Parliamentary Speeches

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the hon. member represents the riding next to mine, Provencher. I am from Winnipeg South. I just want to know if the hon. member recalls that it was Stephen Harper who added CO2 to schedule 1 of CEPA, the gas that is primarily responsible for climate change. Given that his riding is next to mine, I know that the Red River flooded this year and half of his riding was underwater. It h…

Government Orders

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his passion for his province and for fresh water, which I share. As the hon. member will know, Bill S-5 was first introduced as Bill C-28 in this House, which was then Bill S-5 in the other place. I am going to preface my question with a shout-out to Senator McCallum from northern Manitoba, an indigenous senator who really made a big impact through …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, eight out of 10 families will benefit, according to the Parliamentary Budget Officer. It is very good news, and about a week and a half ago, cheques started arriving in people's mailboxes. They will now arrive quarterly. That is going to help Atlantic Canadians. It will help all Canadians with the cost of living and with cash flow. May I say, there is a triple benefit…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives across the way never talk about the costs of climate change. In the member's province of B.C., climate change is killing people and ravaging the economy. About 600 people died under the heat dome last year. It was a $9-billion impact to the local economy. Climate change is real. Lives are real. These costs are real. We have a plan to reduce emissions, build community…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, under the previous Conservative leader, just one year ago, everyone on that side of the House supported a price on pollution. The member for New Brunswick Southwest recently endorsed a carbon price for his province. The member for Wellington—Halton Hills made the carbon price a centrepiece of his leadership campaign in 2017. Everyone on that side of the House is now vehemently opposed…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely shocking. Weeks after the climate catastrophe of hurricane Fiona, the Conservatives want to take a tool off the table that would reduce emissions, fight climate change and put more money into people's pockets. I want to assure the hon. member that we will be there to help Atlantic Canada to rebuild. We will also be there to help Atlantic Canadians transition to greene…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we are focused like a laser beam on affordability and the cost of living challenges of Canadian families. That is why it is so important that the price on pollution and the climate rebate puts more money—

Statements by Members

Madam Speaker, it is with sadness that I announce the recent passing of a dear friend and beloved Manitoban, Dr. Krishnamurti Dakshinamurti. Born in 1928, in Vellore, India, he was a student activist and an early follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Dr. Dakshinamurti later channelled this life-changing experience by founding the Mahatma Gandhi Centre of Canada to promote human rights. He earned a Ph.D. in …

Statements By Members

Mr. Speaker, Don Duguid won every conceivable championship in curling, including two men’s world championships, three Canadian men’s championships and a Canadian masters championship, to name a few. He was the face and the voice of curling both in Canada and abroad for almost 40 years, and no individual has had a bigger impact on the spread of curling throughout the world. He was curling’s very fi…

Government Orders

Yes.

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I have a point of order.

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for her thoughtful remarks and her good work on the environment committee. The hon. member will remember that CEPA reform was first introduced as Bill C-28 in this House in the last session and is Bill S-5 in this session. I wonder if the hon. member can reflect on whether the Senate strengthened Bill S-5 and improved it. Will she support getting it to com…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, this is the first time in the history of CEPA that a right to a healthy environment is there, front and centre. That will be debated in the House and at committee. The hon. member would have the opportunity to make those points again. As the hon. member would know, the bill, which was formerly Bill C-28 and is now Bill S-5, gives two years to codify and specify all of the conditions…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his very entertaining speech. It was a bit of fiction, I would say. My memory of the Harper record is a little different from his. It withdrew from the Kyoto climate accord, did absolutely nothing on climate change for 10 long years and closed the IISD experimental lakes area. Then there was the war on science and muzzling scientists. Will the hon…

Oral Questions

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Calgary Skyview for his climate advocacy. He will know the federal pollution pricing system is a win-win. It puts more money back in families' pockets, while fighting climate change. These quarterly payments add up to major support for families facing affordability challenges. Over the course of the year, a family of four will receive up to $745 in Ont…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for her understanding on this matter and allowing my colleague to split time with me. I am very pleased today to rise in support of Bill S-5. My remarks will focus on the government's accomplishments under its chemicals management plan, commonly known as CMP. This is relevant to Bill S-5, as these accomplishments have largely been …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, before I begin, I want to seek unanimous consent to split my time with the member for Cloverdale—Langley City.

