Catherine McKenna

[Taxation, October 5th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, it was great to be negotiating the Paris agreement with the member opposite. I am very excited to see how he is going to vote on it today.

In an interview with CP yesterday, the Conservative environment critic lauded the B.C. Liberal government for using a price on carbon pollution to cut income taxes and other taxes. Then he said the problem is that other provinces are not committed to acting responsibly. I am delighted that he has endorsed the B.C. Liberal government's approach. Given that B.C., Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec already have a price on carbon pollution, could he let us know what province he does not trust?

[The Environment, October 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the work that I am doing with the representatives of all the provinces and territories, including my Quebec counterpart, David Heurtel.

Yesterday, Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard welcomed our decision. He said, “The announcement recognizes the autonomy of the provinces and the flexibility of the federation and makes it possible for different systems to be used”.

[The Economy, October 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, what I would say is that we are putting a price on carbon because this is a way to grow our economy in a cleaner way and position ourselves well to have the solutions to produce cleaner natural resources and renewable power, which will create good jobs and a positive future.

However, maybe I should just point to Conservative Mark Cameron, the former policy adviser to the prime minister, who said, “Federal carbon price plan looks like a good start.” As most free market economists realize, it is the most effective way to reduce emissions.

[Taxation, October 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, once again, I find it very surprising that the party opposite, which had suggested putting a price on carbon in 2008, is now backtracking on this.

We understand that this is the way we will grow our economy and create good jobs for the future. We are positioning ourselves well. We need to show leadership, and that is exactly what we are doing.

[Taxation, October 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, let me be 100% clear, because unfortunately the party opposite does not understand.

We understand that we need to put a price on emissions. We have two ways to do this. We can do it through a direct price, or we can do it through a cap-and-trade system. We have 80% of Canadians who already live in a jurisdiction where there is a price on carbon. It is up to the provinces to decide which way they want to do it and what they would like to do with the revenues. They can give it back as a tax cut to consumers in their province or to businesses.

However, this is the way forward. The government is taking leadership because that is what Canadians expect.

[Taxation, October 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the leadership that Canada is demonstrating with the provinces and territories.

I am quite surprised that the Conservatives, who believe in the markets, do not understand that it is a market-based system that is going to help us grow our economy and advance. However, maybe the Conservatives wanted to listen to job creators.

Suncor Energy said in a statement after our announcement, “...we support a broad-based price on carbon as an important tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions...”.

The president of Shell Canada said, “...balancing Canadian economic development while protecting the environment will be enabled by a reasonable price on carbon...”.

The Canadian Wind Energy Association stated that a carbon—

[Taxation, October 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the leadership we are demonstrating with the provinces and territories to address climate change and grow our economy.

Yesterday, Premier Couillard welcomed Ottawa's decision. He said, “The announcement recognizes the autonomy of the provinces and the flexibility of the federation and makes it possible for different systems to be used”.

[Taxation, October 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the leadership of our government yesterday in taking real concrete action to tackle climate change and grow our economy. It is interesting. We should recall it was the Conservatives in their 2008 platform and speech from the throne who committed to implementing a price on carbon pollution through a cap-and-trade system. The environment minister at the time said, “Carbon trading and the establishment of a market price on carbon are key parts of our Turning the Corner plan...”.

After a decade of failure by the Harper government in meeting its commitments to Canadians, I guess the only Conservative plan now is to cap all the things they have said and trade it for no plan at all.

[Paris Agreement, October 4th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, my message is that we are going to continue working with them. Politics is politics, but we are here to provide solutions and to work with all Canadians so we position ourselves to tackle climate change and grow our economy.

[Paris Agreement, October 4th, 2016]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the member for his advocacy on the north.

The impacts of climate change are real. We see it across the country. P.E.I. is shrinking by an average of 43 centimetres a year. We have seen flooding and forest fires in the west. However, nowhere is the impact of climate change felt more than in the north. It does not have highways like we do. They are ice highways.

I heard a very compelling story yesterday from the president of the ITK organization, Natan Obed. He talked about one of the leading hunters in the north, an Inuit hunter, who fell through the ice and died. He left his family and the community grieving. Why? Because the changes in the climate are so extreme that someone who has lived off of the land and relied on hunting to provide for the community can no longer rely on traditional knowledge to assess when it is safe to go on the ice.

These impacts are real. It is not an inconvenience. It is changing ways of life and we need to take action now. We owe it to future generations.