François Choquette

[Corporate Social Responsibility of Extractive Corporations Outside Canada Act, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to rise in the House today to support the bill introduced by my colleague from La Pointe-de-l'Île, Bill C-584, An Act respecting the Corporate Social Responsibility Inherent in the Activities of Canadian Extractive Corporations in Developing Countries. I congratulate my colleague on the great work she does every day in the House of Commons. I am really proud of her.

I support this bill, as do hundreds of my constituents in Drummond who sent me letters asking me to support this bill to create an office of the ombudsman for the mining sector.

My partner supports it too, and that is saying something, because she is from Colombia. She has witnessed the disasters that some Canadian mining companies can cause in Latin American countries. My partner, Liliana, has urged me to support this bill, and I am proud to do so.

This initiative reflects NDP values: social justice, environmental protection and human rights. In short, this bill seeks to implement a recommendation by the national roundtables on corporate social responsibility and Canadian extractive industries dating back to 2007, as my colleagues said. Businesses and non-governmental organizations met to study the issue and they agreed on a resolution.

The main recommendation is to create an independent ombudsman's office that would act as a watchdog for the mining industry. We want to enforce corporate social responsibility standards and laws. That is very important.

Canada is in a unique position, since 75% of the world's mining companies are registered in Canada. Since we are a true haven for mining companies, our responsibility as Canadians is to ensure that these companies respect human rights, workers' rights and the environment as they do business around the world, whether in Latin America or in Africa. That is very important.

We cannot rely on self-regulation alone; we saw the results of such an approach in the XL Foods scandal and the Lac-Mégantic tragedy. We must take a serious approach that meets the needs of both extractive companies and the people who care about workers' rights and the environment.

The Conservatives claim to be masters of protecting mining companies, but they are completely out of touch because the mining companies themselves contributed to drafting this recommendation. In my humble opinion, the government must listen to this recommendation by the roundtables on corporate social responsibility. It is therefore imperative that an office of the ombudsman be created to ensure that the rights I mentioned are respected.

I will conclude and gladly give the floor to my colleague from La Pointe-de-l'Île, who can close on her bill.

Canada could be a world leader on this by establishing international standards requiring responsible business conduct.

The NDP wants to help developing countries protect their natural resources and ecosystem, as well as workers' rights. That is why we believe we must promote social justice, environmental protection and basic human rights abroad.

We want to create an ombudsman position, as the majority of the players are calling for. The ombudsman's mandate will be to investigate complaints, publish the results of his or her investigations and make recommendations to the government on additional legislative provisions and sanctions. That is what we need, and that is what the people of Drummond and all Canadians are asking for.

[Canada-Korea Economic Growth and Prosperity Act, September 25th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her wonderful speech and for the excellent presentation she gave on why we support this free trade agreement. However, it is very important to point out that we are not supporting it blindly.

This free trade agreement contains a new clause that we are concerned about. Under this clause, large corporations will be able to take legal action against the Canadian government if they feel their free trade rights have been violated. However, the rights of governments should take precedence.

Would my honourable colleague care to comment on that?

[The Environment, September 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment for his answer. I particularly appreciate the part of the answer that he delivered in French. Also, for once, it was a clear answer. I would like to congratulate him on a very complete answer.

Yes, there is monitoring. The parliamentary secretary himself acknowledged that there are high concentrations of mercury around the oil sands and that the concentrations in some places are so high that they exceed the standards.

I asked what the Conservatives would do to address the situation. Unfortunately, for the time being, all they are doing is monitoring the situation, not fixing it. They must take action to protect Canadians' health and their environment.

Back in 2011, then-environment commissioner Scott Vaughan criticized the incomplete data. He even said that data on the impact of oil sands development on the environment and health were poor or non-existent.

Now that we have a little information thanks to monitoring, what will the government do to protect Canadians' health and their environment?

[The Environment, September 24th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in the House to pursue a question that I asked in the last session with respect to the Conservatives' studies on the effects of the oil sands on health and the environment.

In 2012, the Conservatives drafted questions and answers in response to a study on contaminants that accumulate in the snow near oil sands operations. With respect to this alarming fact, they claimed that the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that accumulate are no worse than what is found on a barbecued steak.

However, a new study has found that mercury levels in the water and ground are 13 times higher in those areas than elsewhere. Naturally, I asked them if they would stop ignoring the serious problem of the accumulation of mercury, whose levels are 13 times greater in areas where there are oil sands operations than elsewhere in Canada. The Conservatives said that there was no problem. That is just unbelievable.

