House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 2015, with 70% of the vote.
The Environment October 20th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member full well knows, out of the four plans that were shelved, the last two plans that were shelved by the Liberal government were intensity based short term targets.
As he also knows, it is not technologically feasible to make absolute reductions right now. We will put in place intensity targets in the short term to lead up to ensuring we have the technology in place to make absolute reductions as soon as possible.
The Environment October 20th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, as I said repeatedly, the government is committed to putting in place short term targets, by spring, with every industry sector across the country and with every province and territory. However, the difference is we will do it together. We will not impose an arbitrarily picked target out of thin air like the Liberals did, leaving us in a mess so we cannot even make progress on the environment.
We will collaborate with the provinces and territories in a transparent way, work together with industry and put in place reachable, achievable, workable targets.
The Environment October 20th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I have always been very clear that we are very glad Quebec has put in place its own environment plan. It is a good plan. I hope it comes into law soon.
However, the government is working on its own plan. Obviously, it impacts all provinces and every industry sector across the country. There are a number of ways we can collaborate together to ensure that we make the best impact on the environment, and we will continue to do that with the province of Quebec.
The Environment October 20th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have waited long enough. They do not have to wait any more, because in the coming weeks and months we will reduce air pollution from snowmobiles and ATVs. We are introducing new regulations on heavy trucks, buses and forklifts. We are introducing new regulations to reduce pollution from consumer products, such as household cleaning items, cosmetics and paints, and new regulations to reduce pollution from the rail, shipping and aviation industry.
But the clean air act will take us further. For the first time, we will be able to tackle the important issue of indoor air quality. For the first time, we will have the power to set fuel efficiency standards in the auto--
The Environment October 20th, 2006
Again, Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to share this detailed information with the hon. member, and it is based on the statistics that are used by the Canadian Urban Transit Association.
Also, I would be happy to share with her details about the over $100 million spent on programs overseas by the former government. We have said repeatedly that is not the way we think money should be spent. We think it should be spent here in Canada, which is why we introduced a piece of Canadian legislation to reduce greenhouse gases. That is the most serious way that we can show Canadians we care about the environment.
The Environment October 20th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I have here the statistics used by experts in my department, based on the Canadian Urban Transit Association estimates, based on taking 1.6 billion urban transit rides a year. It is very complicated. It is related to megatonnes, tonnes of GHGs per car ride.
The reason we asked the department to put it into terminology that Canadians can understand, which is taking cars off the road, is because it is a difficult thing to communicate when we are talking about megatonnes, but this is accurate. I would be happy to table it and share it with the hon. member.
The Environment October 20th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, it is too bad that the member is against clean air for Canadians, because what Canadians want to hear is what the executive director of the Clean Air Foundation said, which was, “I am pleased that the clean air act will permit for the first time the regulation of products and appliances that have significant impacts on indoor and outdoor air quality”.
How about what the Canadian Medical Association said? It was that “the government appears to be on the right track” by “recognizing and targeting the role of clean air” to ensure good health.
How about the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association? It said that this “is a vital step” toward fulfilling our commitment to renewable content--
The Environment October 20th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to say that this government does not govern on headlines. Let me talk about the content of our clean air bill.
This will be the first time in Canadian history that the Government of Canada will actually regulate every industry sector across this country for air pollution and greenhouse gases.
It will be the first time in Canadian history that we set national air quality health objectives.
It will be the first time that we regulate the auto sector for fuel efficiency standards.
It will be the first time that we will be accountable to Canadians through an annual report on air quality and accountable to regulate products that create emissions, such wood stoves that pollute our environment.
I would like to ask the hon. member, does--
The Environment October 20th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we are very proud of the work that we do with the Government of Quebec on this file. The Government of Quebec has introduced a very good environmental plan. It is not in law yet.
Yesterday we introduced a piece of legislation that will have repercussions in every industry sector, every province and every territory across this country, including Quebec.
We look forward to working with the Government of Quebec to ensure that there is no duplication in terms of the legislation that it hopes to bring in one day on the environment. I look forward to my continued work with Quebec.
The Environment October 20th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, we have put in place a target of up to 65% absolute emissions reduction by 2050.
We will also be negotiating over the next four months with every province and territory and industry sector short term targets to be put in place by spring.
The difference is that we have given our word to the provinces and territories, including Quebec, and every industry sector that we will set those targets with them, not arbitrarily like the former government, without any economic analysis or any environmental analysis. We will do it together.