Mr. Speaker, I truly appreciate my colleague from Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, the House leader of the New Democratic Party, whom I respect and hold in high esteem. We had a lot of fun together three and a half years ago when we were having weekly debates on RDI. I truly appreciate the depth of his comments.
Let us look at them one by one. First of all, there is the matter of greenhouse gas emissions going down under our government. He said that it was the economic crisis that reduced emissions. I would remind the member that although an economic crisis did happen, our government still managed to increase production, create wealth and grow our GDP by 16.9%. Not only were we able to lower emissions, but we also increased the GDP. He said that it was because of the provinces, but at the time, the 10 provinces did not all have a carbon tax or something of the sort. Everyone was making an effort, and the federal government, which we formed at the time, was also making an effort.
I cannot find one person in my riding who knows about ecotrust Canada because no one is talking about it. I am proud to do so. When we were in government, although I was not an MP then, our party established a $1.5 billion support program for businesses designed not to penalize them, but to help them. That is how we succeeded. In my riding, CO2 Solutions has had a tangible impact on greenhouse gas production. We lived up to our commitments, whether he likes it or not.
There are, however, economists who support the carbon tax. Is the member for Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques prepared to tell those people about the UN's proposal? It is proposing an additional tax of $5,500 per tonne, which equates to $12 per litre of gas. Is he prepared to tell those people? I wish him good luck.