Catherine McKenna

[Carbon Pricing, January 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are already paying the price of climate change and it is going up every single year. It is a human cost. It is a cost to the economy. However, there is good news. We can actually tackle climate change in a way that works, that makes life affordable and that creates good jobs.

Let me talk about the climate action incentive. We are putting a price on pollution. It will no longer be free to pollute in the country. A family of four in Ontario will get $307 back. A family of four in Manitoba will get $339 back. A family of four in Saskatchewan will get $609 back.

We can tackle climate change—

[Carbon Pricing, January 28th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that climate change is having a huge cost in terms of our economy and on lives, but we have a plan that works, that makes life affordable and that makes sure we are creating jobs in the future.

Let us talk about the plan. I want to reassure the member that we have a new climate action incentive. We are putting a price on pollution, and a family of four in Ontario will get $307 back. We are also investing in public transit across the country. We are supporting innovators and entrepreneurs who are created the solutions of tomorrow. Unfortunately, the Conservatives opposite are just harking back to the days of the Harper Conservatives. They have no—

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 10th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the ministers of Environment and Climate Change and Finance selected panel members based on their experience in diverse segments of the financial sector, their ability to engage financial sector executives and their understanding of both private sector and regulatory perspectives.

The Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance is consulting broadly with industries and stakeholders across Canada.

[Carbon Pricing, November 30th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, maybe I could just talk about what doctors from around the world are saying. They are saying a price on pollution is the best treatment for a major public health crisis afflicting the country: climate change. Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, said, “You need a price on carbon and a price on pollution.” Canada as of today has both. Not only does it tackle climate change, it also unlocks the $30 trillion economic opportunity of clean growth. We can grow the economy, we can tackle the climate—

[Carbon Pricing, November 30th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am quite happy to present the document that explains exactly how pricing pollution will work. In provinces that have not stepped up and want to make it free to pollute, we have said that we will take all of the revenues from the price on pollution and give them back to Ontarians, give them back to Manitobans and give them back to Saskatchewanians, because we know we need to do right by the environment and we can also make life affordable.

Once again, what Canadians want to know is what—

[Carbon Pricing, November 30th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is really unfortunate that there is a new generation of Conservatives who do not seem to understand that climate change is real, that it is having a real impact. In fact, there are some, like the member for Cariboo—Prince George, who do not even seem to think that climate change is real. We know that we need to take action and to take the measures that make the most sense. When we look at putting a price on pollution, we have the president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada saying, “We support the price mechanism because it provides the economic incentive for consumers to change their behaviour and for businesses to invest in technologies that progressively reduce their emissions over time.”

What Canadians want to know is what exactly is the Conservative—

[Carbon Pricing, November 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we can do both. We can grow the economy and we can tackle climate change. We are doing it. Our emissions are going down and we are growing the economy. With Canadians, we have created more than 550,000 jobs. Ours is the fastest-growing economy in the G7, and we are taking serious action to tackle climate change.

I am extremely proud that next week I will be going to the climate negotiations in Poland, where we are going to take action with the international community to tackle climate change. We owe it to our environment. We owe it to the economy. We owe it to our kids.

[Carbon Pricing, November 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I want to ask again whether the party opposite understands just how serious climate change is. Does the party opposite understand the $30-trillion economic opportunity of climate action? We need to act. We need to do it because it is the right thing to do for our environment. It is the right thing to do for our economy. It is the right thing to do for our kids.

Everyone wants to know: What is the Conservative Party's climate plan?

[Carbon Pricing, November 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians want to know is whether the party opposite read the UN climate report. Do they understand that climate change is real? Do they understand the economic impact?

There was just a report in the United States by climate scientists and by federal U.S. agencies that said the U.S. is at risk of losing 10% of its economy to the impacts of climate change. We also have a $30-trillion opportunity of clean growth.

I wish the party opposite would understand that climate change is real, that we need a serious plan, and that we need to take action to grow our economy and protect our environment. What is the member's plan?

[The Environment, November 29th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her hard work in the fight against climate change. We must tackle climate change, and we do have a plan.

We have a plan to eliminate coal and invest in renewable energy, to put a price on pollution and to make historic investments in public transit, green infrastructure and clean technology. We have a lot of work to do.

I am happy that we can work with the NDP, but it would be better if the Conservatives joined us too.