James Lunney

[Situation in Syria, May 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Newton—North Delta, who is also from the west coast, for her question.

For the Canadians who have family members caught in that conflict, it is quite understandable that they would be very anxious for the well-being of their relatives. By living in a refugee camp, at least they are out of the conflict zone, but no matter how well they may be provided for, it is not a normal situation for families. We have heard examples of children. The minister gave an example of a seven-year-old child, who when asked said, “I don't like it here. I want to go home”. That is a very normal thing. However, in spite of that there are international norms that should be respected in the situation.

I think the government is probably looking at what might be done to accelerate those who have family situations there, and there may cases for some assistance. However, for the majority, we would hope for a quick resolution to the crisis so we can move toward normalization. Populations can be dealt with as the crisis abates and a more normal situation emerges.

[Situation in Syria, May 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Toronto Centre for bringing this subject to the floor of the House of Commons today so we could all take part in a debate.

The member knows full well, and even the way he framed his question would indicate he is well aware that there are international norms and conventions on managing a refugee crisis situation. In fact, whether there are family members in Canada or not, if they were applying for Canadian citizenship and in the queue already, accelerated claims for a small number of those cases might be reasonable.

There are very sound reasons that the UN High Commission and other responsible partners have come to the conclusion that in a humanitarian crisis it is not the first objective to take people out of the conflict zone and depopulate Syria to other countries. It creates a whole different dynamic that is actually not helpful to the long-term solution in the area and the betterment of refugee situations around the world.

[Situation in Syria, May 7th, 2013]

No, we do not. I am sure the member will check and find that it is the international convention. It is for the simple reason that we all hope they will be able to go back to a normalized nation and be given the choice of where they would like to live. We presume that the majority of them would like to go back to their homes in their own country in a stable, secure Syria.

Second, the member mentioned the crisis in Lebanon. Many of the people Canada flew out of Lebanon were actually Canadian citizens with dual citizenship.

Another point I would like to respond to was, in fact, the point raised about the minister's comment that there is a need for more and that we will do more. What the minister actually said, because I was listening to that debate, was that as time goes on, we will do more as the opportunity becomes available, in concert with our international partners. Canada has done more than almost any other nation, at this juncture, in providing aid to refugees, and we will continue to do so, as the minister said.

I will be sharing my time with the member for Richmond Hill.

Mr. Speaker, nearly every passing day, more shocking reports emerge of the atrocities committed against the Syrian people by the ruthless regime of Bashar al-Assad. The horrific toll of the conflict on the Syrian population is staggering. To date it is estimated by the UN that 80,000 people have been killed. More than 4.25 million have been internally displaced by the violence. In terms of refugees, we estimate that 1.4 million people, possibly as many as 1.5 million, are currently refugees from the conflict in Syria. They are in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Some are in Egypt, and some are in Iraq. According to the UN High Commission, they are registering as many as 7,000 refugees a day. We heard the minister say earlier that in Jordan, as many as 2,000 are arriving each day. This is a humanitarian crisis on a huge scale.

Reports on the ground detail a litany of horrific human rights abuses committed by the Syrian regime. Tragically, with the conflict now in its third year, the human rights and humanitarian situation in the country continues to deteriorate. The UN commission of inquiry on Syria has now issued several reports documenting widespread, systemic and gross human rights violations by Syrian security forces, including arbitrary arrest, detention, sexual violence, pillaging and the destruction of cultural and other protected properties.

Our government, and I am sure all Canadians, continue to be deeply concerned about ongoing reports of sectarian violence, which has been exacerbated by the crisis in Syria. Upon their liberation from Assad's iron fist, the Syrian people must not find themselves threatened by those who seek to impose a new type of tyranny or those who threaten the security and stability of Syria's neighbours.

Our government has for some time been speaking up for religious minorities in Syria. Most recently, on May 4, following a deeply troubling incident of violence in the coastal city of Banias, Canada's new ambassador for religious freedom, Andrew Bennett, condemned the violence and urged respect for religious minorities. The Syrian people have a strong cultural pluralism, acceptance and coexistence that is at odds with recent attacks singling out individual groups.

