Environment committee  It received all-party support, including the support of the Green Party, as a go-forward strategy to deal with the climate change crisis we're facing as a country. When you look at the bill put forward by Mr. Layton and you compare and contrast with Bill C-30, was Bill C-30 the more comprehensive, perhaps all-inclusive, package we were looking for as a nation state?

Environment committee  All three of you were involved in detailed analyses of climate change in Canada; you have been for quite a while, depending on the individual and the organization. Have you received any analysis of any kind from the federal government to substantiate the numbers it put forward in the Turning the Corner plan?

Environment committee  Were you consulted by the government when it formulated its climate change plan?

Environment committee  Do you support the government's climate change plan?

Environment committee  We have really serious concerns with the government's climate change plan as formulated, mainly for some of the reasons I expressed here. It does not reflect the science as set out by the IPCC. When we've done the calculations and case studies, one of which I presented regarding the tar sands, it appears to us that the measures proposed will not meet even the target proposed.

Environment committee  I think what Mr. Lussier mentioned is very important. We have never, in my view, had a real debate on climate change in this country. We've had some silly arguments about the cost of meeting Kyoto, but we have not had a real debate that involves everybody. I think if you can engineer that, to somehow release the imagination and the innovative ability of all Canadians--industry, individuals, and governments--then you're doing something really worthwhile.

Environment committee  Also, within weeks you will have available to you the 350-page Canadian assessment of climate change, and I would encourage you to use that information as well.

Environment committee  In fact, on October 1, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives issued a statement calling for aggressive action to tackle climate change. In fact, one of the things they talked about was an environmental tax, which is a euphemism, of course, for a carbon tax. At Bali, too, 100 of the world's biggest companies called on governments to take action.

Environment committee  You have also seen the reference to the two-degree Celsius threshold and to emission stabilization. Does the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, contain any elements that should be incorporated into Bill C-377, particularly into the preamble? My questions is directed to all of the witnesses.

Environment committee  I think there are some statements, conclusions, and findings in the fourth assessment of the IPPC that perhaps could be brought to the fore. One is that “climate change is now unequivocal”, and that's a quote. Secondly, it is very likely that the cause of it is due to human actions--that's almost a quote. Thirdly, there is evidence already of impacts as a result of anthropogenic warming.

Environment committee  I think I speak on behalf of everyone here, and certainly Canadians, when I say how proud we are and were when you received that award. I just want to start my questioning on the science and the projections of future climate change, because what we're really trying to do in this bill, and what our party is bringing forward, is setting goals. As you mentioned, Mr. Stone, we have to set goals long term, but we also have to be aware of what we need to do in the short term, if you will.

Environment committee  There are four or five, and I'm not sure if I can remember them all. But among them clearly was the Arctic. The Arctic is vulnerable because climate change is happening at an accelerated rate in the Arctic; the temperature increases there are at least twice as rapid as they are anywhere else in the globe. The capacity of the people in the Arctic to adapt is low because they don't have the resources that we have in the more southern and western parts of the globe.

Environment committee  Sauchyn, you indicated in your presentation that Bill C-337 was a decisive initiative in the quest to stop climate change from reaching devastating proportions. Mr. Stone talked about the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions anywhere from 20% and 40% by the year 2020 as compared to 1990 levels.

Environment committee  There are political decisions to make, political decisions because it depends on values, what you value and, among what you value, what you do not wish to see disappear as a result of climate change. It's also a matter of our values when one talks about the level of ambition. What level of ambition does Canada want to display internationally? That's as a result of how we are regarded internationally, but also, as I said earlier, as a result of what we want to achieve as an economy.

Environment committee  Just to review some of the facts here about the who's who for Bali, we have Mr. Frank Guest, who worked in the Martin PMO with Stéphane Dion on climate change policy and his Project Green. We have Stéphane Dion, who gave $1.7 million to the Climate Action Network of Canada, whose delegation you were a part of. We certainly have a list of partisan involvements as far as your own individual activities are concerned, Monsieur Lavoie.