House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 36% of the vote.
Petitions May 1st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is from petitioners calling for a shark fin import ban.
The petitioners ask that measures be taken to stop the global practice of shark finning and ensure responsible conservation management of sharks. They call upon the Government of Canada to immediately legislate a ban on the importation of shark fin into Canada.
Petitions May 1st, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions today.
The first petition is from petitioners who are calling upon the government to save the Kitsilano Coast Guard station. They say the recent decision to close the station is a grave mistake, one that will undoubtedly cost lives and put at peril those on the shores near Vancouver Harbour.
The petitioners ask the Government of Canada to immediately rescind the decision and reinstate full funding to maintain the Kitsilano Coast Guard station.
Business of Supply April 25th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the member asked a good question. That is why we need a national plan. The New Democrats spelled out, under the climate change accountability act, the things we would like to see put in place on a national scale.
In terms of adaptability, there are many things. We definitely need to continue to have the input from our world leading research centres, whether it is the ELA, or many other scientists and universities across the country getting that input to tell us how we could best meet those targets and best adapt for a changing climate. Whether it is in the west, the north, the east, central Canada or across the Prairies, there are so many things that could be done to adapt.
We are going to have to adapt to a changing climate. Also, can we also put in place mitigating factors from a federal government perspective, working with the provinces, the territories, first nations, industry, environmental organizations and the communities to make those necessary changes to tackle this enormous problem? We cannot continue to put that off, which the government is doing, relying on just small measures. Some have been good, and there needs to be acknowledgement for those measures, but not enough has been done to tackle such an enormous problem. We need to see real commitment and real action.
Business of Supply April 25th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I will say two things. In an interview with the editorial board of La Presse this month, the Minister of Natural Resources said: “people aren't as worried as they were before about global warming of two degrees. Scientists have recently told us that our fears are exaggerated”. This is unbelievable.
The member opposite wants me to answer a question about action on climate change. Certainly, I know the government and its members were very instrumental in trying to bring down the climate change accountability act that we put forward, which would spell out a national plan. In fact, the New Democrats recognize that Canada must take urgent and immediate action to avoid catastrophic climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions keep global average temperature increases below a maximum of 2° Celsius. As other speakers have pointed out, we are heading dangerously close to that. Some experts even say that we are heading above that. This would be catastrophic, not just for the environment but for the economy.
We need political will. We need, and what Canadians will believe, the government to make that commitment. Canadians who I hear from do not believe the government has made that commitment.
Business of Supply April 25th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Chambly—Borduas, who is a fine member.
I would like to introduce this motion that I will, of course, be supporting.
We are asking:
That this House: (a) agree with many Canadians and the International Energy Agency that there is grave concern with the impacts of a 2 degree rise in global average temperatures; (b) condemn the lack of effective action by successive federal governments since 1998 to address emissions and meet our Kyoto commitments; and (c) call on the government to immediately table its federal climate change adaptation plan.
I want to add some of my personal experiences relevant to this motion before I get into spelling out what I would call government inaction and then expand on the New Democrats' position in terms of what we would like to see happen on climate change.
I got my start in terms of taking action when I swam the length of the Fraser River in 1995. It was a 1,400-kilometre swim. I did that both in 1995 and in 2000 to draw attention to the issues threatening the health of the Fraser River.
The Fraser River is known as one of the greatest salmon rivers in the world, but it is under threat. It is on the B.C. endangered rivers list. It is threatened in many different ways, but certainly climate change is one of the biggest threats to the health of the river and to the salmon that make the river so majestic. The Fraser River is known for its cultural, historic, environmental and economic values, but climate change threatens all of that.
I could speak quite a bit about the ten years of swims that I did to draw attention to the threats facing our environment on the west coast, but I want to move to my experience as an elected official.
Soon after those swims, I was asked to get involved to change public policy and speak out at the local level. I was a city councillor in the City of Coquitlam for seven years, from 2002 to 2009. In those early days Coquitlam was certainly very aware of the impacts of climate change and was trying to do its share as a municipality to make a difference in dealing with climate change, even at a local level. The city implemented many initiatives to try to mitigate the damage caused by climate change on the municipality of Coquitlam.
I was also a representative on the board for Metro Vancouver, and I want to talk about a specific motion I brought forward that I feel dealt with climate change, which was to move to zero waste. In fact, I was the director who put forward the motion calling on the region to move to zero waste. That is an ambitious target, but it has moved us from a 55% waste diversion up to what is now 75% diversion rate. Of course, the region is ideally looking to moving to 100% diversion, or zero waste, and recycling all the material it produces.
This is a part of defining what I have been involved with in terms of action on climate change and the environment and also to point out that there are many ways one can take action. The critical thing is the will to change and to outline how important it is to make change. This is where I have to turn to the Conservative federal government's inaction on this file.