It is important to rely on science. Recently, we discussed the situation concerning belugas in the St. Lawrence River. An injunction was issued because scientific advice was not disclosed, contrary to what was claimed. The same thing is happening with the accumulation of mercury, whose levels are 13 times higher in areas near oil sands operations.

There is so little science that the Council of Canadian Academies did not even appoint a scientific expert in environmental technologies to chair the oil sands review committee. Instead, it appointed a pioneer in the development of the oil sands who spent 14 years as the CEO of Syncrude, the world's largest producer of crude oil from oil sands. It cannot be said that someone is going to monitor the oil sands industry in Canada.

A recent poll commissioned by the Professional Institute of the Public Service indicates that the vast majority of the federal government's scientists believe that the cuts made to their research and monitoring activities will weaken the government's ability to serve the public interest and that, consequently, Canada has moved backwards with respect to environmental protection.

In addition, last September, hundreds of scientists protested here in Ottawa, calling on the Conservatives to stop muzzling them and cutting their funding. It is not every day that we see scientists protesting on Parliament Hill. It is rare. The situation is very serious.

Mercury levels in the soil and water in areas near oil sands projects are 13 times higher. This is a serious problem and something has to be done to fix it.

What do the parliamentary secretary and the Conservative government intend to do about this huge concentration of mercury near oil sands development sites?

[Petitions, September 23rd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting dozens of petitions from people in my riding who are upset about and speaking out against the cuts to Canada Post. They are also speaking out against the fact that door-to-door delivery will be eliminated. People are shocked by that. They came to meet with me at my office to sign and drop off petitions about it. They want Canada to be a decent country, one that is worthy of being in the G7. As we all know, we will be the only G7 country without door-to-door delivery.

That is why I am presenting these petitions from the people of Drummond.

[The Environment, September 22nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, just because the government makes the same announcement every two years does not mean that it is doing twice as much.

The international community is trying to create the right circumstances for a new climate change treaty, but the Conservatives continue to sabotage those efforts. They failed to put regulations in place to limit emissions in the oil and gas sector. What is worse, they will not even try to do so. They put an end to the committee's work.

We are trying to combat climate change, so why are the Conservatives not making the oil companies do their part?

[Energy Efficiency Program, September 22nd, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank all of my colleagues—Conservatives, Liberals and New Democrats—who have spoken on this important debate on energy efficiency, the fight against climate change and the creation of good jobs for the future. I am truly pleased.

When I am asked why I am involved in politics, my first answer is, of course, that I got into politics for my children, for my future grandchildren and for future generations. This means that we need a vision. When we make decisions, we need to look ahead and not worry about making important decisions for the future.

I am, however, disappointed about a few things. I am very worried about the Conservatives' response to this motion on energy efficiency. From the first hour of debate, the Conservatives were saying that, for once, the NDP had a good idea. That is what I heard in the first part of the speech by the member for Yukon.

Unfortunately, in the second part of his speech, he said that the Conservatives had done their part and that there was nothing left to be done. There were no improvements left to be made to energy efficiency. According to him, everything is just fine. Everything has been done. We can pack it in because there is nothing left to improve.

This is especially disappointing, as leaders from around the world gather in New York on the eve of Climate Summit 2014. Ban Ki-moon will welcome all the world leaders who care about climate change. Barack Obama will also be there to welcome all the leaders who care about the future of our planet, except the Prime Minister of Canada. That is very disappointing.

I would also like to commend the member for Edmonton—Strathcona for the excellent work she has done in committee on the topic of energy efficiency and the environment. She has worked very hard to put forward her ideas, and I truly appreciate her work.

At the NDP's most recent caucus meeting in Edmonton, I met groups involved in the area of energy efficiency. They told me that it is clear that since the disappearance of the federal government's energy efficiency program, Alberta's energy efficiency market is on the decline. This proves that the program had its positives.

Furthermore, I did not just show up one morning with the idea of presenting an energy efficiency program in the House of Commons. On the contrary, I met with groups of people who care about the environment, from all over Canada.

In Drummondville, I met with representatives from energy efficiency companies, and I would like to mention two of them. First we have Venmar, which is known across North America. The company is based in Drummondville, which is a great source of pride for us. Then there is Aéroénergie, a company that is new and growing. There are other companies in this field that are based in Drummondville.

People are telling us that we need to meet with company representatives to convince them to introduce energy efficiency programs and tell them that they will see a return on their investment in 5 or 10 years. Not only is it an investment to encourage people and families to put their money into this area, it is also a way to create savings over a relatively short time.

