Laurel Collins

[Questions Passed as Orders for Returns, October 30th, 2024]

With regard to the 2 Billion Trees Commitment, broken down by province or territory since its inception: (a) what is the total amount of funding allocated under each of the (i) cost-sharing agreements with provinces and territories, (ii) Privates Lands stream, (iii) Urban Lands stream, (iv) Federal Lands stream, (v) distinctions based Indigenous stream; (b) what is the total amount of funding delivered under each of the (i) cost-sharing agreements with provinces and territories, (ii) Privates Lands stream, (iii) Urban Lands stream, (iv) Federal Lands stream, (v) distinctions based Indigenous stream; and (c) what is the total amount of funding on hold or undelivered under each of the (i) cost-sharing agreements with provinces and territories, (ii) Privates Lands stream, (iii) Urban Lands stream, (iv) Federal Lands stream, (v) distinctions based Indigenous stream?

[Questions on the Order Paper, October 30th, 2024]

With regard to the pilot system for rapid heat wave attribution: (a) which heat waves have been assessed to calculate how much human-caused global warming changed the risks of such an event occurring, including during the development of the system; (b) what steps are being taken and what is the expected timeline to expand the pilot to include extreme cold weather events and extreme precipitation; and (c) are there plans to expand the pilot to include wildfires, drought, and floods?

[Questions on the Order Paper, October 30th, 2024]

With regard to the Assessment Framework and Guidelines that deliver on Canada’s G7 and G20 commitments to phase out or rationalize inefficient fossil fuel subsidies: (a) how many tax and non-tax measures have been assessed and met the criteria to be considered an efficient fossil fuel subsidy; and (b) for each tax and non-tax measure identified in (a), which of the six criteria identified in the framework were met?

[Privilege, October 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the member started his speech by talking a bit about the provincial elections, which gives me the opportunity to congratulate David Eby and the B.C. NDP on getting a third mandate. It also potentially gives him the opportunity to condemn the remarks of Conservative candidates in the B.C. election who were racist towards the Muslim community and indigenous communities. I would hope that everyone in the House, including that member, would condemn those comments.

[Health, October 29th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, it is our body, our lives, our choice. Abortion care is health care, but the Liberals keep letting Conservative premiers erode access, while these Conservatives creep anti-choice legislation into Canada.

Conservative cuts mean no family doctors, no midwives, no nurses to staff clinics. This is not real access. Everyone should be able to get health care when they need it, including abortion care.

Will the Liberals enforce the Canada Health Act to stop Conservative attacks on abortion?

[Oil and Gas Industry, October 24th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, while Canadians are worried about massive flooding and wildfires, the Conservatives are rubbing elbows with the same CEOs who are fuelling the climate crisis. The Conservative leader spent a night schmoozing with these executives at his $1,600-a-plate fundraiser. He is not listening to hard-working Canadians. However, the Liberals are no better. They met with oil and gas lobbyists five times a day.

Canadians should come first, not CEOs, so why are the Liberals ripping a page from the Conservative playbook and putting CEOs ahead of people?

[Privilege, October 21st, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, the member said the leader of the Conservative Party will get his security clearance when he becomes Prime Minister. There is foreign interference happening right now. His party's members may be implicated, but he refuses to get his security clearance now to protect the integrity of his party and to protect our democracy. Richard Fadden, the former director of CSIS, publicly said the Leader of the Opposition will not be gagged. Even if he was concerned about that, he could ask for just specific briefings on his party.

Why will the Leader of the Opposition not get his security clearance?

[Committees of the House, October 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, that is a really important question. It is why I focused my speech on the recommendations from this report.

We heard a very clear call to action, and the Liberal government has failed to take responsibility for erosion. I remind Canadians listening, and especially the government, that erosion is not just about the loss of land; it is about the loss to communities of their livelihoods and ecosystems. It is a loss to communities.

[Committees of the House, October 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I definitely see a lot of Liberal promises and Liberal inaction. We see broken promise after broken promise when it comes to the climate crisis and environmental protection. I would also say that the Conservatives seem to have thrown up their hands altogether, either denying that climate change is real or saying we somehow cannot do anything about it.

We need to take bold action that matches the scale and urgency of the climate crisis, but we also need to do everything we can to protect communities. Danielle Smith and her provincial Conservative government have had a detrimental impact on our ability to respond to wildfires. We heard from witnesses just yesterday about the recruitment and retention problems related to paying wildland firefighters $22 an hour and not giving them health benefits or cancer coverage. It is no wonder we don't have the resources and people. We are not supporting the heroic efforts of our firefighters.

[Committees of the House, October 8th, 2024]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for his work on the environment committee. It is a pleasure working with him.

The impact of the climate crisis on our shorelines is immense. It is immense when it comes to the St. Lawrence River, but it is also immense when it comes to the shorelines on the coast of my home province of British Columbia. We know that rising sea levels and the increasing impacts of climate change are going to have a devastating impact on the infrastructure along the coast of Vancouver Island in my community of Victoria.

We need to take bold action to combat the climate crisis, and we also need to invest in communities to create climate-resilient spaces and communities that can thrive with the changing climate. However, I do not think acknowledging that is enough, and I hope the member heard in my speech a call to action. It is not enough to study these things; we need the government to act.