Jonathan Wilkinson

[Oceans Act, May 13th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I certainly agree with my hon. colleague. There are a number of pieces of legislation before this House that it is very important to Canadians across the country, from coast to coast to coast, we move forward with and ensure are implemented effectively. Certainly Bill C-55 falls into that category.

The ability to ensure that we are able, on an interim basis, to protect areas of great ecological and biological significance is very important in a world where biodiversity is in decline and the impacts of climate change are increasingly prevalent. We need to move forward in a way that allows us to ensure that the future of the environment is a clean one for our children and our grandchildren.

[Oceans Act, May 13th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, the bill is about interim protection. It will enable us to move forward with respect to the protection of our marine environment.

With respect to my hon. colleague's comments regarding standards, about two weeks ago, I announced Canada's approach to marine protected areas and other effective area-based measures at a conference in Montreal. They are world-leading in the context of how we go about ensuring that standards exist. I am more than happy to review those with the hon. member if he has not yet seen them.

Bill C-55 was sent to the Senate last May. A year later, it has finally been sent back to the House. Many senators in the other place have noted that we need to pass the bill now. We have put in an amendment to their message that captures the intent of their message. It is time for us to finish debate so that we can start protecting our marine environment more effectively.

[Oceans Act, May 13th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I am more than happy to talk about the environmental track record of this government relative to that of the Harper Conservatives.

The Harper Conservatives gutted the protections in the Fisheries Act and gutted the environmental assessment process. They had no plan to address the most significant issue we are facing on an environmental basis, which is climate change.

This government has developed a plan to address climate change. We have put in place measures to address the decline in biodiversity and to take care of species at risk. We have put in place a new Fisheries Act, which hopefully will be coming to this chamber in the short term. We are also putting in place a new environmental assessment process.

This government has done an enormous amount to ensure that on a go-forward basis, the environment and the economy will go hand in hand. That stands in stark contrast to the terrible environmental record of the Harper Conservatives.

[Oceans Act, May 13th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, there has been significant and sustained discussion of this bill in this chamber, at committee and in the other House. Bill C-55 was introduced two years ago.

As I said, there were five total days at second reading debating this bill, three total days at third reading, nine total House committee meetings, and eight Senate committee meetings in total. The House committee introduced amendments that were accepted in this House. The House committee heard from over 36 different witnesses, representing stakeholders across the piece. The bill was in the Senate for over a year, in part because of stalling on the part of the Conservative Party, and it was sent back to us two weeks ago.

There has been comprehensive debate and discussion of this bill, and now it is time to move forward.

[Oceans Act, May 13th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, with respect to my colleague's introductory comments, he has actually never come to talk to me about this bill. I would be more than happy to have a conversation with him about the issues to which he is referring.

This particular bill was introduced in June 2017. It has now been almost two years, and Canadians are counting on the government to pass this bill so that we can better protect our marine environment.

The Conservative Party has no plan for the environment and no plan for climate change. If it were up to them, we would never finish debating this bill, because they simply do not want environmental protections.

[Oceans Act, May 13th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, let me start by outlining the facts.

Bill C-55 was introduced on June 15, 2017. Five days in total were spent debating this bill at second reading and three days in total spent at third reading. In total, there were nine House committee meetings and eight Senate committee meetings. In the House fisheries committee, five amendments were proposed to the bill by Conservative, Green and independent members, which were adopted by the House on April 25, 2018. The House committee heard from 36 witnesses, representing a range of different stakeholders. The bill spent over a year in the Senate. It was first read May 26, 2018, and was sent back to us just two weeks ago.

Therefore, I think the record shows that a significant amount of time and discussion have gone into this bill.

[The Environment, May 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we have a plan to combat climate change and make the economy clean and affordable for everyone. Our plan includes more than 50 measures, such as investing in renewable energy to ensure that 90% of our electricity is clean, helping schools, hospitals and businesses save money and energy through the low carbon economy fund, and phasing out coal.

We will continue to work with Canadians to build a cleaner, more prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.

[The Environment, May 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, by taking action to fight climate change, we can protect our health and create good jobs in a clean economy.

We stand by our commitment with our international partners to phase out inefficient non-tax fossil fuel subsidies by 2025. We have conducted a preliminary analysis to help us meet that commitment. That is why we have begun consultations to hear from Canadians on this matter.

[The Environment, May 6th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, by taking action to fight climate change, we certainly will protect the health of our economy and create good jobs for the future. We stand by our commitment with our international partners to phase out inefficient non-tax fossil fuel subsidies by 2025. We have done much of the work in that regard. We continue to do that going forward. We have opened up a consultation with Canadians to move that forward and we intend to meet our international obligations.

[The Environment, May 3rd, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, last week, I was in Montreal with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to host a nature summit. It focused very much on biodiversity issues and the decline of biodiversity globally and in Canada.

We have committed to 17% terrestrial and 10% marine. We have made substantial progress. In fact, at the nature summit, I announced the protection of the Laurentian Channel, which brings us now to 8.3% of the 10% target, far higher than the less than 1% that existed under the previous Conservative government.

We are determined to meet those targets. It is extremely important for the future of the world, and we will—