Environment committee  Just to clarify, Madame Gélinas, I'm trying first to understand, under previous regimes how much money was announced, versus actually spent, for climate change initiatives. Can you remind the committee?

Environment committee  To our knowledge, nothing has ever replaced the Climate Change Secretariat.

Environment committee  Godfrey's theme somewhat that your industry has recognized the importance and the threat of climate change. I don't want to make that assumption, but is that fair to say?

Environment committee  Chairman, it's important to make a distinction between two different things. We often talk about an action plan on climate change that the government is currently developing, but there is also what is called the machinery of government, which has nothing to do with that plan. Knowing exactly what system will be put in place to account for progress and costs has nothing to do with a plan.

Environment committee  Mr. Guilbeault, coming from Alberta, I know they've had a climate change plan in place for at least three to four years. You indicated that only Quebec had one.

Environment committee  In a sense, I think we had this conversation when you initially released your report for 2006 on climate change. If I may return to Bill C-288, the whole point of this bill is to actually increase accountability and, in the spirit of your suggestions, to attempt to better define roles, responsibilities, and authorities so as to understand the performance of policies and programs and to monitor and report broader objectives.

Environment committee  I am the president of the association, and with me today is Rick Hyndman, senior policy adviser, who has been involved in this climate change file since the beginning. Bill C-288 is about the relationship between Canada's near-term action on greenhouse gas emissions and the country's Kyoto target. In essence, should Canada's Kyoto target be the guiding star for our initial GHG policy step?

Environment committee  They really do go hand-in-glove. The single largest contributing factor to air quality, climate change, and greenhouse gases in a pulp and paper mill facility is the energy system. So as you focus on that and provide incentives for doing more, it's a beautiful scenario where all of the things you're concerned about come down.

Environment committee  For the last two years, we've been rolling up our sleeves with environmental organizations, aboriginals, five provinces, and the federal government, to figure out a path forward on air and climate change that makes sense for all concerned. We really hope those initiatives are not pushed aside with respect to a new approach to air. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my formal remarks. I'd be happy to take any questions that the committee members may have.

Environment committee  This committee and all of us in this room can no longer afford to shuffle the entire blame for contaminated water, for smog, climate change, and toxic chemicals solely to either industry or to government. As citizens and consumers, we are ultimately responsible for making healthy choices about our own lives and our own livelihoods.

Environment committee  Okay. I read Mr. Suzuki's book. Indeed, he discusses climate change at length, but no solutions were ever really offered. I had hoped to find the miracle solution in M. Suzuki's book, since you mentioned it, but I still have not found it.

Environment committee  How many years have we had consultations with large industry around climate change, from the federal government?

Environment committee  It is safe to say that of the many things lacking in Canada's response to climate change, consultations wouldn't necessarily be one of them.

Environment committee  And as for the medium and long term, about a year ago we published, along with the David Suzuki Foundation, a fairly detailed analysis on climate change science and what it tells us as far as the reductions which should be achieved by 2020 and 2050 are concerned. We recommend, for 2020, a 25% reduction compare to 1990 levels, and 2050, a 80% reduction, still compare to 1990 levels.

Environment committee  It comes back to the comments made by Mr. Bigras around the issue of adaptation. This country will be hit hard by climate change, and it will hurt our economy. We can only protect Canada if we secure reductions from all countries in the world. That's why we have to show that we are serious about our targets, so that we can demonstrate leadership so that other countries will take on comparable targets.