44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 9, 2021 10:00AM
- Dec/9/21 11:03:53 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to offer my congratulations to the parliamentary secretary on her new role.
I want to pick up on a question asked by the hon. member for Vancouver East earlier in this conversation. We know activists across the country have been calling out the need for more investments in non-market, public, subsidized and co-op housing. We have not built co-op housing in this country since the early 1990s.
Can the parliamentary secretary comment on that need, and the commitment from the government to begin reinvesting in co-op housing?
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- Dec/9/21 1:07:44 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on the topic of the national housing strategy, in 2019, the PBO identified that the same strategy reduced the amount of funding for those in core housing need.
I heard the member speak about 1993 in his speech. I am curious if he would like to share more about the need to invest in building new co-op housing. I heard him talk about supporting co-ops.
Could the member reflect on the fact that he is in government and is in a position where he could influence the need to build new co-op housing?
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- Dec/9/21 7:28:05 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-6
Mr. Speaker, the Green Party agrees to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.
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- Dec/9/21 7:32:43 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-6
Mr. Speaker, the Greens also agree to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.
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- Dec/9/21 7:34:44 p.m.
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- Re: Bill C-6
Mr. Speaker, the Greens agree to apply the vote and will be voting in favour.
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- Dec/9/21 7:49:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the chance to speak tonight with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change on the topic of the climate crisis and fossil fuel subsidies.
In my community, no matter what neighbourhood I am in, the sentiment is the same: What is the point of anything else if we are not ensuring we have a safe climate future for our kids, nieces, nephews and grandkids, recognizing this is our last chance to ensure that we do so?
We are already seeing these impacts every day across the country. Recently there was the mudslides and flooding from B.C. to the east coast. This is a reminder that we must listen to scientists, indigenous leaders and young people who are calling for parliamentarians to act immediately, which will require bold and transformational action to reduce emissions by what scientists tell us is required to keep the possibility of 1.5°C alive, our fair share being 60% by 2030.
How are we doing on this? A couple of weeks ago, the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development released a scathing report, in which he wrote, “We can't continue to go from failure to failure; we need action and results, not just more targets and plans.”
As of now, Canada's emissions have continued to increase since 2015, as of the most recent inventory, and we are the worst performer of any G7 country. One obvious reason is that we continue, in the midst of a climate emergency, to subsidize fossil fuels to the tune of approximately $17 billion domestically in 2020, including over $5 billion for the building of the Trans Mountain pipeline.
The report pointed to one example with a clear opportunity to improve the onshore program of a so-called emissions reduction fund. Launched in November 2020, part of Canada's COVID-19 emergency response plan, the government saw the onshore program as a way to help the energy sector deal with lower oil prices during the pandemic. It was designed to support emission reduction efforts by providing financial support to struggling companies in this sector. This is the important part. It offered up to $675 million to oil and gas companies to maintain employment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a particular focus on methane.
To date, the government has funded 40 projects via this $675-million fund without verifiable emissions reductions, two-thirds of which actually led to increased oil and gas production. The good news is that we have only spent $134 million of the $675 million to date. Now we have an opportunity to use these funds for real climate action, for significant emissions reductions, by creating good jobs, for example, in retrofitting buildings, retraining workers in oil and gas and supporting their transition in a just economy.
Could the parliamentary secretary share what the government intends to do to ensure that the remaining $541 million actually reduces emissions?
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- Dec/9/21 7:56:48 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I will just speak briefly.
In the report from the commissioner, to be really clear, in terms of the reductions, we need to be mindful of the concept of additionality, meaning would these reductions have happened without the incremental funding?
In section 4.34, the commissioner was clear: “In the absence of an additionality analysis, there was no guarantee that it was designed to result in emission reductions beyond those that already would have happened”.
More important than quibbling on what happened before is talking about what can happen now. We still have $541 million left, so my question is the same. Can the parliamentary secretary speak to what the government intends to do as it looks to restructure this existing fund to work toward getting meaningful additional net new emission reductions?
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