Mr. Speaker, as a rookie member of the House, I thank my colleague, the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands, for bringing some context into the discussion tonight and talking about the climate emergency motion that was passed in the last Parliament.
Allow me, in the late evening, to ask some dumb questions. I have two on which the member perhaps could educate me.
First, are we actually facing a climate emergency, which is so important, that in a very short period of time this whole civilization may end? I am not a denier of the climate emergency. I am just ignorant, perhaps. Why is the Liberal government still renovating the Centre and East Blocks, which will take an estimated 15 years? How much carbon will that renovation generate?
During the discussion tonight, I heard a lot of heckling. I was also involved in asking members “Did you walk to Ottawa?”
The Conservatives believe in pragmatism. We believe in conserving the environment in a way that would actually make a difference. If it is so important, then why is the House not doing something about it?
Second, Canada's accounts for 1.7% of the global carbon emissions. If we shut down, if we depopulate Canada, it would make a meagre difference. China, India and the developing countries in the world would displace it in no time.
Would it not be better if Canada provided the technology for cleaner energy, like Coastal GasLink, so the rest of the world, like China, could benefit from it?