Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we now have the Conservative premier of New Brunswick, at the request of one of the Conservative members, asking the federal government to put in place our carbon pricing system. We have a number of Conservative members who have argued in favour of carbon pricing. All the provinces and territories in Canada have put in place carbon pricing. While we have done that, we have increased j…
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Mr. Speaker, if allowed, I will read from the Conservative Party of Canada's election platform from the last election, the platform that this party stood and spoke to Canadians about. I am quoting from page 78, where it says, “Our plan will ensure that all Canadians can do their part—”
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Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives talk a big game when it comes to energy in Canada, but here are the facts. Under the Conservative government, foreign oil imports were double what they are today. It is a fact that imports from non-U.S. sources have declined 80% under our government. These facts speak for themselves. Under our government, more Canadians are using Canadian energy. The member opposite …
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Mr. Speaker, I want to start by thanking the member for Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill for her question and all of her work on Bill S‑5 as a member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. I also want to thank all the members of the Senate and House of Commons environment committees, who contributed immensely to enhancing this bill. As my colleague said, 300 amendment…
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Mr. Speaker, climate change is no laughing matter. People in Edmonton and around Alberta are being evacuated because of forest fires at the beginning of May. People in Quebec, Ontario and B.C. are being evacuated because of flooding. The Parliamentary Budget Officer said that, in 2021, the cost to Canadians of climate change was $20 billion. Climate change is no laughing matter. On this side of th…
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Mr. Speaker, in this document, the platform of the Conservative Party during the last election—
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Mr. Speaker, the document from “the man with the plan” states—
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Mr. Speaker, one would think the Conservative Party of Canada would be in agreement with the platform of the Conservative Party of Canada's last election, but maybe not. Let me quote from said platform: Our plan will ensure that all Canadians can do their part to fight climate change, in the way that works best for them, and at a carbon price that is affordable: ...increasing to $50/tonne... The d…
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Mr. Speaker, climate change is no laughing matter. As we are faced with forest fires in Alberta and as people in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia are faced with flooding, climate change is costing Canadians. According to the Parliamentary Budget Officer, in 2021—
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Mr. Speaker, last year, the Conservative member for New Brunswick Southwest said, “The backstop will kick in, the feds will take it over, and as part of that change-up … cheques will begin to roll out to New Brunswick families.” Well, dreams do come true, because the Conservative premier of New Brunswick said recently that they needed to make a choice that was “in the best interest of New Brunswic…
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Mr. Speaker, I give notice that, with respect to consideration of Government Business No. 25, at the next sitting of the House, a Minister of the Crown shall move, pursuant to Standing Order 57, that debate not be further adjourned.
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Mr. Speaker, we made a commitment during the last election campaign to have a net-zero grid by 2035. Canada already has a grid that is more than 80% non-emitting, and there are a number of provinces doing amazing things when it comes to renewable energy. Let us talk about Alberta, which in 2016 committed to eliminating coal by 2030. Alberta will have eliminated coal this year. This is what we are …
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Mr. Speaker, the last time CEPA was reformed was more than 20 years ago. What our government did was introduce strong amendments to CEPA, which were applauded by environmental organizations, scientists and industry alike. The parliamentary process was a clear success. Both Senate and House committees worked on this bill, and they have spent 50 hours studying it. They heard testimony from over 80 w…
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Mr. Speaker, I would ask my hon. colleague to work with me; it is going to be a bit difficult to follow. In 2006, the Conservative Party was against carbon pricing. Then, in 2008, the Conservatives were in favour of carbon pricing. Then, in 2009, they were against the fact that they were in favour of carbon pricing. That changed again in 2011, and it changed again during the last election campaign…
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Mr. Speaker, it is quite the opposite. The last budget from my friend and colleague, the Minister of Finance, made provisions for record-level investment in the Great Lakes in the history of Canada. We are working with our partners across the Great Lakes on this side of the border as well as on the other side of the border. We are in the process of creating, for the first time ever in Canada, an i…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Vaudreuil—Soulanges for his question and above all for his commitment to environmental issues over the past 20 years. In the latest federal budget presented by my colleague, the Minister of Finance, we announced record investments to protect freshwater in the Great Lakes and across the country. A record $730 million has been allocated, including $85 million f…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. It gives me an opportunity to remind her that Canada's last greenhouse gas inventory showed that, between 2019 and 2021, the greenhouse gas emissions in our country dropped by over 50 million tonnes. There was no pandemic in 2019 or in 2021. We had the best record of all the G7 countries in 2020 and 2021 when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas e…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that we have a lot of respect for the work of the environment commissioner. Unfortunately, when preparing his five reports, he did not have access to the latest greenhouse gas inventory report, which came out last week after the commissioner's reports. He will no doubt include them next year. I would also like to remind my colleague that in the rece…
