Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our government put a price on carbon pollution to ensure clean air, fewer emissions and more money in people's pockets. As the carbon price increases, payments also increase, leaving the majority of Canadians with more money in their pockets. While the Conservatives want to take us backward to a time when it was free to pollute, our government will continue to move forward with practi…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, Environment and Climate Change Canada is continuing its work with a number of federal departments and agencies to develop a comprehensive framework and guidance to assess whether a non-tax measure may constitute an “inefficient fossil fuel subsidy”. The department is finalizing its criteria for determining “inefficiency” and is conducting ongoing consultations as part of the process. …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague once again. The Impact Assessment Agency assessed the Bay du Nord project. The project is under review by our government. We will make a decision as soon as possible.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question and all her work on environmental issues and climate change over the past few years. I think she and I agree, along with governments around the world, that we have to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels for environmental reasons, for climate reasons, to create the jobs we need in the near and far future and, of course, to reduce our dependence on …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague talks about leadership. In the last four years, our government has done the most of any government to fight climate change. We have invested $100 billion and introduced over 100 measures to fight climate change. We fought for carbon pricing all the way to the Supreme Court, something our government, hers and mine, fought for. Leadership on climate change is on this s…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the IPCC report shows what people around the world have known for a long time, that countries need to take bold action to fight climate change. We continue to cut emissions, and we have cut 30 million tonnes since we have come into power. That is almost half of Quebec's entire emissions, which we managed to reduce because of the hundreds of measures we have put in place, and because o…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. The IPCC report confirms what people around the world already know. Every country needs to do more, be more ambitious, to mitigate and adapt to climate change. We need to continue to lower emissions and build resilience. This is why our government has already invested $2.3 billion in climate change adaptation and more than $100 billion to reduce …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I would remind my hon. colleague that through carbon pricing we went all the way to the Supreme Court against four provinces, including his province and my own, to fight to ensure we could use one of the best tools to fight climate change, which is carbon pricing. We are still unfortunately fighting in the courts against some provinces to continue to be able to fight for Canadians and…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the IPCC report shows what people around the world already know: that countries need to take bold action to tackle climate change and adapt actions to fight climate change. We must cut our emissions and build resiliency through our society. Canadians cannot afford another term of Conservative inaction on this file. Since we took office in 2015, our government has committed more than $…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, one of the highest carbon prices in the world is here in Canada. There are regulations on methane pollution, and a 40% reduction by 2025. There is a cap on oil and gas emissions. These are all things our government has done to fight climate change and ensure we create good jobs and a prosperous future for all Canadians.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in fact, G20 countries have committed to eliminating fossil fuel subsidies by 2025. We in Canada have committed to doing that by 2023, which is two years earlier than our G20 colleagues. On top of that, EDC has reduced its fossil fuel subsidies by more than $3 billion per year since 2018.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I have asked my hon. colleague this before, and he still has not answered. I would like him to show me a country in the world that has done more in the last four or five years than we have to fight climate change. There have been more than 100 measures, $100 billion of investment, regulations on methane, clean-fuel standards and electricity. These are all things we are doing, and we h…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I agree with my hon. colleague. It is a very important scientific centre. I find it somewhat ironic that he would ask the question, since it was the Conservative government that cut funding to this very important international experiment, but we will be there to continue to finance good science in Canada.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada provided advice to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change with respect to the potential for existing legislative mechanisms to address adverse effects from the Pitt Meadows Road and rail project. The agency understands that diesel emissions resulting from the project would be managed through the following provincial and federal legislatio…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Kings—Hants on his continuing efforts to speak French in the House. I would like to remind him that over the past few years, our government has implemented more than 100 measures and invested $100 billion in the fight against climate change. As he mentioned, I will be tabling a plan in the House that will include many new commitments in t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we have to look at every possible technology that will help us reduce greenhouse gases. In fact, when it comes to carbon capture and storage, the IPCC itself produced a report a few years ago looking at this very technology, saying that we might have to do it because we will not be able to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions fast enough to prevent 1.5°C of global warming.
