House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 45% of the vote.
The Environment June 3rd, 2008
Mr. Speaker, some people want to look backwards as to what might have happened since 1990. We believe that climate change, dangerous climate change, is having a terrible effect on our environment and what that requires us to do is to actually reduce harmful greenhouse gases in the future. We are trying to build a better world, a better planet. We are going to look forward, not backward.
The Environment June 2nd, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we will ensure rigorous environmental assessments are done before any sensitive ecosystems take place.
I want to thank the NDP for being brave enough to stand with those of us in the government against the Liberals' carbon tax plan. Why are the NDP against the carbon tax plan? They know it would hurt seniors living on fixed incomes. They know it would hurt people in Atlantic Canada who have to use home heating fuel for their homes. It would be the death nail of rural Canada. It would be a new tax on heating hot water.
Thank goodness the NDP is finally standing up against a new tax.
The Environment June 2nd, 2008
Mr. Speaker, when I became the Minister of the Environment, there was only one rule in place: a big fat tax subsidy brought in by the Liberal Party for the oil sands.
Not only have we eliminated that but we are actually doing something that is remarkable. We are actually forcing the big polluters to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. Never before in Canadian history have they been required to do that.
We came forward with further mandates requiring carbon capture and storage, leading edge technology that is already at work in Saskatchewan.
We will ensure that every environmental law is respected so we can do the right thing for our planet and our future.
The Environment June 2nd, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the minister responsible for Montreal and I are working very hard with Luc Bertrand, the president of the Montreal Exchange. We were very pleased that he launched a new climate exchange, which was a very important part of our plan to reduce greenhouse gases.
We have a tough plan to reduce greenhouse gases by 20% and we are very proud that the former premier of Quebec said a few words about it.
Pierre Marchand wrote in La Presse, earlier this year, that “Canada entered the era of climate change in 2007.”
The Environment June 2nd, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we were very pleased to announce a plan to reduce greenhouse gases by 20%, which is a fixed target. If the provinces want to take additional measures, that is their right, but I have to be very clear that our targets are fixed. They are fixed in Quebec, Ontario and Alberta.
We have found real solutions for our environment. This is the first time in Canadian history that we have a government with a real plan of action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Environment June 2nd, 2008
Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear for the past year: we support fixed targets for greenhouse gases reductions.
Last year we were very proud to announce our plan of action to regulate major polluters. We were also pleased to announce, on March 10, the details of our plan. And we were very pleased, following the announcement of the details of our plan, that the carbon exchange opened on Friday in Montreal. I am very proud to have been invited to speak at that event.
We are taking action and we are finding real solutions for the environment.
The Environment June 2nd, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I do not want to sit back years from now and wonder what might have been, like the leader of the Liberal Party. We have a plan to cut, in absolute terms, our greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions are causing dangerous climate change.
We are going to force the big polluters to clean up their act. Going after the big polluters will be central to our plan to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, instead of going after those seniors living on fixed incomes and the middle class, as the Liberal Party is so keen to do.
The Environment June 2nd, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I am excited to work with my friend Dalton McGuinty, the Premier of Ontario. Dalton McGuinty and I do not agree on many things but the one thing we are prepared to work on in common cause is to help defeat the carbon tax being proposed by the Liberal Party and our friends opposite. Canadians cannot afford to pay more for their tax, more for home heating fuel and more for their electricity.
I will work with Dalton McGuinty to defeat the Liberal carbon tax plan any time, any place, any day of the week.
Government Contracts May 14th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party thinks it is perfectly acceptable to falsely and inaccurately smear individuals. The member from Markham should listen to one of his own constituents who wrote the government this: “I am pleased to lend our enthusiastic support to re-establish the Peterborough Rail Line which passes through the east end of Markham. This timely investment is crucial for the greater Toronto area”.
Who said that? Frank Scarpitti, the mayor of Markham.
Government Contracts May 14th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, let me tell members what was said in this place. That member unconditionally and falsely smeared the minister, smeared the minister's wife, and smeared the minister's family. If he can smear and recklessly attack innocent people, he can unconditionally apologize to this House, and apologize to the minister and his family.