There was another troubling incident recently. Metropolitan Paul Yazigi, of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese, and Mar Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim, of the Syriac Archdiocese, both of Aleppo, were abducted while returning to Syria from Turkey, where they had been doing humanitarian work. Once again, on April 25, our government spoke out against these events and called for the immediate release of their eminences.

Sadly, even women and children are not safe from the violence. There are deeply troubling reports from Syria consistently suggesting that sexual violence has become prevalent, both on an opportunistic basis and as a deliberate method of warfare. There have also been disturbing reports of displaced women being abducted. Trafficking of women, as well as girls, is well documented.

The Assad regime has indiscriminately killed and injured great numbers of civilians through the use of heavy weapons in populated areas. It has launched scud missiles at the northern rebel-held cities in Syria, with no apparent effort to distinguish between civilian and legitimate military targets. There is also credible reporting that suggests the Assad regime has used cluster munitions as a weapon of war against its own citizens, including dropping bombs indiscriminately from attack helicopters on densely populated urban areas. More recently we have heard reports on the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria. The UN has established a fact-finding mission to establish whether such weapons have been used and by whom.

Canada has contributed some $2 million to these efforts. Unfortunately, I suppose we could say unsurprisingly, the Syrian regime and authorities have yet to grant the mission permission to visit and begin its investigation.

I think we heard the minister say earlier that if chemical weapons have been used, it would be important to determine who they were used by. If they were used, it would be important to determine when they were used and, as we said, by whom, because that would be essential in holding the perpetrators to account. There are conflicting reports, as to whether it is the regime or the rebels who have used chemical weapons. In either case, the use of chemical weapons is a huge escalation, and all of our international partners are duly alarmed by this escalation and determined to hold the perpetrators to account. Ultimately, Assad and his supporters, if they are culpable, will be held accountable.

Canada's objectives in Syria support a transition to a stable, democratic, pluralistic post-Assad time, while addressing the urgent humanitarian needs of those affected by the crisis. Through this difficult and violent period, one that has claimed the lives of far too many innocent civilians, we remain committed to a democratic transition in Syria.

Canada will continue to express the need for respect and promotion of human rights, particularly for religious minorities. It is vitally important that all Syrians can contribute to development without fear of violence. It is our hope, in fact it is our belief, that the regime's strategy of ruthless repression will not succeed in crushing the spirit of the Syrian people.

We are all hopeful that out of this terrible carnage and devastation will emerge a better future for the suffering people of Syria. I look forward to questions from my colleagues.

[Situation in Syria, May 7th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to respond first to a couple of issues that were just raised. In response to the question about Canada immediately bringing refugees, we are doing exactly what the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has asked us to do. There is actually an international consensus that during a crisis, people should not be immediately evacuated to other nations on a permanent basis. It is the hope--

[Business of Supply, April 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, if I heard the member correctly, the review that she referred to was of legislative progress in various countries, and that would be legislative progress to achieve certain objectives.

In terms of science, we have to remember that Canada's contribution to global emissions is in the range of 2%. Canada is taking responsible action to reduce our emissions. We are also a partner with our international allies and other responsible nations in advancing things that will help with greenhouse gas emissions. We are working, for example, on short-lived climate pollutants, encouraging the 100 or so nations that have not yet done so to make mitigation commitments and deal with the short-lived climate pollutants. There are very many cost-effective, readily available options for addressing SLCPs, like preventing black carbon emissions from diesel engines, residential cookstoves and brick kilns, harnessing methane from landfills as a source of energy and new technologies to avoid the use of HFCs.

Therefore, Canada is a partner in encouraging the other nations that have not been able to participate to find a way to reduce the things that cause the worst pollution and we are very proud to be a partner in advancing those issues.

[Business of Supply, April 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned. They are certainly concerned about climate change. In terms of the 2° warming, we have to look carefully at the data and there is reason for some debate. We thought spring had arrived a couple of months ago and it has not. We are seeing climate variability for sure. We are seeing instability and that is typical when climate is changing, as it has changed in the past. We go through periods of instability. We are seeing later springs and winters are not quite as cold. We have a very cold spring, for example. As we experience climate change, we are seeing all kinds of variabilities.

