House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2011, with 45% of the vote.
The Environment November 26th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, what the Prime Minister did is provide real and genuine leadership to try to get all the big emitters to accept binding targets.
Canada believes we have an important leadership role to play. Leadership means going first. That is why we have set aggressive targets: a 20% absolute reduction of greenhouse gases by 2020 and up to 60% and 70% by 2050, something we never saw under the previous Liberal government.
The Environment November 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the member for Ottawa South and members of the Liberal Party had their chance to stand up for the environment, but when the House of Commons voted on the throne speech that gave the government a mandate to govern and a mandate on an environmental policy, the Liberals and that member were nowhere to be seen. They abstained.
Decisions in this country are taken by people who show up and vote.
The Environment November 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, we see the member for Ottawa South, the official spokesman for the Liberal Party on the environment.
Do we know how many days it has been since he stood up and asked a question of me as Minister of the Environment? It has been 160 days.
And what is his question? Why can I not come on that nice trip?
The Environment November 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I do not know whether representatives of Alberta's oil companies will be in Bali. That is not our intention. It is very important to have a new protocol in order to achieve real results in the fight against climate change. We absolutely want to reduce greenhouse gases by 20%. We will work on achieving that goal at this international conference.
The Liberal Party and the Bloc Québécois have never done anything on this.
This team is taking action.
The Environment November 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I do not want to have a partisan debate at this international forum. It is absolutely essential that we work very hard and constructively with our counterparts at the conference in order to achieve real results. It is very important that the Government of Canada work hard with a view to establishing a new protocol.
I am very proud that Line Beauchamp, Quebec's environment minister, will be representing her province.
We are getting things done.
The Environment November 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House support open federalism. We are very proud to have representatives of the provinces. I am very proud that Line Beauchamp, the Minister of the Environment of Quebec, has accepted our invitation to join the Canadian delegation to work toward a new agreement to combat climate change.
For 17 years, the Bloc Québécois has never done anything in this House. The time has come to take action.
The Environment November 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, we will have a great deal of important work to do in Indonesia at the United Nations meeting. Canada will be represented by a delegation made up of the Government of Canada, representatives of some groups that can help us and Line Beauchamp, the Minister of the Environment of Quebec.
Questions on the Order Paper November 22nd, 2007
Mr. Speaker, Environment Canada did not commission nor undertake analysis assessing the economic costs of implementing Bill C-30, as amended by the Legislative Committee on Bill C-30. However, C-30 as amended did incorporate an obligation by Canada to fully meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Kyoto protocol, which the Government has examined in the context of its review of the former C-288, now the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. In that analysis, it was concluded that full compliance with Canada’s Kyoto targets, after years of inaction, would result in more than 275,000 jobs lost and a reduction in personal disposal income of about $4,000 for a Canadian family of four in 2009. Energy prices would go up considerably: more than double for natural gas, 50% for electricity, and gasoline, which is today about one dollar a litre would, on average, cost $1.60 a litre over the 2008-2009 period.
This would plunge the country into a deep recession in 2008. Canada's GDP would decline by over 6.5 percent from expected levels in 2008. GDP in 2008 would fall to 4.2 percent below that of 2007. By comparison, the deepest recession since World War II was in 1981-82, when the GDP fell by 4.9 percent. In actual dollars, the predicted recession would result in a decline in national economic activity in 2008 in the range of $51 billion below 2007 levels.
These results were supported by the leading Canadian experts in the field of macroeconomic modeling and macroeconomic analysis of Canada’s GHG mitigation options. These individuals were identified in the report entitled: The cost of Bill C-288 to Canadian families and business, released on April 19, 2007.
Environment Canada also assessed the potential economic impacts of introducing regulatory limits on industrial emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants, as described in the regulatory framework for air emissions, as published by the Government of Canada on April 26, 2007. Its conclusions were that, by adopting an approach that respects Canada’s national circumstances and provides business and citizens with the time to adjust to a carbon-constrained world, the regulatory framework will achieve significant reductions in Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions with minimal impact on energy prices, personal income and employment, and the economy overall.
In assessing the economic impact of both the former C-288 and the government’s industrial regulatory package, Environment Canada used its in-house economic modeling framework--E3MC.
Foreign Affairs November 21st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, I would certainly offer my full apologies to you. I am a rookie member and I appreciate your wise counsel. You are the great wise helmsman of Parliament.
The Environment November 21st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, that is not the case at all. We are always happy to work with francophone countries. The best way to make that happen this year is not to wait six months to hold a meeting about it. We will work hard in Indonesia with all representatives of francophone countries to ensure that we have a real action plan for the whole planet in place after 2012.