Catherine McKenna

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, why will the Conservatives not admit that climate change is real and that there is a cost that Canadians are paying right now, that it should not be free to pollute and that Canadians deserve to see a plan? If they have a plan, they should make it transparent and show us how they are going to do what they voted for.

The Conservatives voted for the Paris Agreement. They voted to support our international obligations, but we have seen nothing. They have no plan for the environment. They have no plan for the economy.

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to work with farmers, we will continue to work with small businesses and we will continue to work with cities. We are working with everyone because we know that climate change has a real cost right now and we owe it to Canadians.

We owe it to the next generation to take serious action while making life more affordable for Canadians. We can do both, but what is the Conservative plan?

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we know that farmers understand the impacts of climate change. Droughts and floods are having severe impacts and we know that in the future that will continue to happen. That is why we are working with farmers. Our plan exempts farm fuels and diesels used for on-farm use.

We are also supporting—

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am very surprised to see the member across the aisle opposing all the parties in Quebec. Those parties want us to take action on climate change and put a price on pollution. They know that pollution is not free.

The question is, what is the Conservative plan?

There is no Conservative plan. They want pollution to be free. They do not want to do anything to tackle climate change. Canadians are paying the price for pollution now. The Conservatives should come up with a plan and start taking the issue seriously.

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, said, “You need a price on carbon, a price on pollution.... Canada, as of today, can have both.... [It will] unlock...investment decisions which will make...more low-carbon economy.”

Dale Beugin, the executive director of Ecofiscal Commission, said, “Bigger households get bigger cheques” and “most households” will see rebates that are “larger than their carbon pricing costs. Households will see net gains.”

The David Suzuki Foundation has stated that carbon pricing is essential to effectively fight—

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we have already said that there is going to be a price on pollution, and everyone is going to pay the price on pollution, whether one is a big industrial emitter or a small business. We are also going to help small businesses save money. When one is more energy efficient, one actually saves money.

However, let us talk about Stephen Harper's former director of policy who said, “We think the federal government is doing the right thing in putting a price on carbon in those provinces that have not done so, and in returning the money directly to households. This will...encourage lower emissions, while also ensuring that Canadian families will not be negatively affected.”

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, small businesses also care about tackling climate change, they also care about the environment and they understand the cost of inaction. We are supporting small businesses. We will be providing $1 billion through our climate plan in Ontario that will help support small businesses to be more energy efficient to save money.

Let us talk about who else is talking about our plan: the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. This is good news for human health and the planet. This is how we protect people from the harmful impacts of heat waves, drought, wildfires, floods and hurricanes that are becoming more frequent and more intense—

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, we understand that climate change is real. We understand that there is a cost right now, and Canadians are paying it. Unlike the party opposite, which thinks polluting should be free, which has no plan to tackle pollution, we have a plan.

Let us talk about what people are saying about our plan. The president and CEO of the Business Council of Canada said:

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.

Tracy Snoddon, from C.D. Howe, stated, “carbon pricing continues to be the most cost-effective option for achieving emissions reductions—”

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, let us be perfectly clear. There is a cost to pollution, and everyone will pay the price for pollution. That includes large industry. On the other side, large industry will pay nothing, because the Conservatives do not believe there is a cost to pollution. They think polluting should be free. The system we are following for trade-exposed industry is the same followed in Quebec, in British Columbia, in California and in Europe. It creates the incentive for industry to reduce emissions but to stay competitive and keep good jobs in Canada.

[Carbon Pricing, October 25th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely pleased to stand up in this House and say that polluting will no longer be free. We know there is a cost to pollution. We are seeing extreme weather events across this country, from forest fires in British Columbia to droughts and floods across the Prairies to people literally dying of extreme heat. We need to take action on climate change, and we are going to do it in a way that makes sense. A family of four in Ontario will receive $307 back for climate action expenses. That is more than they will pay. We have a plan to grow the economy. We have a plan to tackle the environment. We have a plan to tackle—