Madam Speaker, back on April 27, I asked the Liberal government to explain why it was inflicting a carbon tax upon my province, the Saskatchewan families, without any consultation or approval and why it was ignoring Saskatchewan's successful emissions reduction plan. The Liberals have revealed that they are completely unwilling to consider any climate change strategy other than their own. Such a policy is incredibly misguided because it fails to consider that there are alternatives to a carbon tax in the fight against climate change.
Saskatchewan's plan to reduce carbon emissions and fight against the climate change is entitled “Prairie Resilience: A Made-in-Saskatchewan Climate Change Strategy”. It is a strategy that is tailored to address the specific needs of Saskatchewan's economy. It is not a one-size-fits-all plan, which has been opposed by the Liberals in Ottawa without any consideration for the unique circumstances that the different provinces and territories face.
As of January 1, 2019, this plan will come into force and provide a cost-effective, meaningful and resilient approach to lowering Saskatchewan's greenhouse gas emissions. As part of the prairie resilience plan, policies that have been developed by the Government of Saskatchewan to combat climate change are broad and also diverse. These policy areas include, but are not limited to, natural systems, physical infrastructure, economic sustainability and community preparedness. Most important, though, the prairie resilience plan is one which responds, in a comprehensive sector-by-sector manner, to the needs of the people of Saskatchewan. It is not an arbitrarily imposed carbon tax like the one that the Liberal government is proposing to force upon every province and territory.
Unlike the Liberal carbon tax, the prairie resilience plan will tackle climate change, while at the same time protect the jobs and the livelihoods of the hard-working people in my province. Why then, does the Liberal government continue to threaten provinces such as mine with a job-killing and inefficient carbon tax?
The federal environment minister has previously stated in news conferences that she recognizes the need to work with provinces in order to address the pressing challenges that climate change poses for all Canadians. If the environment minister truly believes in that statement, why is her government withholding $62 million in infrastructure funding to support Saskatchewan's efforts to fight climate change and to reduce carbon emissions? This funding would support 11 clean energy projects in Saskatchewan, with an estimated potential to remove 188 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Again, why are the minister and her government withholding $62 million in infrastructure funding to support my province?