Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, according to a recent study by the Public Policy Forum, “Offshore wind could be for Atlantic Canada what oil was to Texas or hydro power to Quebec.” It has said that this is “monumental”. The region could supply 6.5 million average homes twice the electricity currently consumed in Atlantic Canada. I guess many Canadians are wondering why the Conservatives are standing in the way of cl…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a bit difficult for me to speak after this member who, for many years, was part of a government that was the first in North America to implement a carbon tax, the Government of Quebec. She was part of the government that did that. An article in this morning's edition of La Presse said that Quebec had a record rainfall of 265 millimetres, the most rain it has seen since 19…
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Mr. Speaker, earlier I spoke about our record in terms of greenhouse gas reduction which, no thanks to the Conservative Party, we have been able to do over the last few years. However, let us talk about the record number of electric vehicles that are being deployed, with 10% of sales now in Canada for electric vehicles, something the Leader of the Opposition does not even believe in. He thinks it …
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Mr. Speaker, I think that if he watched the show once, twice, or three times, maybe he should have practised his question once, twice, or three times. It is not entirely clear what he was asking. I think he was talking about carbon pricing. Carbon pricing is in place across the country, from coast to coast. We have made sure there is a fair mechanism for all Canadians. We support Canadians in the …
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Mr. Speaker, I would invite my hon. colleague to watch that episode of Les coulisses du pouvoir again. I am actually happy that he watches Radio-Canada, because his party wants to slash CBC/Radio-Canada's funding. He should watch that interview again, because what I said was that we are there to help people. All the measures that we have implemented, from dental care and child care to fighting cli…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct the record. When we came into power in 2015, projections in emissions growth in Canada were growing and, in 2030, we would be 80 million tonnes above our 2005 levels. We took that out of the atmosphere and we reduced emissions by another 50 million tonnes. That is the equivalent of removing from our roads more than 20 million vehicles. That is one of the things…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that I was opposed to what the Ford government was trying to do in the Greenbelt in the greater Toronto area. Sadly, the Conservatives across the way supported it. We are here to protect the environment across the country. In the past month alone, we have signed agreements with the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Nova Scotia to protect one m…
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Mr. Speaker, I believe the Leader of the Opposition is getting his words confused in French. I would like to remind him that, today, at a time when climate change is affecting everyone around the world, in order to be responsible, a party that wants to form the government must have a plan to fight climate change and to help with affordability issues. Unfortunately, the Conservatives do not have a …
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Mr. Speaker, I remind my hon. colleague that we unveiled the very first national climate change adaptation strategy in Canadian history last June. The strategy was praised by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, among others, who called it brave and bold. We are working with all stakeholders, including in agriculture, and with our provincial, territorial and municipal partners to implement solutions to…
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Mr. Speaker, it is true that keeping up with everything we are doing to fight climate change is difficult. I can understand that the member opposite would be a bit confused. I am going to help him out. The clean fuel standard applies across Canada. It applies elsewhere and it still applies today in the Atlantic provinces, Quebec, Alberta and even British Columbia. It is completely different from c…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for his question. I would also like to remind him that what he is talking about is called a clean fuel standard. That is something that was in the Conservative Party of Canada's 2021 election platform. The member and his colleagues campaigned for the implementation of such a measure during the last election. Why? The reason is that it reduces th…
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Mr. Speaker, the Canada Energy Regulator estimates that wind power will provide about 30% of Canada's total supply in 2050, compared with under 6% in 2021. According to a recent study by the Public Policy Forum, “Offshore wind could be for Atlantic Canada what oil was to Texas or hydro power to Quebec.” This is transformational for Atlantic Canada. I think a lot of Canadians wonder why the Conserv…
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Mr. Speaker, we announced yesterday that we are going to double the rural top-up for Canadians, who benefit from the implementation of carbon pricing. We will also, through a pilot project, make it free for Atlantic Canadians who want to switch to heat pumps, which will enable them to save $2,000 per year. What is it the Conservatives do not like about it? I will tell members what it is: It is mak…
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Mr. Speaker, when we came into power in 2015, projected emissions growth, pollution levels, in Canada was going to increase to 80 million tonnes by 2030. We brought this, more than 80 millions tonnes, down, and since then we have reduced it by another 50 million tonnes. That is more than 100 million tonnes of pollution that Canada will not have to endure because of us, despite the Conservative Par…
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Mr. Speaker, our government has done more than any other to ensure that large oil companies do their fair share when it comes to paying taxes and fighting climate change. We already have regulations in place to ensure that they reduce methane emissions, a very powerful greenhouse gas, by at least 40% by 2025 and at least 75% by 2030. We are imposing a cap on the emissions of the oil and gas sector…
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Mr. Speaker, I think what Canadians want is to be part of a 21st-century planet that is livable for everyone and where people can have well-paying jobs. It just so happens that the International Energy Agency published its latest report two days ago, which shows that global oil consumption will peak in 2025, that global emissions will peak this year and that investment in clean technologies has do…
