Mr. Speaker, I represent the good people of Calgary Centre and I was elected by those good people to do a couple of things: to follow through on our vision of both seeing the economy and the environment as two sides of the same coin and move the country forward in that fashion. That is exactly what this government is doing after a decade of Stephen Harper's failure to see the country in that fashion, with the Conservatives not being able to embrace the fact that climate change was real and the way to fight it was putting a price on pollution. We also did not see energy projects move forward. Not one inch of pipeline was built to new energy markets.
Our commitment is to build good energy projects by finding a way forward on Trans Mountain and other projects in a reasonable fashion, as well as LNG Canada, which is a great project that will grow the economy. We also understand that the best way to deal with climate change is to put a price on pollution. The evidence is clear.
This week, the panel on climate change issued its report saying that we had to take action, and there is no doubt about it. The Nobel Prize winner this week embraced carbon pricing as the best way to fight climate change. That is exactly what our government is doing.
I am surprised when I hear the Conservatives advocate for other ways to do this. It was 30 years ago when Brian Mulroney had the first international gathering on climate change. In fact, the former leader of the Reform Party, Preston Manning, embraced carbon pricing. It is a market principle that says that based on supply and demand and economics, it allows real world issues to follow through and send a price signal to those who want to purchase goods. That is why I am surprised at the wailing and gnashing of the teeth at any type of move toward what is clearly the most efficient way to battle climate change, which is to put a price on pollution. Why the Conservatives would like to do it in a less efficient way, through regulation or whatever they are talking about, does not make any sense.
Our government is also committed to doing this not only through putting a price on pollution, but through a whole-of-government approach in how we face climate change.
It was mentioned earlier that Calgary Centre was moving forward with the LRT Green Line, from downtown Calgary through to Inglewood and Ramsay, south to the hospital. This important project will take 8,000 cars off the road in Calgary alone. It will allow people to get to and from work much more quickly.
My good friend brought up the fact that the Conservative government promised it, but it promised it in 2011 and did not quite send a cheque to the good people of Calgary to build that. It promised it again in 2015 and I am skeptical if that would have ever arrived. That is why our government is there, to ensure we are doing those things through both the LRT Green Line and our national housing strategy. It takes a whole-of-government approach to deal with climate change in a real and fundamental fashion. There is very good evidence to support this being the logical way to go.
B.C. has had a price on carbon for the last 10 years. In fact, it has seen a 10% reduction of people's gasoline use and has also seen its economy grow during that time. Therefore, this is a bogeyman the Conservatives put out, that we cannot have growth in the economy without putting a price on pollution. That is the way forward and that is exactly what our government is doing.