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the hon. member is a leader in the area of environmental protection. I look forward learning more about Bill C-219. We would consider it at that time. I just want to assure the hon. member that we are going to have a very robust process at committee. The minister and I, and others, have indicated that we are certainly open to strengthening the bill. The Senate did some excellent wor…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the Bloc would get their opportunity to weigh in, not only in the House, but also at committee to propose amendments. Again, a right to a healthy environment was very much considered an innovation that was not in the previous CEPA and is now in Bill S-5. If hon. members have suggestions on how to strengthen that, we would be open to that debate.

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I want to share our deepest sympathies on the passing of the member's mother. I would also like to take the opportunity to give a tribute to my mother, who raised five boys just about all by herself. We are very close to my mother. She is 87 years young. I do not know if the hon. member has followed the B.C. situation, but perhaps he could confer with his colleague sitting next to h…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, as our House leader said, in a week in which climate change has ravaged much of Atlantic Canada, it is absolutely astounding that the opposition wants to take a valuable tool off the table that is helping to reduce emissions and put more money in people's pockets. We will be there to help Atlantic Canadians rebuild. We will be there to help them transition from carbon-intensive fuels …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I could not agree with the hon. member more. Energy companies are doing well and they must put their shoulders to the wheel and invest in reducing pollution. We are working on many fronts to reduce fossil fuel emissions. We are going to cap emissions from the oil and gas sector. We are going to be introducing a clean fuel standard. We are putting a price on pollution. We are going to …

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, British Columbia has been very much on our minds. We are working very closely with the B.C. government, which believes in a price on pollution and was, in fact, the first in Canada to implement one. I would remind the hon. member that last year, floods, droughts and wild fires caused $7.5 billion of damage. We are working the Province of British Columbia to rebuild, but the costs of…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to rise today to address this motion concerning carbon pollution pricing. I will start by stating the obvious. Climate change is real, it is happening now and parts of Canada are warming faster than the global average. The latest science warns that to avoid severe impacts of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced significantly and urgently to limi…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, under the leadership of our Minister of Seniors, we are doing a lot for seniors, including a 10% increase in the OAS for people over 75. Getting back to the topic of the day, the price of pollution, eight out of 10 families would be better off and would see an increase in what they receive back, and that includes seniors, who we know are stretched in these difficult times. Our gover…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, the hon. member's question gives me the opportunity to say that emissions must come down. I think we agree that the energy sector needs to step up and invest, given that it is doing well right now. To the question of subsidies, as the hon. member knows, we are putting a cap on oil and gas emissions. We are introducing a clean fuel standard, and very importantly, we are going to be p…

Government Orders

Madam Speaker, I agreed in part with some of my colleague's remarks, particularly those related to best practices, but I wonder if the hon. member could reflect on the costs of climate change. In our home province of Manitoba, we have had two one-in-300-year floods, costing a billion dollars each, devastating agriculture and devastating first nations. There is only one way to address the climate c…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives used to believe in market mechanisms and pricing to reduce pollution. Stephen Harper did before he did not. The member for Durham did before his party abandoned it and, in fact, abandoned him. The Conservatives have flip-flopped all over the place. However, I want to applaud one Conservative, the member for New Brunswick Southwest, who says his province should go bac…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we are totally focused on addressing the affordability challenge for Canadian families. I know, talking to my residents in the west, in Winnipeg South, they very much appreciate the measures the finance minister introduced the other day. That is why it is important that the price on pollution, the climate action rebate, would put more money in people's pockets, families' pockets. Very…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we know there are affordability challenges for Canadian families and that is why our climate plan is designed so the majority of families receive more in climate action incentive payments than they pay at the pump. I beg to differ about the Parliamentary Budget Officer's findings. It still remains that eight out of 10 families will be better off. As the hon. member knows, as the carbo…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we realize that there are very unique challenges in Atlantic Canada with the cost of living and, of course, the cost of fuel. We made a commitment to be there for them. I am very happy to say that the Minister of Environment and Climate Change just last week announced $120 million from the low-carbon economy fund to help Atlantic Canadians transition away from heating oil to clean ene…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we share the hon. member's concern and his commitment to the climate crisis and to addressing it. That is why we are spending $9.1 billion on our emissions reduction plan, which is an ambitious sector-by-sector path for Canada to reach its 2030 emissions on our way to net zero by 2050. It has broad support from environmental groups, from industry to farmers. It is going to deliver cle…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we share the member's concern about our climate future. We hear about it every day, every week, from our constituents. Just to remind the hon. member, we have an ambitious sector-by-sector path for Canada to reach its 2030 targets and to move to net zero by 2050. It is a very practical road map. A couple of examples are incentives in infrastructure for elect…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for being a very thoughtful and constructive member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, which I have the good fortune to serve on. However, I am not sure his question is so constructive tonight. Canadians know taking ambitious climate action today is not just a scientific imperative but an economic one as well. That i…

