House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2019, with 49% of the vote.
Federal Sustainable Development Act May 29th, 2018
Madam Speaker, I actually cannot. It is very confusing to me and to everyone else. It makes no sense and it is also unclear why we would waste time on an amendment the Conservatives supported and then want to remove at this stage. I cannot explain it. That is it.
Federal Sustainable Development Act May 29th, 2018
Madam Speaker, I assume once again that the focus of our very important discussion today is Bill C-57. As I said, it was supported unanimously by the House of Commons environment committee in its report. It was supported by a vote of 244 to nothing at second reading. It was passed at committee. All parties have indicated their continued support for it. I appreciate that. It is important that we move forward to implement these changes. We need to focus on results. We need a better whole-of-government approach. We will now have more government departments covered and have included other changes that have come from the committee. This is a very important example of how we can come together to do important things that matter to Canadians. They care about sustainable development; Canadians have been clear about that. I am proud of this bill.
Federal Sustainable Development Act May 29th, 2018
Madam Speaker, maybe I was not clear. I actually did say “economy”. I said that the environment and economy go together, kind of like sustainable development goes together.
I do want to acknowledge that there are forest fires in Manitoba right now—certainly we are thinking of the people in Manitoba—and there have been floods. I also want to give a shout-out to the Premier of Manitoba, who stepped up and recognized that we need to be putting a price on pollution.
In terms of this bill, because of the comments related to it, I assume that the member supports Bill C-57, which is good. As I said, we had unanimous recommendations from the House of Commons environment committee, so I give a huge shout-out to the members of the committee. That is the way we need to be doing it. Action on the environment and sustainable development should not be a partisan issue. The bill was supported at second reading by a vote of 244 to zero and was passed at committee.
It is interesting today that I am speaking to this, because last night I hosted former ministers of the environment from the Conservative and Liberal sides. It was great to hear of their priorities in taking action on the environment and climate change. As I said, it is important that we come together in the House of Commons because, really, at the end of the day, we owe it to our kids: I owe it to my three kids; we owe it to our grandchildren and future generations.
Federal Sustainable Development Act May 29th, 2018
Madam Speaker, I am not entirely sure if that is an indication that the member opposite supports Bill C-57.
Once again, this bill was the result of unanimous recommendations of the Commons environment committee. I believe the member opposite was part of that. It was supported by a vote of 244 to nothing at second reading. It was passed at committee, and all parties have indicated their continued support for Bill C-57. I certainly hope they continue to support it, because it is a very important piece of legislation. It is very important to the international community to see that we are committed to the environment.
We are committed to sustainable development, to the Paris Agreement, and to our international obligations. Sustainable development is also very important to Canadians at home. They understand that sustainable development is the way forward, that we need to be incorporating it when we make decisions, and that we need to be recognizing that the environment and the economy go together.
Federal Sustainable Development Act May 29th, 2018
Madam Speaker, I would hardly say it is a childish approach to acknowledge that in the 21st century, the environment and the economy do go together. That is the reality.
We are here to talk about Bill C-57. We believe it is extraordinarily important. We are very pleased that this bill is the result of the unanimous recommendation of the Commons environment committee. Once again, I would like to thank the committee for their extremely hard work. This was supported in a vote of 244 to zero at second reading. It was passed at committee, and all parties have indicated their continued support for Bill C-57. I certainly hope the parties opposite will indicate their support today.
Federal Sustainable Development Act May 29th, 2018
Madam Speaker, I have never heard anyone accuse me of wearing rose-tinted glasses. In fact, I live in the real world, where one has to make hard decisions about the environment and the economy.
I am very happy to talk about the federal sustainable development goals and the 2030 agenda. It is critical for the world that we move forward on the 2030 agenda, and that means that every country needs to do its part and that we need to do our hard work at home. We need to look at how we advance the federal sustainable development goals. Bill C-57 plays a huge role in that effort. It is focused on how we implement our commitments to the environmental dimensions of the global sustainable development goals.
As I said, our government is committed to fully implementing the international sustainable development goals. We are working across government. We will be reporting on this. It is a really important piece. We are committed to making sure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed and prosper in our country.
Federal Sustainable Development Act May 29th, 2018
Once again, Madam Speaker, we are here to talk about Bill C-57.
Let me start by emphasizing that we understand that the environment and the economy go together and that we are committed to our international obligations.
Under the Federal Sustainable Development Act, we are focusing on our climate actions. We have shown leadership both internationally and at home. We know that we need to move to a low-carbon future, and that is why we have an all-of-government approach to this. The transition will not happen overnight.
The federal sustainable development strategy will be an important tool as we move forward. It will provide guidance and it will ensure that we have a whole-of-government approach, and that is extraordinarily important.
The good news is that I work with all ministers. I work with the Minister of Finance. I work with the Minister of Natural Resources. I work with the ministers responsible for working with indigenous peoples. We need to work together, and that is exactly our approach.
I am pleased that we are championing Bill C-57.
Federal Sustainable Development Act May 29th, 2018
Madam Speaker, I am delighted to answer the hon. member's question. I appreciate her leadership internationally in championing the sustainable development goals in the 2030 agenda.
It is about building a better, more inclusive world, making sure that everyone succeeds and prospers. The focus that we have taken with respect to the federal sustainable strategy clearly highlights our commitment to the environmental dimensions of the global sustainable development goals and outlines key international obligations that guide government action, including the Paris Agreement, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Government of Canada is fully committed to supporting the implementation of all of the sustainable development goals of the 2030 agenda. This legislation is an important piece. We are working across government to bring our full approach to the 2030 sustainable development goals. This legislation is a good example of how we can work across government, how we can demonstrate progress, how we can focus on results, how we can, at the end of the day, improve lives and improve sustainability and at the same time grow the economy.
Federal Sustainable Development Act May 29th, 2018
Madam Speaker, once again, we are here to talk about Bill C-57, an incredibly important piece of legislation. It responds to recommendations in the second report of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. As I said, these were unanimous recommendations. It was great to see all parties come together to support the committee report.
Part of the recommendations would shift the focus in the Federal Sustainable Development Act from planning and reporting to results. This is extremely important. We want to see results. We need to show that government departments understand the importance of sustainable development.
As we look at what is going on in the world, we see that countries around the world have come together around the sustainable development goals in the 2030 agenda. It is very important that Canada show leadership, and that is exactly what we are doing through the bill.
Federal Sustainable Development Act May 29th, 2018
Madam Speaker, this bill is the result of unanimous recommendations from the Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development. It was supported by a vote of 244 to 0 at second reading. It was approved in committee and every party indicated their support for Bill C-57.
I think that it is very important that we move forward with this bill because it will make a huge difference. As I said, we need more transparency. We have to focus on results, and more departments must be covered by Bill C-57. I think that it is important to move forward.