Mr. Speaker, for my rebuttal, I am just going to read from Trevor Herriot. He is a Regina-based writer, naturalist and grassland advocate.
He wrote, “As representatives from around the world were starting to gather in Montreal at COP15 to work toward an agreement to stave off biodiversity collapse, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe decided it was a good time to say a few things about his province’s environmental sustainability and stewardship.”
I suppose that is the record that the member is referring to.
Herriot continued: “No matter that Saskatchewan was ranked dead last in the environmental report cards handed out to the provinces by the Conference Board of Canada. According to Premier Moe and the new website he launched, 'Saskatchewan has some of the highest-quality and sustainably produced food, fuel and fertilizer, that a growing world needs.'”
That could be true, but it has nothing to do with the environment.
Herriot continued: “A quick glance at the website, filled with images of hard-working people out on the land, reveals a set of measurements carefully curated to show that 'in the areas of sustainable resources, environmental stewardship, community support and clean energy Saskatchewan is rising to the challenge.'”
However, when we looked at the numbers and applied some of the international standards, we realized that Saskatchewan is not doing anything on endangered species protection. It is not doing enough on protected and conserved areas. It is still burning coal to generate electricity. It is not doing enough to protect the wetlands and its grasslands, and it is not doing anything on climate action.
As such, I am sorry that the experts disagree. The Saskatchewan government is not an environmental steward.