We know that household debt is at an alarming level right now. Recent studies have again made that observation. We need to work to help families make ends meet. This will also allow us to create jobs for the future. Many of my colleagues have mentioned that we should focus on jobs in innovation and the green sector. We need to move in that direction. That is why the motion I moved is so broad. It does not tell the government what action to take. The government can proceed as it sees fit. I hope that it will work with the provinces, some of which have solid programs with municipalities or other groups.

I would like to add the following point about combatting climate change, and this is very important. This is a debate about tomorrow. Once again, officials at Environment Canada have said that the Conservatives will not meet their watered-down climate change targets.

We need an NDP government. We are a government in waiting.

We have a leader who is ready to make decisions. When we form government, we will have an energy efficiency program for the good of future generations.

[The Environment, September 18th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to respond to a few of the comments made by my hon. colleague, whom I welcome back to the House of Commons.

First of all, with respect to the fact we generate only 2% of greenhouse gas emissions, we nevertheless must realize our collective and individual responsibility as Canadians. Canada is one of the 10 worst countries in the world in terms of per capita greenhouse gas emissions. It is about on par with Saudi Arabia. Our emissions record is terrible when we look at the per capita figures. We have nothing to brag about--far from it.

With respect to working with the United States, it is the U.S. that is inviting the most important leaders on the planet to New York to find solutions. We are talking about Barack Obama and Ban Ki-moon. What is the Prime Minister of Canada doing? He is crossing his arms and staying home. One does not do that. He must go to New York.

When will the government actually do its job and abolish subsidies for oil and gas companies?

[The Environment, September 18th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, during another session, I asked a question about reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector. We have been waiting for years for standards on greenhouse gas emissions from this sector.

The last time, the Minister of the Environment told me that it was premature to unveil the standards when, in actual fact, we have been waiting for them for three years. It is not premature. On the contrary, they are overdue.

On Sunday, there will be a global march. In Drummondville, many of my constituents will be participating in this global march for the climate. The clock is about to strike midnight. We need to take action. We need to shoulder our responsibilities.

That is why UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. President Barack Obama invited every world leader and head of state to New York for a major meeting to find solutions in the fight against climate change. It is urgent.

We expect Canada to be at the forefront, to take a leadership role and show some initiative, demonstrating that it, too, is part of the solution. Unfortunately, our Prime Minister will not be at that meeting. It is very unfortunate and disappointing.

That said, it is important to understand that it is even more disappointing, because greenhouse gas emissions are not decreasing in Canada, but rather increasing.

In 2020, according to Environment Canada's own figures—and not those of radical environmentalists or extremists, as the Conservatives like to call them—Canadian emissions are expected to total 734 million tonnes of greenhouse gases.

Yes, the Conservative government has made some commitments, but it must be said: their targets are weak. In Copenhagen, the Conservatives reluctantly chose a target, saying they would adjust that figure to 612 million tonnes. Well, no. The expected number is 734 million tonnes, and that is not all: greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, primarily because of emissions from the oil and gas industry.

What is the Conservative government doing in the meantime, while it goes over its own target, however weak it was to begin with? I will not even mention the Kyoto target. The Conservatives will not achieve even that target.

According to a report, the environment and the economy go hand in hand. Philippe Calderon said:

[Our] report refutes the idea that we must choose between fighting climate change or growing the world’s economy. That is a false dilemma.

I wish the Conservatives would stop saying that they have managed to reduce climate change while maintaining the economy, because that is not a real dilemma. We can fight climate change while stimulating the economy.

What is the government waiting for? What are the Conservative waiting for? What is the minister waiting for? What is the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment waiting for? When will they finally impose some regulations on the oil and gas sector? This is urgent.

[The Environment, September 18th, 2014]

Mr. Speaker, Climate Summit 2014 will be held in New York on September 23. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. President Barack Obama are welcoming all world leaders who care about climate change and want to propose solutions. I said all leaders who care about climate change, but not the Prime Minister of Canada.

The people of Drummondville have come together and will participate in the Climate March with thousands of people all across North America. I invite everyone to join us on Sunday, September 21, at 1 o'clock in Saint-Frédéric park for the Climate March in Drummondville. People in the Drummond area are sending a strong message: we must take action against climate change now and make our economy green and sustainable.

On Monday, September 22, which is also World Carfree Day, I invite everyone to consider our carbon footprint. Why not use more public transit and active transportation?