Environment committee  I will skip over some of the other points here and move directly down to an important one. Carbon dioxide, being of greatest concern for its contribution to climate change, must remain in the act as a pollutant to be subject to regulatory control. All decisions regarding toxic substances should explicitly consider exposures to vulnerable populations, such as children, pregnant women, aboriginal groups, and people more than normally exposed to multiple pollutants.

Environment committee  As the spokesperson for your government on environment and also as the chair of the UN's Conference of the Parties, does your government believe that climate change and global warming are the most important environmental issues facing our planet? A yes or no question.

Environment committee  We need enforced powers for reporting, for auditing, to be able to show measurable results to Canadians, and that is what you'll see in Canada's clean air act. To respond to Mr. Silva's question, yes, I agree from a global perspective that climate change is without a doubt the environmental issue that has brought the world together, and Canada is there participating on the world stage. But as I said as well, we need a strong domestic framework.

Environment committee  I look forward to working with all of the committee members when Canada's clean air act is tabled, to move forward to make it stronger, and to show Canadians that we can work together to put in place, for the first time, a national framework to deal with their number one environmental priority, which is air quality, and another issue that they're very concerned about, which is climate change.

Environment committee  This government will continue to work on moving forward with our international partners within the Kyoto Protocol, the G-8 plus five dialogue on climate change, and the Asia-Pacific partnership. It's important, though, and I've tried to make it as clear as possible that the best way we can make a contribution internationally to this agenda is to have a strong national framework in place.

Environment committee  The Prime Minister doesn't seem to. It seems that in casting doubt over the very science of climate change by inviting skeptics like Dr. Ball and others--have you attended any of Timothy Ball's sessions? No?

Environment committee  A lot of your caucus members have. The Prime Minister cast a doubt over the very science of climate change only last week, asking how can we possibly have any certainty over what's happening in the climate over decades if we can't predict the weather next week. That seems to me an irresponsible comment, considering the incredible amount of research that's gone into this and your own admission that it is an important and pressing problem.

Environment committee  What's irresponsible is that we're still having this debate and you are still asking questions about the science of climate change.

Environment committee  As you know, the commissioner's report clearly indicated there was a serious concern with lack of accountability and effectiveness--and therefore results--on all of the climate change programs. Our government, for that reason, cancelled a number of these programs and put a number of these programs under review.

Environment committee  It was a program that had a strong foundation and, according to Madame Gélinas, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, was working, and your government decided to cancel it. The question I have around greenhouse gas emissions and climate change in general is, do you believe it's a serious problem?

Environment committee  This petition is of no surprise to me. I know full well the commitment that Canadians have to the issue of climate change. I also know the full commitment they have to seeing the improvement of air quality. As you know, air quality is the number one environmental concern to Canadians, and it's also a concern to Quebeckers.

Environment committee  The Kyoto Protocol was the first big international step. We are also involved in the G-8 plus five discussions on climate change. Our chair, Bob Mills, just came back late last night. He was kind enough, with all his expertise—and I value him so much for that—to go to the G-8 discussions, because I was unable to be there.

Environment committee  The environment is an issue that matters to all Canadians, and I hope this committee will put aside its partisanship and recognize that for the first time in a long time you will have a piece of legislation in front of you that will provide you with the opportunity to show Canadians your commitment, not only on air quality but on the issue of climate change.

Environment committee  How would we meet our Kyoto targets--which we agree are about reducing greenhouse gases--more effectively by investing in a water treatment plant instead of in the international credit system, which the Commissioner of the Environment thinks is an effective way of reducing greenhouse gases? Why is that domestic choice going to be better in our fight against climate change?

Environment committee  Based upon these lessons learned, what is the single focus—specific to accountability—that any climate change plan must include?