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Mr. Speaker, I think that many Canadians would like to know where Conservative MPs from Quebec stand on their leader's proposal to make cuts at CBC/Radio-Canada. Last week, on one of the most popular radio shows in Quebec, not one Quebec MP from the Conservative Party came to defend their leader's position. Where do the Quebec Conservative MPs stand on the issue of budget cuts at CBC/Radio-Canada?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Pontiac for the question and her advocacy on this issue. During the last G7 meeting, Canada, as the British climate minister said, played a leadership role in holding us to our commitments to end fossil fuel subsidies sooner than our G20 and G7 partners and phase out coal. Every G7 country commended Canada's leadership on adopting the ambitious agreement on n…
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Mr. Speaker, since the opposition likes to quote the PBO report on the issue of climate change, let me quote the PBO. He said, “I am concerned at times about looking at just one aspect of the report”. I continue quoting the PBO, who said, “Doing nothing would also have costs.” In fact, if the Conservatives were interested in climate change, they would look at the PBO report, which shows that it al…
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Mr. Speaker, since we have been made aware of the seepage incident at the Kearl oil sand mine, we have been working to get to the bottom of it, support indigenous communities and collaborate on improving the reporting system of these kinds of incidents. Last week, I sent letters to indigenous leaders about the new notification and monitoring working group which, in collaboration with them, will im…
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that the Conservatives never met any target that they set. Last week, Canada published a national inventory report, which shows that between 2019 and 2021, we cut carbon pollution in Canada by 53 million tonnes. That is the equivalent of removing 11 million cars from our roads. Our plan is working, and we are getting the job do…
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Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to remind the hon. member that Conservatives never met any target that they had set on climate change. The national inventory report—
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Mr. Speaker, the short answer for my colleague is no. We will admit no such thing since that is not the case. I would like to quote the David Suzuki Foundation, which said yesterday that investments in renewable electricity in budget 2023 could position Canada as a global leader in the clean economy. I could also quote Greenpeace Canada, which talked about “unprecedented federal investments” in gr…
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for allowing me to continue the list of organizations that praised yesterday's federal budget. I would like to quote the International Institute for Sustainable Development, which said that Canada is making historic investments in clean electricity and fresh water throughout the country. I agree with the International Institute for Sustainable Develop…
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moved that Bill C-41, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, be read the second time and referred to a committee.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. As she probably knows, we eliminated international subsidies for fossil fuels at the end of last year. That is billions of dollars that we are now investing in clean technologies. We have also committed to eliminating all fossil fuel subsidies by the first half of 2023, and we will get there.
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Mr. Speaker, I would also like to remind my hon. colleague that the Parliamentary Budget Officer has made it clear that eight out of 10 Canadians currently receive more money from federal carbon pricing—where it applies—than it costs them. Therefore, 90% of the carbon pricing is recycled. The remaining 10% is being invested in programs to help small, medium-sized and large businesses reduce their …
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out to my hon. colleague that the federal carbon tax will not apply in Quebec because Quebec has its own cap-and-trade system. My department will be happy to provide him with all of the necessary information so that he can give his constituents the right information.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that neither indigenous nations nor the federal government were told about the seepage or leak before February. For nine months, the federal government did not know about this. We have since sent out enforcement officers to do monitoring. Many of my colleagues and I are working with the communities to provide them with what they need. This incl…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her advocacy on this very important issue. Yes, today, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued another stark warning. We collectively need to act to fight climate change, something the official opposition does not seem to have understood over the last 30 years. It wants to make pollution free again in Canada. It has no idea whatsoever what ne…
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Mr. Speaker, we welcome President Biden's visit to Canada in the coming days to talk about these important issues, about the clean economy, about fighting climate change. I would like, however, to remind my hon. colleague that we are already investing in Canada, $120 billion, not coming but happening now, which is, per capita, three times more than what the U.S. is doing. We have a price on pollut…
