Mr. Speaker, this resignation should be of serious concern to all Canadians. It is a huge wake-up call, hopefully for everybody. What our colleague is doing today takes incredible courage. It takes courage to stand up for climate science and environmental protection for future generations when powerful interests inside government are pushing in the opposite direction.
As New Democrats, we have had the opportunity to work across the aisle with our colleague when he was a former minister on a number of important issues, including climate accountability, biodiversity protection and building a fair transition for workers and communities. We may not have always agreed, but he understood that the climate crisis demands action, not delay. The people of Laurier—Sainte-Marie were represented by someone who consistently fought to put the climate crisis and environmental protection on the national agenda. Now the government is weakening emissions caps, backing away from environmental protection and putting fossil fuel expansion ahead of climate leadership while Canadians face devastating fires, floods and extreme weather.
We as New Democrats want to thank the member for his courage and his public service. We want to wish him well and encourage him to keep fighting for climate justice and for the future of our planet. We look forward to continuing to work with him to tackle the climate crisis.