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Mr. Speaker, the member for Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis was part of a provincial government that fought for carbon pricing. The member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier was also part of that government, as was the member for Mégantic—L'Érable. In addition, the member for Louis-Saint-Laurent, whom I deeply respect, has publicly advocated for carbon pricing. Now that they have a leader who is ideolog…
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Mr. Speaker, setting aside for a second the la-la land math that the Conservative Party is using on this issue, let us hear what the experts have to say about our plan to fight climate change. The International Institute for Sustainable Development said, “Canada commits a historic investment in clean electricity and fresh water in Budget 2023.” The Insurance Bureau of Canada said, “Canada's Nation…
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Mr. Speaker, people watching us can sometimes get a little cynical about politics, especially when they hear this kind of thing from an opposition member who was part of a provincial government that happened to be the first government in North America to put a price on pollution. She supported putting a price on pollution. She was part of a government that campaigned for years to put a price on po…
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Mr. Speaker, I think it would be a stretch to describe former premier Jean Charest as a dangerous Bloc member, yet the opposition party member served under that premier for years. She believed in climate change at the time, but not anymore. She also used to believe in carbon pricing and implementing programs to support public transit and the electrification of transportation. Today, she no longer …
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Mr. Speaker, I recognize that there were initial problems with the program's implementation. However, Natural Resources Canada has since put in place a series of measures to improve and facilitate access to the program so that people can actually renovate their homes, make them more energy efficient, save money on their energy bills and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, something the Conserva…
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Mr. Speaker, Jill lives in the riding of the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle. She recently shared that she gets more money back than she pays out and that it helps her at the grocery store. She does not want the carbon pricing rebate to go away. Why would the Conservative Party of Canada cut this program from Jill?
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the Leader of the Opposition that, in its platform for the 2021 election campaign, his party proposed implementing a clean fuels standard. The difference between the Conservative Party and us is that they just talk about these issues while we act. Thanks to this standard, billions of dollars are being invested in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Newfoundland to he…
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Mr. Speaker, according to a study that came out two days, in Canada, 60% of small and medium-sized businesses across the country have been affected by extreme weather events this year alone, and 44% of them say that it has had a direct hit on their revenue. What is the response from the Conservative Party? They want to make pollution free again, have more climate change, more air pollution and mor…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that Quebec was the first jurisdiction in North America to implement its own carbon pricing system, which it did over a decade ago, well before the federal government and all the other provinces introduced theirs. If my colleague is having a hard time understanding that system, I would be happy to explain to him what makes Quebec's system uniqu…
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Mr. Speaker, I share the concerns of my hon. colleague. The leader of an important company like Suncor should be working with us to help fight climate change in a time where we are seeing record heat and record flooding all around the world, including in our country. We have record forest fires and hurricanes. We need everyone to step up to the plate. We know it will not be the Conservative Party,…
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Mr. Speaker, if the Conservatives have a problem with my accent in English, then I will answer them in French. Maybe it will be easier for them. Bob, a teacher, also wrote to us. He just received his carbon pricing rebate. This year, he and his partner will receive $720. That is more than $13 a week. Bob told us that he is making more money with the carbon pricing rebate than if there were no reba…
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Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to explain to my hon. colleague how Quebec does not use a pricing system, but a greenhouse gas emissions cap and trade system, and that the clean fuel regulations that we brought in was one of the Conservative Party's commitments in the 2021 election campaign. The difference between us and them is that they only talk about these issues while we on this side of the Ho…
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Mr. Speaker, I have more good news for my colleague. We implemented measures to make sure the oil and gas sector does its fair share to fight climate change in Canada. We have regulations to reduce methane emissions by at least 40% by 2025. We will hit 65% by 2030. That is one of the most ambitious targets in the world. We are also about to table draft regulations to cap greenhouse gas emissions f…
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Mr. Speaker, I have good news for my colleague. We have already cut fossil fuel subsidies. We are the first G20 country to do so. We did it two years sooner than all of the other partners. We even went a step further. We committed to eliminating public funding as well, unlike any other G20 nation, and we will do so by next year.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that in a recent podcast on a very popular Canadian show, one of her ex-advisers to the federal NDP and many provincial NDPs was asked, point-blank, what he thought people would remember of this Liberal government. He said that they would remember it as the first government to take climate change seriously in the history of Canada. I agree with…
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Mr. Speaker, I have more good news for my Bloc Québécois colleagues. Between 2019 and 2021, our greenhouse gas emissions in Canada declined by 50 million tonnes. That is the equivalent of removing 11 million vehicles from our roads. The pandemic was over in 2021, something my hon. colleague on the Conservative side fails to understand. On this side of the House, we are committed to fighting climat…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct my colleague on the fact that the Supreme Court, last week, issued an opinion; it was not a decision. If members want a briefing by the justice department on the difference, we would be happy to provide that to them. Let me quote what the Supreme Court said, “This appeal is not about whether Parliament can enact legislation to protect the environment. It is cle…
