Mr. Speaker, on the action that was taken by the previous government, let me be very clear that emissions went down under Stephen Harper. It was the first government under which emissions went down. Emissions went down or went up by less in every single province. That cannot be attributed to the actions of just one province. Emissions either went down or went up by less in every province across the country during the Harper period as compared to the previous Liberal period. That is very clear in the record.
We do not hear a desire at all from other members to discuss the policy instrument in question. We agree that a response to climate change is necessary and that one was taken under the previous government. However, they immediately jump from saying that we should take action on climate change to saying that we should impose new taxes on Canadians. The record and history show that it was Conservative governments that actually reduced emissions. They had a sector-by-sector regulatory approach that was effective, and was continually in the process of being expanded to ensure that we had binding sector-by-sector targets. That allows us to actually realize our targets, unlike a carbon tax, which has no relationship to specific targets.
The member from the NDP said something quite revealing, which I think we should highlight. She quoted an economist who said that this would free up revenues for government. Yes, I agree that a carbon tax would give government more money to spend on things it wants to spend on. There is a philosophical difference there in what is desirable. We believe that by giving money back to people, giving them more autonomy and control over their own lives, they will very often make good and environmentally responsible decisions. Therefore, we should look for policies that leverage that to its greatest possible extent. However, if the goal is to free up more revenue for government, then a carbon tax is what she would want. Our goal is to give more money back to Canadians and actually take action on the environment.