Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for the opportunity to talk about carbon pricing and what we believe in, which is protecting the environment. That is an integral part to building a strong and prosperous Canada.
Canadians know that polluting comes at a cost. We see the costs of draughts, floods, and other extreme weather, but also the effects on our health. Canadians expect polluters to pay because it is the right thing to do for our kids, grandkids, and future generations.
Pricing carbon pollution is an essential component of the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change announced by Canada's first ministers in December 2016. Under the pan-Canadian framework, provinces and territories have the flexibility to choose between two systems: an explicit price-based system, either a carbon tax or a carbon levy and output-based pricing system, or a cap and trade system.
British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, representing over 80% of the population, have already implemented carbon pricing. The Government of Canada will introduce a backstop pricing system that will apply in jurisdictions that do not meet a federal carbon pricing benchmark.
As committed under the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change, the federal government will return direct revenues from the carbon price under the federal backstop to the province or territory of origin. For instance, this revenue can be used to cut taxes, to invest in clean innovation and infrastructure, or given straight back to Canadian families.
Details of the proposed federal option were outlined in a technical paper, which was released for public consultation on May 18. The government is assessing the many comments received on the proposed backstop option. As our Minister of Environment and Climate Change has stated clearly before, pollution is not free. A successful climate change strategy is one that puts a price on pollution so Canadians can make choices about their consumption habits to ensure they do not come at the expense of our environment.
I encourage all members to learn everything they can about the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change. To us, making polluters pay is an important part of any serious climate plan, which the previous government unfortunately never delivered for Canadians. In fact, many Conservatives still have a hard time realizing the science regarding climate change.
Making polluters pay is important. It gives the incentive to companies to innovate and create cleaner solutions and, most important, to reduce pollution.
We are proud to be working together with provinces, territories, indigenous people, businesses, communities, and all Canadians to build a more sustainable, cleaner, more prosperous economy, and create good-paying middle class jobs now and for the future.