Jim Prentice

[The Environment, March 5th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, the budget for Environment Canada last year was essentially $1 billion. The budget for Environment Canada this year is $1.1 billion. I calculate that as a 10% increase. I do not know how the NDP does its math, but it might explain to Canadians how that constitutes a massive cut at Environment Canada.

[The Environment, March 5th, 2010]

Mr. Speaker, that is not the case. Canada is now a leader in the production of clean energy. We will continue our work so that our energy is even cleaner. That will be done through regulation and not subsidies.

[Questions on the Order Paper, December 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), the Prime Minister will attend the conference in Copenhagen.

The Minister of the Environment will be the head of delegation for the ministerial segment of the meeting, scheduled for December 16 to 18, 2009. From December 7 to 16, 2009, Canada’s chief negotiator for climate change, Mr. Michael Martin, will lead Canada’s delegation, supported by a team of federal, provincial and territorial officials. Critics of the environment from each federal party will be invited to attend the conference as well.

In response to (b), provincial and territorial premiers, or designated representatives, have been invited to join the Canadian delegation. The delegation will also include a number of advisors representing a range of Canadian stakeholders.

In response to (c), federal officials and representatives from the provinces and territories will be part of the Canadian delegation, as well as a number of external advisers.

In response to (d), final decisions have yet to be made with respect to the exact number of federal officials that will need to participate on the Canadian delegation in Copenhagen. A final list of delegates will need to be approved by the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. However, based on experience at previous UNFCCC conference of the parties and estimated expected expenses, we are projecting a potential total cost of approximately $1.7 million Canadian for the government participation at Copenhagen. This total includes the cost of accommodation, travel, per diems and delegation meeting rooms. There are no delegate fees associated with the meeting.

In response to (e), Canada signed the Kyoto protocol on April 29, 1998 and ratified it on December 17, 2002. The Kyoto protocol entered into force on February 16, 2005.

Canada’s commitments in the UNFCCC and its Kyoto protocol are clear. Canada remains a party to the Kyoto protocol and is actively engaged in negotiations for the post-2012 period.

Canada’s assigned reduction amount for the 2008 to 2012 commitment period is 2,791 million tonnes CO2 eq. Similar to a number of other annex 1 parties with Kyoto protocol commitments, Canada’s emissions in the 2008 to 2012 period are projected to exceed its assigned amount. The Kyoto protocol provides annex 1 parties with the right to acquire or transfer emission units. Canada meets all the eligibility criteria and became eligible to participate in all the flexibility mechanisms under the Kyoto protocol on June 16, 2008.

The compliance of annex 1 parties with their Kyoto commitments will be determined following the completion of an expert review of its 2012 emissions inventory, to be submitted by April 15 in 2014.

Going forward, Canada believes we should build on the experience gained through the implementation of the Kyoto protocol in developing a new agreement under the convention to strengthen the environmental effectiveness of the existing global climate change regime through binding commitments and actions by all major emitters.

In response to (f), in March 2008, the government published the Turning the Corner plan. Earlier this year, the government indicated that it was refining this approach to reflect the new realities of the global economic downturn and the opportunities represented by a new administration in the United States. The government publishes information on the implementation of its climate change programs annually through the climate change plans for the purposes of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. These documents can be found on Environment Canada's Web site, and are also available in hard copy by contacting the department.

[The Environment, December 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I consulted extensively with everyone involved and with all the provinces leading up to Copenhagen. I invited the provinces to join the official Canadian delegation. That is a first in our country's history. In Copenhagen, the provincial representatives will have considerable support. However, Canada will speak with a single voice in Copenhagen, and that will be the voice of the federal government.

[The Environment, December 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, we have a simple plan. We want to reach an agreement in principle in Copenhagen, which will serve as a basis for a new international treaty. We also want a binding agreement on all the major emitters. We will have harmonized targets and regulations with the United States. President Obama already announced yesterday that his country has a reduction target of 17%. That is almost the same as the Canadian target. We must continue to coordinate our efforts in the fight against climate change.

[The Environment, December 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, to reiterate, our target is clear. Our plan and policy is clear and Canadians support it.

Now I do not want to be completely disparaging of the Liberals in the House, but at Kyoto they were excited: they had a target but they had no plan. Now they are enthused about Copenhagen, but they have a plan and they do not have a target. This could only be said to be progress in the way that Churchill described progress for Liberals, which is lurching from failure to failure with enthusiasm.

[The Environment, December 7th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, our target is clear. Our policy is clear. Canadians support it, and the hon. member knows that.

The important issue right now is that today is the first day of the Copenhagen conference. Canada wants to see an international agreement arrived at in Copenhagen. It is very much in our interest to have an agreement negotiated in Copenhagen.

Our country is prepared to shoulder its fair share of responsibility under that agreement. Moreover, we are prepared at the table, having the finest minds in the world on climate change sitting as Canada's negotiators at the table.

I encourage the hon. member, knowing that he will be at Copenhagen, and hope that he will work with us constructively in the best interests of Canada.

[The Environment, December 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, this government has a plan. Our target is clear. Our plan is clear. We intend to seek an international consensus, an international framework. We intend to pursue continental harmonization with the United States.

The real danger to the Canadian economy resides on that side of the House. Those members would support targets calling for reductions of 39% from today's carbon emission levels, triple the economic consequences for any other industrial democracy. Why would they do that to our jobs, to our investments, to our economy?

[The Environment, December 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Canada is committed to going to Copenhagen with the targets that we have announced of minus 20% by 2020 from a 2006 base.

The real question I would ask the hon. member is if she looks at the American targets, which are similarly minus 17%, if she looks at the European Union targets, which are 14% if calculated from today's emissions, how and why would the member put forward a bill in the House, supported by the other parties, which calls for reductions in Canada of 39%? That is almost triple the cuts that are being proposed by any other industrial democracy, triple the economic damage to our country as opposed to anyone else. It is irresponsible.

[The Environment, December 3rd, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, I met with the Premier of Quebec. The Conservative government represents all Canadians.

We have made progress with the provinces. We consulted extensively with the provinces and territories before Copenhagen. We invited the provinces to participate in talks in Copenhagen as members of the official Canadian delegation. That is why we are making the services of the embassy available to them.

We practise open federalism, and the Bloc has supported our efforts.