44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 7, 2023 10:00AM
- Feb/7/23 10:37:36 a.m.
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Resuming debate, the hon. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
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- Feb/7/23 1:47:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the hon. member across the way is trying to make the argument that doing nothing is the best option. However, what we have seen through successive Conservative governments is that doing nothing is not the best option. In fact, eight out of 10 Canadians benefit from the system we put in place, and the environment will benefit at the same time. Doing nothing is not an option.
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- Feb/7/23 1:50:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is another day and another wasted Conservative opposition motion. I will note that this is the seventh time within the last year that the Conservatives have brought forward a motion that is either a carbon copy of this one or something very similar. I guess the Conservatives will not take no for an answer from the rest of the House, which continually votes against this.
The reason I find this to be so amazing is that every single Conservative sitting in this room right now, every single Conservative elected to the House of Commons in the last election and every single Conservative candidate who ran in the election in 2021 ran on pricing pollution. They all ran on it. It was key.
It took the former leader of the opposition something like 500 days to come up with a plan on the environment, and all he did was copy what we have, although he tweaked it a little and made it more like an air miles program whereby people got reward points and could get environmentally friendly products. That was their plan. That is what they ran on. They all ran on pricing pollution. I hate to say it, Mr. Speaker, but so did you. Everybody ran on pricing pollution—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/7/23 2:55:59 p.m.
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The hon. Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
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- Feb/7/23 3:05:32 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-5
Mr. Speaker, all Canadians are entitled to a healthy environment and safe communities.
Chemicals have grown increasingly prevalent in our daily lives and our economy since the last time the Canadian Environmental Protection Act was reformed.
Canadians want environmental protection legislation that addresses 21st-century problems with 21st-century science.
Would the Minister of Environment and Climate Change tell us why it is important to pass Bill S‑5?
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- Feb/7/23 3:06:05 p.m.
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- Re: Bill S-5
Mr. Speaker, I thank parliamentarians for their hard work on this bill. Ensuring we have the right tools to protect human and environmental health is a key element of our government's plan.
For the first time ever in Canadian law, Bill S‑5 recognizes the right to a healthy environment for all Canadians across the country. This is a big step forward for both health and the environment.
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- Feb/7/23 4:05:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague for what I think is a really important moment for Conservatives, and I hope they are listening. They are acknowledging the fact that climate change is real. That is a good place to start.
In this place, I seek a consensus, I hope, on issues that are affecting everyday Canadians, and one of them is the environment. The other is the cost of living. There seems to be a red herring when we are talking about the carbon tax because we can in fact do both: We can ensure that we do good by Canadians by making sure we put a price on carbon and returning some of that to the Canadians who need it the most. However, it is not a silver bullet. I agree with the member that the government is failing our environment. It is failing, hands down. It is not a silver bullet and the Liberals are treating it as such.
On the other hand, we have the cost-of-living crisis, and New Democrats fought in this House and tabled an amendment to make sure that we would tax excess profits and have windfall tax on corporations. Why did the member vote against it?
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- Feb/7/23 6:23:08 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important to recognize that the impacts of climate change continue to intensify, as witnessed most recently through the destructive force of hurricane Fiona, which devastated a number of areas throughout Atlantic Canada. It is evident that we must adapt, and adapt quickly, to our ever-changing environment. That is why our government is working on finalizing Canada's first national adaptation strategy with its partners. Our government recognizes that we need to do more to help prevent and protect our citizens against climate change.
I look forward to continuing to work with my hon. colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands to achieve our mutual objectives. I think that, at the end of the day, we are moving very much in a progressive fashion forward on our environment, and I do appreciate the many contributions that the leader of the Green Party has put forward.
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