House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2015, with 70% of the vote.
The Environment October 31st, 2006
Mr. Speaker, our plan goes beyond Kyoto. Our government is the first one to have introduced a bill dealing with climate change and air quality.
Canadians and Quebeckers want to know why the Bloc is opposed to strict regulation of major industries in Quebec.
The Environment October 31st, 2006
Mr. Speaker, when the Liberals know that the government is right, they use the same tactic: divide and conquer.
Our government is the first to have tabled a bill on climate change and air quality.
Canadians and Quebeckers want to know why the Liberals are opposed to strict regulation of major industries.
The Environment October 31st, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the opposition must know that the Clean Air Act is important for the protection of Canadians' and Quebeckers' health. In fact the Canadian Lung Association stated, and I quote:
The Lung Association is pleased to see indoor air quality regulated under the Act.
Could the opposition explain to the Canadian Lung Association, as well as to Canadians and Quebeckers suffering from lung cancer, why they are against this crucial legislation?
The Environment October 30th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with all members of this House on our new legislation that would regulate both greenhouse gases and pollution. It is what Canadians want and what Canadians deserve. If the NDP members have good ideas, I look forward to hearing from them.
The Environment October 30th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, what motivated us to take serious action was the call from Canadians. They were worried about smog days and about the increase in greenhouse gases by up to 35% under the former government, which is why we have already moved to regulate every industry sector across the country for both greenhouse gases and air pollution.
That is the kind of deliberate policy choice that will motivate change and the kinds of policy decisions that this report calls for.
The Environment October 30th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, the report stresses that there has been a lack of progress made worldwide on this issue. In fact, it is something our government has said clearly and repeatedly from the beginning that there has been a lack of progress in Canada under the previous government, particularly in relation to the Kyoto protocol.
The report also says that, “strong deliberate policy decisions need to be made to motivate change”.
What we need are regulations. We need to regulate industry to cut its pollution and its greenhouse gases, which is exactly what the government is doing.
The Environment October 30th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, as members know, we have introduced legislation that would apply to all the industry, including the electricity sector. We will be talking with the OPG, the Ontario Power Generation, about the concerns we have about not only the greenhouse gas emissions that they have but also the pollution issues coming out of the electricity sector.
I would encourage the hon. member to work with us and encourage Ontario to come to the table to support the new regulations we will be putting in place.
The Environment October 30th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I think he is fishing for an invite to Kenya, but what I will say is that we continue to work with all opposition parties on the Canadian submission on these issues.
We look forward to hearing from the members about their views before we leave so that we can make sure we represent Canada on the international stage, including all of the concerns the opposition has. I would ask the member to please approach me at any time with his concerns.
The Environment October 30th, 2006
In fact, Mr. Speaker, our government appreciates all of the consultations we have, both with industry and with environmental groups. In fact, more than 80 Canadian organizations are accredited observers in Nairobi. I understand that at this point 31 of them are confirmed to be attending to date. We not only look forward to consulting with them here before we leave, but we will also be giving briefings on location in Nairobi.
The Environment October 30th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, even Mr. Boisclair and his supporters agree with our government's approach. We have been saying for a long time now that the health of Canadians and Quebeckers is linked to air quality. The PQ has just taken a political position on the air quality bill.
I have the following question for the Bloc: does it have permission from the real leader to speak now?