Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in this place to present a petition. The focus is on the health threats of the climate crisis. The petitioners point out that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on 1.5°C points to the reality that we are unlikely to be able to stay below 1.5°C without rapid and immediate reductions of emissions, that we are on a path to significantly overshoot our 2030 commitments under the Paris Agreement, and that oil and gas and transportation emissions continue to rise in Canada.
The petitioners, who are physicians, point to the World Health Organization's reporting that “Climate change is the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century”.
The petition is lengthy, so I will summarize that the conclusions and petition of the undersigned physicians and mothers of Canada call on the Government of Canada to outline measures that actually reach, not net-zero, but zero emissions and to prioritize the elimination of emissions and preservation of a healthy environment as part of every portfolio and every decision within the Government of Canada and of the provinces. They call on the governments of Canada to commit to the rapid elimination of fossil fuels from our economy, in addition to eliminating single-use plastics, among other measures.