Catherine McKenna

[The Environment, February 15th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I take very seriously the obligation to protect our natural environment. I am committed to working with the member on this issue to find a resolution.

[The Environment, February 14th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we will continue defending the interests of Canadians, such as reducing emissions and growing a clean economy. That is exactly what carbon pricing would do. I would like to remind the member that our carbon pricing will not come in until 2018, and all revenues will be given back to the provinces.

We are committed to growing a clean economy, reducing emissions, and ensuring a more sustainable future for our children.

[Taxation, February 14th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, our government understands that the economy and the environment go hand in hand. Our government committed to a cleaner, more innovative economy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions and creates good jobs.

I encourage the member to look at that instead of a document that was prepared in 2015 under the previous Conservative government. We will keep working for the middle class, we will keep reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, and we will create good jobs for Canadians.

[The Environment, February 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, what we are not going to do is repeat the mistakes of the previous Conservative government where it did nothing on the environmental front.

We are committed to taking serious action to tackle climate change not just because we care about our children and grandchildren, but also because it makes economic sense. We are going to make sure that we invest in clean jobs and innovation. We are going to be a leader and we are going to attract jobs and investment, because that is the right thing to do and it is what Canadians expect us to do.

[Taxation, February 13th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I am always happy to speak to the opposition about the merits of putting a price on pollution. It is actually a free-market solution to something we do not want, which is pollution, and what we do want, which is to create good jobs, clean growth, and innovation.

Once again, the member need not take it from our party, leading economists, and job makers. Let us talk about former MP Patrick Brown, the Ontario Conservative leader, who said, “A price on carbon is coming and it’s going to come everywhere. Conservatives can’t run from the debate on the environment.”

[The Environment, February 10th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member from Nunavut for his question and for his advocacy on behalf of Nunavummiut.

The Prime Minister was in Iqaluit this week. Our government is very committed to working with the Government of Nunavut to ensure we tackle climate change. In no place have we seen greater impacts of climate change than in the north, where hunters are falling through the ice because they can no longer tell the thickness.

We need to be doing more. We are committed to working with the government in pricing pollution to ensure that all revenues are returned to the Government of Nunavut, and that we design a solution that works for the people of the north.

[Taxation, February 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I thought I would also point out that there are other Conservatives across the country who believe in pricing pollution. Manitoba's Conservative government, in its speech from the throne, said that its climate action plan will include carbon pricing that fosters emission reductions, retains investment capital, and stimulates new innovation in clean energy businesses and jobs.

Once again, I encourage members opposite to work with our government so that we can grow a clean economy and ensure a better future for our kids.

[Taxation, February 9th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, what we do know about carbon pricing is that it is the most efficient way to reduce emissions and to innovate and create good jobs. It always surprises me that the member opposite, who professes to believe in free market principles, just cannot understand why carbon pricing makes sense.

I already talked about Patrick Brown, the leader of the Ontario Conservatives, but maybe I will talk about Preston Manning. Conservatives profess to believe in markets, so why do Conservatives not major on how to harness markets to the environmental conversation and make that their signature contribution?

I encourage the member opposite to work with me to reduce emissions, focusing on the economy.

[Taxation, February 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, it is always a big surprise to hear members of the party opposite talk about caring about the working class, given the Conservative Party's policies, but maybe I will just quote MPP Patrick Brown, with whom the member may be familiar. He said, “Climate change is a fact. It is a threat. It is man-made. We have to do something about it, and that something includes putting a price on carbon.”

[Taxation, February 8th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, after a decade of inaction on climate and the environment, we are taking serious action and we are doing it with the provinces and territories, but we are also supported by labour organizations, by business, and by environmentalists across the country.

This consensus includes all five major banks. It includes major energy companies. It includes major consumer goods companies, and I was heartened to see that elder statesmen of the Republican Party today just announced that they support putting a price on carbon pollution.

When will the party opposite understand that it is the right thing to do?