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Mr. Speaker, zero-emission vehicles are where the rubber hits the road, for Canadians who want to reduce emissions and get off the roller coaster of high gasoline prices. In fact, the third quarter of 2022 saw the highest EV registration on record, with almost 9% of sales. Canada is well positioned to be a leader in making the vehicles the world is looking to drive. However, we need to increase pr…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague's question points exactly to the reason why, in the last year alone, we have presented the first-ever emissions reduction plan for Canada, which shows a path of how Canada will meet its 2030 targets. For the first time in history, we have put forward a national adaptation strategy. Both have been applauded by industry, non-governmental organizations and experts alike, and…
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Mr. Speaker, I will say it for a third time today in this House. Emissions pollution under our watch is down 9% below 2005 levels, on our way to reducing them by at least 40% by 2030. Methane emissions are down in the oil and gas sector and sales of electric vehicles—
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Mr. Speaker, dreams do come true. In March 2022, the member for New Brunswick Southwest said, “The backstop will kick in“ and “cheques will begin to roll out to New Brunswick.” Today, Premier Higgs of New Brunswick decided to go with the federal plan on carbon pricing. He said that they needed to make a choice that was in the best interests of New Brunswickers. We agree with Premier Higgs.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been Minister of Environment and Climate Change for a year and emissions are down 9% below 2005 levels. Let us keep going. If I may quote again, the premier of New Brunswick, Premier Higgs, talking about—
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, I have been Minister of the Environment and Climate Change for a year and our emissions are down 9% below 2005 levels. Let us keep going. I will quote, again, the premier of New Brunswick, Premier Higgs, who decided to go with the federal pricing system. He said, “What this does right now is provide relief.” We can fight climate change and support Canadians. We agree …
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Mr. Speaker, for most of us in the House, and for most Canadians, climate change is the reality and facts do matter, though I know not for everyone. The facts are that greenhouse gas emissions are down 9% below the 2005 level. That is a fact. Methane emissions in the oil and gas sector are down almost 40% two years before scheduled. That is another fact. EV sales in Canada have doubled in the last…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House of the facts: 70% of the prices we are seeing at the pump are related to crude oil prices going up, largely because of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine—
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Mr. Speaker, I am getting there. Another 25% is a result of provincial taxes and refining margins. We recycle 100% of the revenues to Canadians, with 10% specifically to small businesses and agricultural industries in Canada.
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Mr. Speaker, what my hon. colleague just said in the House is simply not true. Federal carbon pricing does not apply in Quebec because Quebec has its own cap-and-trade system, which was implemented before the federal government introduced carbon pricing. I would also like to remind my colleague and all of the Conservatives across the way that climate change affects farmers across the country just …
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Mr. Speaker, if they will not take it from me, they will not take it from environmentalists and they will not take it from experts, maybe they will take it from the Cement Association of Canada, which said about our climate change plan, “Emissions Reduction Plan provides cement industry with predictability”. Electricity Canada welcomed the smart renewables and electrification pathways program. The…
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Mr. Speaker, it is somewhat rich coming from the opposition that flip-flops on carbon pricing faster than I can flip my pancakes in the morning. One minute, the Conservatives are in favour of carbon pricing. The next minute, they are not. The minute after that, they are for carbon pricing. In the last election, the members of the opposition campaigned on carbon pricing and now they are saying they…
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, the Conservative Party of Canada, with its reckless policies, flip-flops on carbon pricing faster than I can flip my pancakes in the morning. It is impossible to know what its position is at any given minute because it changes its position so often.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that the policies we are putting in place will help Canadians reduce their dependency on expensive fossil fuels and replace them with Canadian-generated clean electricity, reducing their energy bills, which is why we have worked to help Canadians in Atlantic Canada and across the country reduce their home heating bills.
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Mr. Speaker, Fort McMurray forest fires cost Canadians almost $6 billion; Alberta floodings in 2013, almost $4 billion; the ice storm in Quebec, $3 billion; atmospheric rivers in British Columbia, $8 billion. These are only a few of the examples of the increasing cost to Canadians of climate change. What is the answer from this reckless opposition party? It is to make pollution free again. That is…
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Mr. Speaker, my son, like tens of thousands of kids in this country, is a huge fan of hockey. What he likes above all is to be able to play it outside. Unfortunately, because of climate change, he will no longer be able to do this. This year, for the first time in 51 years, the Rideau Canal will not be able to open—
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, my son, like tens of thousands of kids across this country, loves to play hockey, and what he loves above all is to be able to play it outside. However, because of climate change in this hockey-playing country, it is becoming less and less possible to do so. This year, for the first time in 51 years, the Rideau Canal is still not open and probably will not be able to …
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