Mr. Chair, I do not have that number at hand. That is not an impossible number to quantify, but it would mean breaking down all sorts of day to day operational costs.
There are some who believe I may have spoken--
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2019, with 55% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Chair, I do not have that number at hand. That is not an impossible number to quantify, but it would mean breaking down all sorts of day to day operational costs.
There are some who believe I may have spoken--
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Chair, I must again correct my colleague. The consultations with the oil and gas industry with regard to eventual regulation began less than a year ago in material terms and in real terms. They are continuing. We would expect in not too many months from now to have draft regulations which will be published in Canada Gazette Part I.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Chair, we are now in calendar year 2012. Our Copenhagen commitments are for calendar year 2020. As I have explained in the House any number of times, our sector by sector regulatory approach started with transportation, which contributes fully one-quarter of Canada's annual greenhouse gas emissions. We are about to finalize the coal-fired electricity sector regulations in the next few weeks. We are in the consultation process with oil and gas, both conventional and the oil sands. We will continue to work our way around that pie chart.
I believe my colleague is somewhat impatient in her expectation of short-term and immediate answers.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
No, Mr. Chair. That is an unrealistic expectation. The cost of climate change, as I have explained, comes in many forms and situations. It will be billions of dollars in the years ahead, both in terms of the impact on our Canadian Arctic and in terms of measures which will be required to be taken in mitigation in the south.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Chair, as I answered earlier this evening, the objective of the responsible resource development legislation, as all of the other integral parts of the jobs, growth and prosperity budget that is before Parliament, is aimed at improving the climate for job creation in Canada while at the same time ensuring the protection of the environment.
The economic benefits will be abundant, multi-dimensional in any number of areas, as will the benefits, for example, with regard to our climate change sectoral regulatory process, which is already reducing costs to Canadian taxpayers.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Chair, I know we have limited time, but the protocol is important, as are all international treaties and agreements with which we comply to better serve the interests of Canadians in the protection of the environment.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Chair, I will have to think about that for just a moment.
We have made it very clear. Despite the misperceptions of some of our colleagues opposite, our government has made it very clear in successive elections and in any number of policy discussions with our colleagues in the provinces, territories and municipalities, and at public policy conferences, that this government will never impose a carbon tax in any form on hard-working Canadian taxpayers.
The record to date of the carbon market is one of high volatility and great risk. If one were to look at the European market, the carbon price is less than half of the original investment made by most of the investors.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Chair, yes, indeed, in answer to my colleague, the development of the air quality management system has been done over recent years in very close collaboration with the provinces and the territories. In recent talks that I have had with my American counterpart at the environmental protection organization, we have talked about a possible future treaty along the lines of the acid rain treaty which would take ambient air quality standards to a new and better continental high.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Chair, impacts on industrial competitiveness and implications for the Canadian economy, as in all sectors across the economy, whether with regard to our regulatory actions in the transportation sector or in the coal-fired sector, will be carefully considered as we move forward, as will the benefits of cleaner air. There will be economic benefits from cleaner air with regard to reduced health care costs and infrastructure.
Business of Supply May 16th, 2012
Mr. Chair, ambient air quality standards set a bar, so to speak, for the level of air quality that can be achieved in all parts of the country, whether the airsheds are east to west, north to south, or, in eastern Canada, where our concern is of course, south to north.
With new science and research regarding the effects of air pollution on our health and the environment, it has become apparent that the current Canada-wide standards need to be updated and more stringent ambient air quality standards need to be created. We will do that under the air quality management system.