Mr. Speaker, I believe that we, on this side of the House, are keenly aware that we must implement a set of measures if we are to significantly slow the progress of climate change and ensure that Canada is a more responsible player with regard to the environment than it has been in the past 10 years.
The previous Conservative government had a hard time even admitting that climate change exists. To judge from the opposition speeches I heard today, that still seems to be the case for some opposition members, even though we have seen the impact of climate change over the past 10, 15, and 20 years. I noticed, for example, that insurance claims in Canada in the past decade increased from $400 million to $1 billion.
Our estimates indicate that pricing carbon pollution will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 million to 90 million tonnes by 2022. That is the equivalent of about 23 million to 26 million cars. That is one part of the plan. The other part is about investing in green infrastructure, supporting green innovation and companies with emissions reduction plans, and supporting public transit, among other things. We have seen it in Montreal, where he is from, and in Quebec City, where I am from. It is my hope that, with help from the federal government, Quebec City will build a streetcar that lives up to the people's expectations.
Thanks to the federal government's desire and drive to invest, to take its environmental responsibility seriously, and to take action on climate change, we are seeing positive outcomes like this that will ultimately help us meet Canada's environmental targets.