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, with respect to (a), the proposed clean fuel regulations, referred hereafter as the proposed regulations, will result in an increased demand for lower carbon intensity, CI, fuels in Canada, which could be met by increased imports and/or increased domestic production. The government has established a $1.5 billion clean fuels fund to support the domestic production of lower CI fuels to …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), while there is no commonly held definition, there has been a general understanding that fossil fuel subsidies encompass price controls, cash subsidies and tax preferences—i.e., concessions from a particular country’s “normal” level of taxation—whether aimed at producers or consumers of fossil fuel. The term “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies also lacks a commonly …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada recognized that climate change is one of the great challenges of our times and that to thrive in a net-zero world, Canada must do its part to reduce emissions and ensure that the transition to clean growth is just and equitable. As these are still early days, the government is seeking the input of the net-zero advisory body on key principles for implementing t…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Environment and Climate Change Canada and Natural Resources Canada have initiated engagements with provinces and territories, indigenous peoples, industry, and other Canadians. These discussions will take place over winter and spring 2022 and will help inform the design of the approach to implementing the Prime Minister’s commitment to cap and reduce total emissions …
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, departments and agencies that generate greenhouse gas, GHG, emissions in excess of one kilotonne per year from air travel have been required since 2019-20 to contribute annually to the greening government fund, GGF, www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/services/innovation/greening-government/greening-gov-fund.html. They have been charged a TBS-set fee based on the average total…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite well knows, the world of energy is changing all around the world. We are seeing record levels of investment in clean technologies and renewable energy. In fact, if we look at which part of Canada is receiving the most investment in renewable energy, it is not my home province of Quebec, and it is not Ontario or British Columbia. It is in Alberta that we are seei…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, if my hon. colleague knew anything about tree planting, he would know that we need to grow the seedlings for between two and three years. I have planted trees—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, anyone who has planted trees would know that it takes between two to three years to grow them so they can be safely planted. I have planted trees. I have even been known to hug trees from time to time. Our government is engaged in fighting climate change. We have invested $100 billion in the last six years, with more than 100 measures, and we will keep going.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, as a young activist, I worked for two years for the Canadian Human Rights Foundation, and I am particularly proud to stand on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs today—
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, as I was saying, as a young activist, I worked for two years for the Canadian Human Rights Foundation, and I am proud to stand on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to thank the member for Mississauga—Streetsville for her question. I am pleased to say that Canada has imposed additional sanctions today on entities affiliated with Myanmar's military regime. Today's announcement…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, Canada is a steadfast ally of Israel and a friend of the Palestinian people. We are committed to the goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, including the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel. Our position remains that this can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the parties.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague. We are very concerned about the issue of pesticides, which is why we decided to take action in this area. We made a number of commitments during the election campaign that we will be working on over the next few months, because this is an important issue.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, we completely agree that more transparency is needed. That is why we have called for an independent review of some of the processes that are already in place regarding pesticide approvals. We will continue to work on this issue in the coming months.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country for raising this important issue and for doing so in French. In the last election, Canadians clearly told us that they wanted the government to move faster and do more to address climate change. Whether it is our 2030 targets, reaching net zero by 2050, protecting 25% of our lands and oceans by 2025 …
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, let me reassure the hon. member that the commitment of our government is to phase out fossil fuel subsidies that are aimed at increasing the production of said fossil fuels. Going forward, we will support every industrial sector, every sector of our economy, to decarbonize. We will be helping the cement sector, the aluminum sector and the auto sector. We will also be helping the oil…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Madam Speaker, I beg to differ on many of the assumptions that the member has made, but I will speak specifically to the issue of fossil fuel subsidies. I will say to this House and to the member that Canada remains committed to phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, as was committed to by G20 countries in Pittsburgh in 2009, and that we committed to do so two years earlier than our G20 pa…
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank my esteemed colleague for her decades-long activism on this file. I am making this address from my service vehicle, a 100% electric vehicle, in transit to Ottawa, which is not to make a statement about my street cred on environmental issues but I would simply point that out. My government wishes to thank the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development f…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our government has been hard at work since 2015, to support the transition in Canada with the transformation of our energy sector, our transportation sector and our industrial sector to a low-carbon economy for all Canadians and for all sectors of the economy, as well as the nation.