When we deal with complex models, multiple variables and incomplete data, our understanding of these processes will be advanced as more data becomes available.

[Business of Supply, April 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to point out that I will be splitting my time with the member for Durham.

Our government recognizes science as the foundation of our work to promote a clean, safe and sustainable environment for Canadians. Science plays a critical role in forming our policy decisions, in supporting the delivery of environmental services, and in helping to enforce the laws and regulations that protect Canada's environment.

Our government invests significantly in science at Environment Canada. Science activities account for the majority of the department's budget and include a wide range of research and monitoring activities. We are focused on protecting air, water and wildlife.

Environment Canada employs some of the best and the brightest minds in the field of environmental science. In fact, over half of the department's 6,800 employees work in science-related occupations. That would include chemists, hydrologists and meteorologists. With this government support, I am pleased to report that Environment Canada is one of the most productive institutions in environmental science in the world. The department publishes more than 600 peer-reviewed scientific articles every year.

This government takes climate change seriously. That is why Environment Canada is carrying out comprehensive scientific work on climate change and greenhouse gases.

I would like to share some of the details of the science Environment Canada produces in this area.

In collaboration with national and international partners, Environment Canada's climate scientists conduct research to generate new knowledge on climate change and variability. This work is an integral part of the global effort to understand the behaviour of the climate system and the human influence on climate and potential future climate change. The information generated through Environment Canada's climate science contributes not only to domestic climate change policies and decisions but also to international organizations, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Arctic Council, and the World Meteorological Organization.

For example, Environment Canada recently published important research that provides information relevant to understanding global greenhouse gas emissions in terms of the international goal of limiting global warming to below 2° centigrade. This study is an important contribution to understanding the global impact of climate change and the need to lower global emissions to limit temperature changes.

This is why Canada is working to implement the Copenhagen accord and the Cancun agreement. Countries that have signed on to them are responsible for more than 85% of greenhouse gas emissions. It is under our government that we have seen actual decreases in greenhouse gas emissions, the first government in Canadian history to actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

If we were to meet the Kyoto targets, which were, as the Liberal member for Kings—Hants said in the past, written on the back of a napkin, Canadians would have had to either remove every car, truck, ATV, tractor, ambulance, police car and vehicle of every kind from Canadian roads or perhaps close down the entire farming and agricultural sector and cut heat to every home, office, hospital, factory and building in Canada.

If we were to have done that, what would the cost of this irresponsible action have been? I can say that part of the cost would have been $14 billion from Canadian taxpayers transferred to other countries. That would be the equivalent of about $1,600 from every Canadian family, with zero impact on global emissions or the environment. If we add to this the figure of the $21-billion carbon tax the NDP would like to impose, we can readily see that it would cripple Canadian businesses and kill Canadian jobs.

If we had followed that ideological pursuit, had we followed this deeply flawed agenda, at a time when China is completing a new 600-megawatt coal-powered plant every eight days, Canada might have committed economic hara-kiri. We might have sabotaged our entire economy, and we would have had absolutely no impact on global emissions.

We have to be responsible in the actions we take. I am very proud that under this Prime Minister and this Minister of the Environment, we are making real progress toward our target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 17% from 2005 levels by 2020, through a sector-by-sector approach aligned with the U.S., where appropriate. I probably should remind members that actually, Canada's entire economy, and we are an industrial nation, only amounts to about 2% of global emissions.

The NDP likes to cast aspersions but ignores the reality that work being done by Environment Canada's scientists is leading the way in helping us understand the current and potential future impact of climate change across Canada so that we have the information necessary to support adaptation, planning and decision-making.

In line with this government's commitment to climate change science, budget 2011 included $29 million over five years for Environment Canada's climate change prediction and scenarios program. A further $35 million over five years is for the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada to support the climate change and atmospheric research led by Canadian universities.

