44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 18, 2023 10:00AM
- May/18/23 2:20:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I believe that Quebeckers listening to us today know how important it is to fight climate change. They know that, on this point, the Conservatives have nothing to say; they have no plan and they have no measures, despite the promises they made in the last election campaign. In fact, they do not even believe that climate change is real, in spite of the flooding in Quebec and Ontario and the record forest fires in Alberta.
I believe that Canadians want a government that has a responsible plan to address climate change. Unfortunately, they will not get that with the Conservatives.
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- May/18/23 2:21:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will leave it to my hon. colleagues in the Bloc to answer the question of whether they are or are not woke. I do not think that is my call.
What I will say, however, is that once again the leader of the opposition is saying things that are simply not true. What we are putting in place is a mechanism to ensure that the refineries that made record profits in the past few years will do their part to fight climate change. I think that everyone expects every sector of the economy in the country to do its part to fight climate change.
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- May/18/23 2:23:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to quote from the Parliamentary Budget Officer's analysis, which states, “does not attempt to account for the economic and environmental costs of climate change.” The Parliamentary Budget Officer is looking at one part of the ledger without looking at the other side of the ledger.
We know that climate change is already costing Canadians billions of dollars every year. In fact, it is tens of billions of dollars every year. Of course, members of the Conservative Party of Canada do not believe in climate change and they do not care about those costs to Canadians. Unfortunately, facts are facts, and those costs are real to all Canadians.
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- May/18/23 2:24:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, the Leader of the Opposition is wrong yet again, because our plan is working. This has led to reducing emissions and climate change pollution by more than 50 million tonnes between 2019 and 2021 beyond COVID. In fact, it was called a pandemic because it was happening all over the world, yet Canada, in 2020 and 2021, had the best performance of all G7 countries.
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- May/18/23 2:36:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just this week, the Parliamentary Budget Officer stated that the effects of climate change bit a $20-billion-sized hole out of Canada's economy in 2021 alone. I understand that the Conservative Party of Canada does not believe in climate change, but it pretends to believe in economic responsibility. Why is it that the Conservative Party wants to cancel a market-based mechanism that is putting a price on pollution?
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- May/18/23 2:38:21 p.m.
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Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, my colleague's statement is false.
What we are doing is ensuring that refineries that made record profits in the past few years pay their fair share. That is a 25¢ increase in the refining margins for every litre of gas between 2019 and 2021. We believe that refineries have the means to collaborate on the fight against climate change.
Quebeckers watching us expect all sectors of society, all political parties and all parliamentarians in the House to work to fight climate change.
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- May/18/23 2:43:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, it is important to understand that farmers are the first to feel the impacts of the climate crisis. They have always done a great deal to make agriculture as sustainable as possible.
We are there to help them improve their practices, to be able to acquire new equipment and to conduct research and innovation in that vein. We are there to support our farmers.
While the Conservatives take farmers for granted, we have a vision for their future.
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- May/18/23 2:49:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by acknowledging the incredible work of firefighters, first responders and volunteers who have stepped up and are supporting those who have been displaced.
Here today, we have heard a lot about the cost of fighting climate change, but we have evidence before us this week of the cost of inaction. When we fail to respond, we can see that literally tens of thousands of people are displaced from their homes, over 700,000 hectares of forest are burned, and the cost of assisting those people through recovery is unsustainable. We have to take action and we are.
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- May/18/23 2:55:09 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will share some quotes with my colleague.
“We welcome the additional investments that were announced [in this plan], which will double the amounts available in the climate solutions fund”, said Alice-Anne Simard, of Nature Québec.
“The 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan offers greater detail and transparency than any Canadian climate plan to date”, said Caroline Brouillette of Climate Action Network Canada.
Bruno Marchand, the mayor of Quebec City said, “The City of Quebec welcomes this major announcement. The fight against climate change is key to the future of our cities and the well-being of future generations. Municipal governments also have a hand in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
These are all allies of the federal government. Unfortunately, they are not allies of the Conservative Party.
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- May/18/23 3:02:37 p.m.
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The hon. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
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- May/18/23 3:02:43 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question.
When it comes to climate change, Canadians expect the government to do the right thing and take action. That is exactly what we are doing with pollution pricing that has prompted industry to reduce emissions by over 50 million tonnes in recent years, an emissions reduction plan for all sectors of the economy, an oil and gas emissions cap and a national climate change adaptation strategy.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition, the Conservative Party leader, has still no plan to fight climate change and even continues to deny the crisis.
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