Jonathan Wilkinson

[Carbon Pricing, June 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, Canadians know that we can fight climate change and grow our economy at the same time.

Many of Canada's largest employers have endorsed the concept of a price on carbon pollution. It is already helping to build a clean-growth economy for Canada. Companies like CarbonCure in Nova Scotia, companies like Hydrogenics in Toronto, and companies like General Fusion and Carbon Engineering in British Columbia are companies that are part of the way of clean growth that will enable Canada to ensure that economic growth continues going forward while we meet our international obligations to address climate change.

[Carbon Pricing, June 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservative Party likes to repeat the question over and over again, and I will repeat a similar answer, which is that a thoughtful approach to addressing climate change includes measures that are regulatory measures. It includes making significant investments, and it includes putting a price on pollution to incent efficiency, to grow the economy, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

We have a comprehensive plan. Canadians want us to address climate change in a thoughtful way. They want us to ensure that we are protecting the future for our children and our grandchildren. That is exactly what we are going to do. The question they have for the Leader of the Opposition is, where is his climate plan?

[Carbon Pricing, June 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, a comprehensive approach to addressing climate change includes regulatory measures like phasing out coal and reducing methane emissions and includes investments in clean technology and green infrastructure. It also includes a price on carbon. A recent study released showed that by 2030, a price on carbon will reduce 80 to 90 megatonnes of carbon emissions while stimulating economic growth going forward.

The Conservatives have not told us how they will actually address climate change, because many of them over there do not even believe in climate science. It is time for us to hear from the opposition about how they will actually put together a plan to address climate change.

[Carbon Pricing, June 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives do not have a plan to address climate change. They do not even seem to believe that climate change is real or that it is a problem, and they are missing the boat on the enormous opportunities that will be enabled through addressing climate change in thoughtful and substantive ways. The World Bank has indicated that the Paris Agreement will create $23 trillion in economic opportunities going forward.

When the Conservatives were in power, Canada's share of the global clean-tech market shrunk by half. It was a function of the fact that they did nothing to address climate change. This government is going to grow the economy and address climate change at the same time.

[Carbon Pricing, June 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know we can fight climate change and grow the economy at the same time. As many of Canada's largest employers have pointed out, putting a price on carbon pollution is just good business. It is already helping to build a clean-growth economy and to make Canadian businesses more innovative and more competitive, businesses like New Flyer, which makes zero-emissions buses in Winnipeg, and Landmark Homes, which makes energy-efficient homes for Edmonton families. They know that pricing pollution encourages innovation and will bring good, new middle-class jobs for Canadians.

[Carbon Pricing, June 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the four provinces that price carbon pollution in Canada are B.C., Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec, which led the country in growth last year.

The environment and the economy go together. British Columbia put a price on carbon pollution more than a decade ago, and since 2008, British Columbia's direct price on carbon has reduced emissions between 5% and 15%, according to the experts at the University of Ottawa and Duke University, while provincial GDP grew more than 17% during that period. It shows that the price on carbon pollution is part of an overall plan to address climate change. It will create economic—

[Carbon Pricing, June 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, our government was elected on a platform that included investing in Canadians to grow our economy and protect our environment. Our plan is working. Since we took office, the Canadian economy has created more than 60% more full-time jobs than the Harper Conservatives in the same time frame. Last month, Canada recorded its largest year-over-year salary increase since 2009. Our government will continue to invest in Canadians in order to grow the middle class—

[Carbon Pricing, June 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, a new government does not mean we will stop feeling the impact of climate change. Canadians expect us to combat climate change, and we are taking serious action to improve our economy. That is why we are accelerating the phase-out of coal, investing in green infrastructure, and putting a price on pollution as an environmentally sound way to grow our economy. The science is clear: climate change is real.

We will continue to do what Canadians and Ontarians expect of us.

[Carbon Pricing, June 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians know that climate change is real and they expect us to take strong action. That is exactly what we are doing. We have taken action. We are accelerating the phase-out of traditional coal power. We are making historic investments in clean infrastructure like public transit, and we are putting in place a price on carbon pollution to grow the economy in cleaner ways. I certainly wish for the sake of our children and grandchildren that the Conservatives were not making climate change a partisan argument.

We will continue to take practical cost-effective measures to tackle climate change and grow a clean growth economy, because that is what Canadians expect, and that is what our children expect.

[Carbon Pricing, June 8th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, our government was elected on a platform of investing in Canadians to grow our economy and to work to protect the environment. Our plan is working.

We have successfully developed the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change, a historic agreement to address climate change with the provinces and territories. Since we formed government, the Canadian economy has created over 60% more full-time jobs than the Harper Conservatives did over the same time period. Last month, Canada saw its strongest wage growth, year over year, since 2009.

Our government will continue to invest in Canadians as we continue to grow the middle class and support those working hard to join it.