Environment Canada also conducts scientific monitoring and reporting on greenhouse gas concentrations and emissions in Canada. The department maintains a network of stations across Canada that monitor greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Environment Canada also annually produces a national inventory on greenhouse gas sources and sinks in Canada as part of our commitment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Notably, the most recent national inventory report showed that we continue to achieve success in delinking greenhouse gas emissions and economic growth. That is again the first time in Canadian history we have seen that. We saw, during a previous government's 13 years, that greenhouse gas emissions actually increased by 30%, but since 2005, Canadian greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 4.8%, nearly 5%, while the economy has grown by 8.4%. That shows us that it is possible for us to reduce our greenhouse gas emission contributions in the world. We are a small emitter, even though we are an industrial nation. We are a small country with only 34 million people compared to the population of the world. Even at that, our economy can grow, and as a responsible member of the international community, we can reduce our emissions.

Environment Canada's environmental science activities are growing significantly. One such example is environmental monitoring in the oil sands region. There are significant scientific developments happening in that area that I would like to share with the House.

Earlier this week, in collaboration with the Province of Alberta, our Conservative government launched the joint Canada-Alberta implementation plan for oil sands monitoring to ensure the environmental integrity of Canada's oil sands. The implementation plan outlines the path forward to enhance the monitoring of water, air, land and biodiversity in the oil sands. It is designed to provide an improved understanding of the long-term, cumulative effects of oil sands development through sampling more sites for more substances more frequently.

The government is committed to ensuring that the data from the new monitoring program and the methods on which it is based will be transparent. Supported by the necessary quality assurance, it will be made publicly available to allow independent scientific assessments and evaluations. Fulfilling this commitment, the Canada-Alberta oil sands environmental monitoring information portal will provide access to information related to the joint Canada-Alberta implementation plan for oil sands monitoring. It will include maps of the monitoring regions, details of the monitoring sites, the most up-to-date data collected by scientists in the field and scientific analysis and interpretation of the data and results.

As more data becomes available in the coming months, the portal will evolve with new updates and features and will become more comprehensive. As it grows, the environmental monitoring data and information available in the portal will enable concerned parties to conduct their own analyses and draw their own conclusions.

I am extremely proud of the world-class science produced by Environment Canada. This government is confident that the Environment Canada science is robust and is focused on the issues that matter most to Canadians.

[Business of Supply, April 25th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the member's enthusiasm for the subject. However, the NDP leader travelled to Washington and campaigned and attacked Canadian jobs and Canada's national interests. There are tens of thousands of workers on both sides of the border who are counting on the Keystone XL project for jobs and economic growth. Premiers, union leaders and even NDP members support the project because of the jobs it would create for Canadians.

Why is the NDP going to other nations campaigning against jobs and economic prosperity for Canadians, at a time when we need economic recovery?

[Israel, April 15th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, today Israel is celebrating 65 years as a modern, independent state in a historic homeland dating back 3,000 years.

As was well stated by the late Margaret Thatcher, the political and economic construction of Israel against huge odds and bitter adversaries is one of the heroic sagas of our time.

I was part of a delegation that is just back from visiting three Baltic states. They are rebuilding after decades of occupation. We crossed paths with a large delegation from Israel accompanying Jewish young people on the annual March of the Living to commemorate the genocide associated with the Nazi and Soviet occupations.

Out of the ashes of the Holocaust, Israel emerged, a reminder that the darkest night must yield to a new dawn. Sixty-five years later, Israel is renowned for its contributions to science, medicine, technology and agriculture. Excellence in innovation has earned it the reputation as the “start-up” nation.

Today Canada stands with Israel.

I hope all members will join me in wishing Israel a happy birthday.

[Member spoke in Hebrew as follows:]

Chag Sameach. Am Yisrael Chai.

[The Budget, March 27th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, as I started my remarks, I talked about how we paid down $39 billion on the debt. Many of the members of the opposition have said that we squandered a surplus. We cannot pay down debt until we balance the budget.

What we are doing through the great work of the Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Finance and consulting with Canadians across the country is moving toward balanced budgets by maintaining the transfers to the people who depend upon them, the provinces for the social programs they require, for health care, and they are being increased as promised. We are also maintaining transfers to individuals and we are moving toward a balanced budget on target for 2015 through these very prudent measures that are included in budget 2013.