extremely important. Unfortunately, that bill was never passed because circumstances—