Read full speech →Adjournment Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague. She is right. The objective in everything we do has to be a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and atmospheric concentrations. As she is well aware, our latest records clearly show that we have started to do that. However, I agree with her. We must pick up the pace and do more. That is the message we got from Canadians in the last election. Canadians told…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I would remind my colleague that we already have one of the highest carbon prices in the world. In terms of carbon pricing, we have surpassed Quebec, California and British Columbia, and we will surpass Europe in 2022. Of all the countries in the world, especially oil- and gas-producing countries, Canada has the highest target for reducing emissions of methane, a very potent greenhous…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I would invite my hon. colleague to actually read the report from the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, which clearly shows that he did not look at the measures we have deployed since 2016 to fight climate change in Canada. In fact, his report points out that under the Harper government there was nothing done on climate change in Canada. The commissioner ack…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I would point out to my colleague that the last inventory, Canada's greenhouse gas inventory, actually shows that without our government action and thanks to the inheritance from the Harper government on climate change, emissions in 2030 would be 30 million tonnes higher than they would have been without our intervention. That is almost half the emissions of all of Quebec. Our plan is…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague for his question. However, I would invite him to read very carefully the report from the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, which clearly shows that his analysis pertains to the years before our government took office. The commissioner himself acknowledged that he did not look at the 100-some measures we put in place in our …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, there has been record-level investment of $4 billion in electrification of transportation, in nature-based solutions and in adaptation to climate change. However, the fight is not over. We have lots more to do, and that is what we will be doing.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we agree on the matter of subsidizing fossil fuels. That is why our country committed to eliminating these subsidies by 2023, two years before our G20 partners' goal of 2025. In Glasgow, we also announced that we, along with many other countries, would stop financing international fossil fuel projects.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Pontiac and congratulate her on her impressive career at the OECD before joining our ranks. Canada has done a lot of work on combatting climate change. I could talk about everything that we achieved in Glasgow, such as the $5.3 billion for developing countries, including $1 billion to help the poorest countries reduce their dependence on coal, and the $1 bill…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we welcome the report from the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development. We commend his work, especially his latest report, which paints a truly dismal picture of the Harper years. The commissioner did not look at our 2016 plan or our 2020 plan, or the 100 or so measures we have put in place, or the nearly $100 billion we have invested. All of these measures will he…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I challenge anyone in the House to show me a country that has done more in the last four years to fight climate change than Canada has done. There has been record-level investment in public transit. There has been record-level investment in—
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, earlier this evening I pointed to very concrete things that are happening in this country because of our government, namely the 300 transit projects under construction from one side of the country to the other and the record-level investments in the electrification of transportation. By the end of next year, 16,000 charging stations will be installed across the country, as more and …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her speech. I would like to make a few points. She talked about coal. She should know that Canada now has legislation to phase out coal-fired electricity by 2030. She should also know that it took us just a few years to implement one of the planet's highest prices on pollution. Our price is higher than Quebec's, British Columbia's and California's. Next year, …
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Madam Speaker, before I share my observations, I would just like to congratulate you on your recent re-election as the members' unanimous choice to co-chair the House. I am privileged to rise and speak to an issue that is on all Canadians' minds no matter where they live or their socioeconomic reality. We all know that this is a tragically historic event. I have no doubt that everyone in the House…
Read full speech →Emergency Debate
Mr. Speaker, I have a few questions for the opposition leader. Is he aware that we have started to implement an adaptation strategy that is already delivering results by funding tangible projects from coast to coast to coast? Take Montreal, where a park is being built with the collaboration of the city and the federal government. These are nature-based solutions that represent tens of millions of …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, first, the Conservative Party's position was that the bill did not go far enough, that we needed to do more and include, according to some of the member's colleagues, companies like YouTube. Then it decided to move the needle and said that it was about freedom of speech. Then when the justice department said that there was no issue with freedom of speech, the Conservatives moved the n…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, frankly, I could not have said it better. Members stand with artists or with big tech, some of the largest and wealthiest companies on this planet. We have decided that we are on the side of artists. Clearly the Conservatives have decided they are on the side of big tech. As for the New Democrats, I do not know and I am not sure they know themselves.
Read full speech →