Environment committee  We're here studying Bill C-311 currently, a bill sponsored by a member of the New Democratic Party, and of course this is not the government's climate change plan, though Bill C-311 could have serious effects upon that. Our options as a committee are whether this bill will be passed as is by the committee, whether it will be rejected as is by the committee, or whether there will be changes proposed to the bill.

Environment committee  Tulurialik, do you share the same opinion that more consultation is needed with respect to the specifics of Bill C-311, the NDP's bill on climate change?

Environment committee  One of the things that has occurred to me is that I would think, because of the harshness of the climate and the difficulties there, that adaptation would be a more important and pressing issue. If you take a look at what's been said by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, even if we were to hold our own levels of greenhouse gas emissions right now, which no economy will be able to do, it would take at least 50 years to see a change in the current trend we're seeing in the change of climate.

Environment committee  I'm not going to deny that it's a serious issue, but I would like to get back to the whole issue of whether folks in the northern communities would not rather see investments that were going to produce concrete results for adaptation, rather than investing millions and millions and billions of dollars in hopes that greenhouse gas reductions will somehow stop climate change.

Environment committee  Warawa, who was asking you questions earlier, always comes back to way of life and says that a bill like Bill C-311 would change Canadians' way of life. But is it not precisely climate change that is changing your way of life? Would you not have more of a chance to re-establish your way of life with a bill like Bill C-311? Accepting that the taxes on your snowmobile may be higher, the fact remains that, one day, you will no longer be able to get meat to eat and you will have to be fed by the people in the south.

Environment committee  On the other hand, it is my impression that, if Bill C-311 is passed, your life will cost you less and you will be able to continue living it in a normal and traditional way, even if the bill really changes your way of life. Otherwise, climate change will continue to affect your current way of life adversely.

Environment committee  You have no cause to be afraid, because the government has been in office for four years and has done nothing about climate change; the only thing that it is prepared to do is talk about it. This is why we have Bill C-311. We have it because the government is doing nothing. The objectives of the bill are to provide the government and Canadians in general with greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Environment committee  Chief Erasmus, can you tell me whether the Assembly of First Nations provided the government with any written response to the government's plan on climate change, called “Turning the Corner”?

Environment committee  Even the young people notice a lot of strange and different things that have been happening due to climate change. Yes, I just totally agree with what Chief Erasmus said about consulting aboriginal people.

Environment committee  Okay. Thank you for that. You shared that with climate change things are changing and things are becoming more expensive. Mr. Tulurialik shared that everything needs to be flown in, and that's expensive. You've shared that deer are moving to the north.

Environment committee  We do ask that questions be relevant to the bill and to climate change as regards the impact of Bill C-311. I would ask that questions be along that line. We won't pay for Mr. Warawa.

Environment committee  That is, from the Conservative government today, have you been provided with a plan, a full climate change plan for Canada, and if you have, do you have a copy of it close by or can you share it with us?

Environment committee  Have your people been consulted at all in recent memory, say in the last 46 or 47 months since the government's arrival? Have you been consulted in a meaningful way about how to proceed on climate change, particularly given the dramatic impacts we're seeing on your land masses, in your communities?

Environment committee  Canada needs to step up to the plate, be responsible, and work with its indigenous people, who know the land better than anyone else. We're the most vulnerable people. We are the face of climate change. We are the face of global warming up here. If they're going to wait, then certainly they're going to be waiting a long time.

Environment committee  In fact, until the end of last week, I held the national portfolio for environment for the Assembly of First Nations. So I was very aware of the issues related to climate change, global warming, and the concerns people have around those issues. For our people in the north, it's a reality. It's real. Today, for example, it's maybe minus 10 degrees, at the most, in Yellowknife.