Adjournment Proceedings

Madam Speaker, I would like to point out that a cornerstone of Canada's carbon pollution pricing system is ensuring affordability for households through the return of the funds collected. Under the federal backstop system, the majority of households in jurisdictions that receive climate action incentive payments get more money than they pay in fuel charges. That is the Parliamentary Budget Officer…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we on this side of the House realize that there are unique affordability challenges in Atlantic Canada. That is why the Minister of Environment, just last week, announced $120 million from the low carbon economy fund to help Atlantic Canadians transition away from heating oil to cleaner energy. We have a plan for the environment. We have a plan for affordability. Every time that plan …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we are totally focused on addressing the affordability challenge for Canadian families. I know that in my home province of Manitoba many families are struggling, and that is why I am so heartened to hear about the measures that have been introduced by the finance minister. That is why it is important that the price on pollution and the climate action rebate will put more money in peop…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, after listening to the Conservative leadership race over the last number of weeks, the party is still debating whether climate change is real. That is not surprising since the Harper Conservatives did absolutely nothing for 10 years on the climate file. While the Conservatives are stuck in the past, we are looking to the future. We are building the economy of tomorrow and the clean jo…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I think all sides of the House are concerned about affordability and our citizens. One party on this side of the House is doing something about it, and that is why our climate plan is designed so that the majority of Canadians receive more in climate action incentive payments than they pay at the pump. The hon. member will also know that as the carbon price increases, so do the climat…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we have put a price on pollution, indeed, but we have also introduced a number of measures that will build the future economy as well as create jobs and make life more affordable for Canadians. Perhaps the hon. member has heard of our emissions reduction plan, which is going to get us to our 2030 targets. It has broad support, from environmental groups to industry to farmers. Unfortun…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, carbon pricing is widely recognized by nearly everyone except Conservative politicians as the most economically efficient way to reduce emissions while also driving clean innovation. I wonder if they could talk to their colleague from New Brunswick Southwest, who says his province should go back to using the federal carbon price because at least it comes with rebates. We agree with th…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, our government understands the affordability concerns faced by Atlantic Canadians, which is why the federal system is designed to put money back into the pockets of families. If the federal system is applied in the provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, we will ensure they receive the climate action incentive payments via quarterly cheques, which will be in the mail in October. We…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, I was just repeating what I said before. Eight out of 10 families will be better off. We are fighting climate change. We are delivering on affordability in so many ways, as our Minister of Tourism has highlighted many times today. Surely the Conservative Party does not want to take money out of people's pockets. Once again, a family of four will receive $745 in Ontario, $830 in Manito…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member will not believe me, perhaps he will believe the Parliamentary Budget Officer, or perhaps he will believe the commissioner on environment and sustainable development. The reality is that the price on pollution puts more money into people's pockets. Eight out of 10 families will receive more than they pay in through the climate action incentive—

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we are fighting climate change, and we are delivering on affordability. The hon. member will recall that the Parliamentary Budget Officer has confirmed that the price on pollution will put more money in people's pockets. Eight out of 10 families will get more back than they pay, through the climate action incentive. This year, I would remind the hon. member that a family of four will …

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we know that climate change and the cost of inaction is absolutely enormous. We have been experiencing climate impacts all over the country, and we have a practical and affordable way to reduce pollution. While the Conservatives want to make pollution free again, we are reducing pollution. We are putting more money in people's pockets, and we are building the clean economy of the futu…

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker, we have all heard the Leader of the Opposition's calls for freedom. I hope that the hon. member did not mean the freedom to pollute. While Conservatives want to make pollution free again, we are reducing pollution, putting more money in people's pockets, and creating a clean economy and good, clean jobs.

Mr. Speaker, like other members of the House, I hold in my heart today those families in Saskatchewan that are grieving because of inconceivable acts of violence. They are in our prayers today. It is with a heavy heart that I join with my colleagues today in commemorating the life of our late sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada and head of the Commonwealth. On behalf of the …

Adjournment Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for the question. However, it is not the question I was expecting in these adjournment proceedings. The question I have before me is with regard to the report from the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, so I am going to reflect on that and I think I will get at the member's question by talking about it. We have made a lot of pr…

Adjournment Proceedings

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands for raising this important question. I understand the decision to withdraw WTO benefits for Russia and Belarus was taken in the context of pre-existing challenges for the agricultural sector in Canada this spring season. However, I would like to remind the hon. member that the government adopted this trade measure as p…