In fact, it is an embarrassment that in this day and age we have a government minister who is accused of being a climate change denier. It is out there, people are talking about it, and it is unfortunate. Canadians from coast to coast to coast understand the urgency of the climate crisis. It seems that it is just the Conservatives who are out of step with Canadians and our closest allies when they refuse to take action.
I held town hall meetings just recently. This year I heard from many constituents who were very concerned with the government's refusal to act on climate change. They spoke out to me. They brought it up. They identified it in New Westminster, in Coquitlam and in Port Moody when I held town hall meetings in each of those communities. Even on the phone, when I talked to thousands of people, climate change was brought up. Certainly, health care was identified as the number one priority, but climate change was up among the top priorities on which they wanted to see the federal government take action. They pointed out that the Conservative government, in their opinion, was not taking action and they were very alarmed.
Let us identify the record of the Conservatives. They have been systematically dismantling environmental laws since they were elected, using omnibus legislation to weaken environmental protections. When I held my town hall meetings, the residents were very concerned about the undemocratic use of omnibus legislation. Attacking environmental legislation, using budget bills, was something they found to be very disingenuous.
The Minister of Natural Resources has vilified those who oppose the government's position, calling them "radicals". This is divisive and unnecessary and it is, in fact, appalling that the minister would come out and label people radicals. These are people who work, sometimes their entire life, or continue to passionately try to make change, on climate change.
This is not the way forward. It is not a healthy way to address such a serious topic. We need everyone working together, trying to make change. This is a huge issue and challenge that we are facing as Canadians.
The Minister of the Environment has even accused unspecified Canadian charities of money laundering and has refused to either retract, apologize or name names. This, I find, is very disingenuous. If the minister knows something, he should specifically cite those examples where this is the case, not put out fear and turn people away. Again, I have talked to many organizations or representatives of organizations trying to make change on climate change and the environment, and they are feeling the heat of these kinds of comments, this divisive language and these attacks on their work.
The Prime Minister and the Conservative government have made Canada a global laggard on climate change and green investment. The Conservatives have reduced Canada's national greenhouse gas emissions targets by 90% since taking power in 2006. They pulled out of the Kyoto accord just recently and pulled Canada out of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. Meanwhile, they have given billions of dollars in annual tax breaks for fossil fuel companies and they have failed to monitor or regulate their emissions.
Conservative inaction on climate change is costing Canada jobs. The U.S. has again delayed approval for the Keystone XL project due to further climate change analysis. The European Union has plans to put a carbon penalty on Canada's unconventional oil and gas products because they have higher emissions than traditional fossil fuels. These decisions are the result of a Canadian government's failure and inaction. Despite promises to have the oil and gas regulations in place by 2010, there are still no regulations.
Budget cuts to environmental protections include gutting the Fisheries Act, weakening protections for endangered species, muzzling and firing scientists and defunding critics like the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy.
Let us not forget that it has been over six months since Justice Cohen released his landmark report on the sustainability of Fraser River sockeye. The government has not said one word about whether it will implement Justice Cohen's 75 recommendations. Again, I talked about the Fraser River, one of the key rivers in British Columbia, which is a Canadian national heritage river. Here are a series of recommendations that the government spent $26 million on and they have not said a word after half a year.
This is abysmal and it is not the record I support, but I am glad we have put forward this motion and I am happy to support it.
Petitions April 24th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I also rise to present a petition that calls the recent decision by the federal government to close the Kitsilano Coast Guard station a grave mistake that will undoubtedly cost lives and put people in peril along the shores near Vancouver harbour.
They call on the government to rescind this decision and reinstate full funding for the Kitsilano Coast Guard station.
Petitions April 24th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present two separate petitions.
The first is from thousands of Canadians calling that measures be taken to stop the global practice of shark finning and to ensure the responsible conservation and management of sharks.
They call upon the government to immediately legislate a ban on the importation of shark fins into Canada.
Search and Rescue April 17th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, the death of a man on a freighter in English Bay last week has raised new questions about the reckless Conservative decision to close the Kitsilano Coast Guard station. It took paramedics nearly 40 minutes to reach the patient.
It was a reckless and dangerous decision to close this station. Will the minister now do the right thing and reopen the Kitsilano Coast Guard station before another tragedy occurs?
Petitions April 15th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, my second petition is with regard to banning the importation of shark fins. The petitioners say that measures must be taken to stop the global practice of shark finning and to ensure the responsible conservation and management of sharks. They call upon the Government of Canada to immediately legislate a ban on the importation of shark fins to Canada.
Petitions April 15th, 2013
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present two petitions.
The petitioners urge the government to save the Kitsilano Coast Guard station. The petitioners say that the recent decision by the federal government to close the Kitsilano station is a grave mistake and that it will undoubtedly cost the lives of those in peril on the shores and waters near Vancouver Harbour.
The petitioners are urging the Government of Canada to rescind the decision and reinstate funding to maintain the Coast Guard station at Kitsilano.