SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 270 - Jan/29/24

Jan/29/24 3:11:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are worried about the climate and they expect their government to take action. People are struggling to pay their bills, yet oil and gas CEOs are polluting our planet while raking in record profits and bonuses. In some cases, they have upped their own salaries by 75%. For far too long, the Liberal government has been stacking the deck in favour of billionaires at the expense of Canadian workers and the environment. Will the Liberals rein in these obscene bonuses by making oil and gas CEOs pay what they owe?

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Context: House Hansard - 270 - Jan/29/24

Ms. Laurel Collins (Victoria, NDP)

Jan/29/24 8:17:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to repeat the question that was just asked, because I did not hear an answer. The question asked about the impact of the climate crisis on farmers, on the cost of food and on families.

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Context: House Hansard - 270 - Jan/29/24

Ms. Laurel Collins (Victoria, NDP)

Jan/29/24 8:31:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to start by wishing the parliamentary secretary a very happy birthday. In the past few years, Canadians have witnessed record-breaking temperatures, extreme weather events, forest fires and flooding. People have been evacuated from their homes and whole towns have been wiped out, yet under the Liberal government, big oil and gas are polluting more than ever. A recent report shows how these oil giants are significantly under-reporting their emissions. In fact, emissions from the oil sands are potentially 6,300% higher than what is reported by the industry. Scientists have confirmed what indigenous communities from northern Alberta have been saying for decades. These massive corporations are threatening their health, threatening their livelihoods and poisoning their land. This is making people sick. Oil and gas companies are pumping out carbon emissions at shockingly high rates, and the government can and should make these companies use some of their record-breaking profits to clean up their mess. Oil and gas CEOs are giving themselves raises, being rewarded with obscene bonuses, and making millions of dollars a year, while Canadians are struggling just to get by. They are worried about how they are going to pay rent and worried about how they are going to make their mortgage payments. At the same time, Canadians are facing record-breaking temperatures, the worst wildfire season on record and devastating weather events. We are in a climate emergency, so why does the Liberal government refuse to hold oil and gas giants accountable? After dragging their feet and having to be pushed to finally deliver a cap on emissions for the oil and gas sector, the Liberals announced a watered-down cap, full of loopholes, that had oil and gas lobbyists' fingerprints all over it. The oil and gas sector makes up the biggest portion of Canada’s emissions, and environmental experts have said that Canada must have a hard cap on oil and gas emissions if we have any hope of meeting our climate targets. The Liberals have set a target of reducing Canada’s overall emissions by 42%, but they are giving their friends in oil and gas a break. Not only did they give oil and gas a lower target, but they have included the option for companies to buy offsets and essentially buy their way out of the cap. They admit their plan will only reduce oil and gas emission by about 20%. This means every other sector and everyday Canadians will have to pick up the slack. The Liberals are making life harder for people, workers and families. Can the member explain to me why they are making life easier for oil and gas CEOs?

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Context: House Hansard - 270 - Jan/29/24

Ms. Laurel Collins

Jan/29/24 8:38:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I believe the member is genuinely sincere in his desire to do more, and I agree that the Conservatives' climate denial is beyond disheartening, but Canadians do not want to have to choose between denial and delay. They do not want to have to choose between bad and worse. The reality is we are in a climate emergency. We do not have time for Liberal excuses. We do not have time for Liberal broken promises. We definitely do not have time for a government that caters to oil and gas interests. Our planet is burning. When will the government stop disappointing Canadians, stop giving breaks to its rich friends and stop listening to oil and gas CEOs who are raking in record profits and unreal bonuses while polluting our planet, and instead start treating this like the emergency that it is, close the loopholes and bring in a hard cap on emissions?

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