Catherine McKenna

[Carbon Pricing, October 26th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, once again, do not take it from me that our climate plan works. Take it from Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England, who said:

You need a price on carbon, a price on pollution..... Canada, as of today, we have both.... [It] unlock[s]...investment decisions which will make for a more...low carbon economy.

The executive director of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment said:

We strongly support this legislation. As health professionals, we are deeply concerned about the impacts that climate change is having, and will have, on the health of Canadians and people around the world.

Why do the Conservatives insist on making pollution free?

[Carbon Pricing, October 26th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I am always pleased to stand up and, once again, explain how our climate plan works in the hope that the Conservatives will finally have a climate plan that meets the target.

We have a plan that ensures that everyone pays a price on pollution, but the approach we have taken for large emitters should be an approach the Conservatives would support, because presumably, they want good jobs to stay in Canada, they want big businesses to reduce their emissions, and they also want us to grow the economy. That is the approach we have taken. It is the approach followed in Europe. It is the approach followed in Alberta. It is the approach followed in Quebec, in California and in China.

[Carbon Pricing, October 26th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, Canadians want to know, yes or no, do the Conservatives have a climate plan that is going to meet their target. Canadians would love to see this climate plan.

Let us be clear. We have put a price on pollution for everyone, whether a small business or a big business or all Canadians, because we know that polluting is not free. We have done this in a way that makes sense, that ensures that companies are competitive and that will also put more money in the pockets of Canadians.

We know everyone wants to be part of the solution, because everyone is feeling the impacts of climate change, and they also understand the huge economic opportunity of clean growth.

[Carbon Pricing, October 26th, 2018]

Madam Speaker, I am happy to stand up and talk about our climate plan, because I am always hopeful that the other side will learn to understand that, one, climate change is real; two, we need to take action; and three, there is an economic opportunity.

Let me talk about what folks are saying about our plan. The CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade said:

...a successful price on carbon should be transparent, revenue neutral and provide support for trade-exposed industries.

The Board is encouraged with today's announcement...largely satisfies these objectives. We look forward to working with the federal government to ensure the support provided to small-and medium-sized businesses helps them remain competitive.

[The Environment, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Pontiac for his question and for everything he has done to protect the environment and to fight climate change in the past ten years.

Canadians know that pollution comes at a cost. We are seeing its impact across the country, including in the riding of Pontiac. We have a plan. We said that we would put a price on what we do not want, meaning pollution, to get what we do want. We want cleaner air and less greenhouse gas emissions. We want a healthy planet for our children and grandchildren.

The Conservative Party has no plan. We will continue—

[Natural Resources, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we understand the importance of the resource sector to Canada's economy. We also understand that to get resources to market, Canadians need to have trust in the system.

We have worked very hard to develop a bill with businesses. We have been listening to the resource sector, listening to environmentalists, and listening to indigenous peoples to bring people together around a bill that would not only reduce timelines and ensure that we are making decisions on good science, but also that good projects go ahead. However, we need to make sure that we are rebuilding trust, we need to make sure we are listening to indigenous peoples and we need to ensure that we are making decisions—

[The Environment, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I was so pleased to be with the Prime Minister to announce that polluting will no longer be free in Canada.

We are standing with the people of Quebec, who know that we have to tackle climate change, that we have to put a price on pollution, and that we can grow our economy. We will keep working with them.

I was very pleased to get a call from my Quebec counterpart today. We talked about how we are going to keep working together to fight climate change and create good jobs for Quebeckers.

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I think it pretty much stands there. The member opposite will flip-flop depending on the issue. However, we cannot flip-flop on climate change. We have to be serious. We have a plan: tackle climate change and grow our economy.

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, it is very interesting that the member on the opposite side was the same member who supported Patrick Brown and Patrick Brown supported putting a price on pollution. Let us be clear. We know that we need to take action on climate change. We need to make life more affordable. We are giving families more money that they will pay—

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we just had a report from the United Nations a couple of weeks ago. Do my colleagues know what they talked about? They talked about the cost of inaction on climate change in the trillions of dollars. Canadians across the country are paying the cost right now. For those living in Saskatchewan or Manitoba, there have been extreme floods and droughts. For those living in Ontario or Quebec, there has been extreme heat that has literally killed people. There have been forest fires in B.C.

Climate change is real. We need to take action. We need to do it in a way that makes life affordable, that grows the economy. We are doing both. The Conservatives have no plan.