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Mr. Speaker, in fact, our government has taken and is taking a number of measures to ensure that big oil companies do their fair share when it comes to fighting climate change. We are the first G7 country to have limited fossil fuel subsidies two years ahead of schedule, which is something that the Conservative Party of Canada would never do. The Conservatives want to make pollution free. We have …
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Mr. Speaker, an agreement could not be reached under the provisions of Standing Order 78(1) or 78(2) with respect to the second reading stage of Bill C-49, an act to amend the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Atlantic Accord Implementation Act and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts. Under the provisions o…
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Mr. Speaker, putting a price on pollution is one of the best ways to fight climate change, and it is why our emissions are down 50 million tonnes. It is the equivalent of removing 11 million gas-powered vehicles from our roads. Next Friday, Canadians can expect to get $386 in Alberta, $264 in Manitoba, $244 in Ontario, $340 in Saskatchewan, $328 in Newfoundland and Labrador, $248 in Nova Scotia, $…
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Mr. Speaker, for the sake of the planet, Canadians, and the world, frankly, cannot afford the Conservative Party of Canada. With the Conservative Party of Canada, gone are the programs to support more than 300 projects that are under construction for transit all across the country. For electric buses announced in Alberta, in Ontario and in Quebec, gone are the programs. Gone are the programs to he…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to understand how it is common sense to impose a moratorium on renewable energy projects that will create tens of thousands of jobs and generate tens of billions of dollars. That is what the Conservative Party of Canada supports. That is what the Premier of Alberta is doing. My question for the Conservatives is this. Will they block renewable energy projects in Quebec? Wi…
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Mr. Speaker, I think many Canadians are wondering why the Conservative Party of Canada is supporting Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who has put a moratorium on renewable energy projects in Alberta. That decision is putting $30 billion at risk, while the Conservatives say they are in favour of clean technologies and the free market. Will they do the same in Quebec? Will the Conservative Party oppo…
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Mr. Speaker, what I cannot understand is how, in 2023, a party aspiring to form government can have no climate change plan and nothing to say to the tens of thousands of Quebeckers who have been affected by the flooding and wildfires this summer and to the people across the country, particularly in Quebec, who have been displaced. The Conservative Party is saying that what it is going to do is mak…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that the Dairy Farmers of Canada have committed to reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Egg Farmers of Canada also announced that they want to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The Grain Growers of Canada also committed to reaching net zero by 2050. Farmers understand how climate change is impacting their sector and…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that Canada is the only G20 country that has eliminated fossil fuel subsidies. No one else in the G20 has done that and we have done that two years earlier than all the other G20 partners. Since 2015, we have reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 53 million tonnes. That is the equivalent of removing, from our roads, 11 million gas-powered vehicles…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that, during the last election campaign, his party and Conservative candidates, some of whom are now MPs, campaigned in favour of a clean fuel standard. The difference between us and them is that they talk while we take action. We created that standard, and it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is resulting in lower greenhouse gas emissio…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that Quebec is not only the first province in Canada to have put a price on pollution, but it is the first state in North America to have done so. This happened under a succession of governments of all stripes, except for the Conservatives who disagree with this. Why? According to their party's official position, they do not even believe that c…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her question, but also for her active commitment, both to reconciliation with indigenous peoples and to the conservation of our environment and nature. The guardians program is an international model. Requests have come in from all over the world seeking to know how this program could be replicated elsewhere. Thanks to the investment she and I an…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that the poultry association of Canada, the grain growers and the canola growers have all committed to be net zero by 2050. Interestingly enough, every time the member, who I respect, stands in the House to talk about the impacts of climate change, he never talks about the impacts on farmers, and the billions of dollars that droughts, flooding …
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Mr. Speaker, what is out of touch with reality in 2023 is to be a party that hopes to form government but has nothing to say about climate change. Still today, the party's official position is to deny the very existence of climate change, while, this summer, tens of thousands of people across the country were displaced not once, not twice, but three times, in some cases because of record wildfires…
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Madam Speaker, as I said, I will be talking with Parks Canada officials to ensure these problems are solved as quickly as possible.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that his party campaigned on putting in place a price on pollution in Canada in the 2021 election. I would like to pick up on what my colleague was saying. Why is the Conservative Party opposing the development of clean energy in Canada, like the moratorium that Premier Smith has put in place in Alberta, which is putting at risk $30 billion o…
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Madam Speaker, I would actually take issue with the fact that the member is accusing one of the most respected institutions in our country, Parks Canada, of not doing its job. It is one of the most liked and trusted institutions in Canada. I will work with the officials at Parks Canada to ensure that this issue is dealt with in the most rapid possible terms.
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