44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 8, 2023 02:00PM
- Feb/8/23 7:57:10 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, we know two things. We know that energy profits are at record levels, and we know that emissions have to come down.
We are investing $9.1 billion in an emissions reduction plan. We have put our money on the table. Oil and gas companies have to come to the plate. They have to put their shoulder to the wheel. They have to work with us to get those emissions down and to realize the ambitious targets we have set for our emissions reduction plan.
Our government understands that Canada is facing an increasing number of extreme events, such as floods, hurricanes and forest fires.
Our climate is changing and it is necessary to take strong action now to make our future greener. Now, more than ever, climate action is an economic necessity. The reality is that this government is taking meaningful actions to fight pollution and promote cleaner air for everyone.
I know the member for Victoria also believes in the importance of fighting climate change and I hope that she supports our efforts.
For example, we established a national minimum price on carbon pollution across Canada in 2019. Not only is it no longer free to pollute, it is more and more expensive to do so. Our approach is working.
We are encouraging industries to become more efficient and use cleaner technologies. In doing so, we are encouraging the development of innovative new approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and using energy more efficiently.
That being said, we also know that we need to work with the industry on decarbonization measures.
Our government is also committed to phasing out or rationalizing inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that give fossil fuels an unfair advantage over clean air solutions. We have accelerated the previous timeline for doing so from 2025 to this year.
In budget 2022, the government committed to eliminating the flow-through share regime for fossil fuel activities. This will be done by no longer allowing expenditures related to oil, gas and coal exploration and development to be renounced to flow-through share investors for flow-through share agreements entered into after March 31, 2023.
That is less than two months away.
I am also proud of our government's work on carbon capture, utilization and storage, or CCUS. It is an important tool for reducing emissions in high-emitting sectors, especially if other pathways to reduce emissions are limited or even unavailable. It uses advanced technologies to capture carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion, industrial processes or directly from the air.
The captured carbon can then be stored deep underground or used to create new, innovative products.
In last year's budget, we announced a refundable investment tax credit for businesses that incur eligible expenses.
This tool will be available to CCUS projects to the extent that they permanently store captured CO2 through an eligible use. From 2022 through 2030, the investment tax credit rates will be set at 60% for investment in equipment to capture CO2 in direct air capture projects, 50% for investment in equipment to capture CO2 in all other CCUS projects, and 37.5% for investment in equipment for transportation, storage and use.
To encourage industry to act quickly to reduce emissions, these rates will be reduced by 50% starting in 2031.
550 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/8/23 8:02:08 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, our government is taking meaningful actions to fight pollution and make Canada's future greener.
Our government understands that climate action is now an economic necessity and Canadians can count on us to continue the work. For example, Canada is taking significant steps toward reducing our emissions by 40% to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030, and reaching net zero by 2050.
Last fall at COP27 in Egypt, Canadian representatives also fought hard to prevent other countries from backing down on phasing out subsidies for fossil fuels and coal, which remain the largest sources of CO2 emissions. We are also on track to eliminate coal-fired power here in Canada by 2030.
In the months ahead, as we prepare for the 2023 budget, Canadians can count on this government to continue to work hard to build an economy that works for everyone, to create good jobs and to make life more affordable.
154 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/8/23 8:07:26 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague said, there is no health without mental health. That is why access to mental health and substance use supports, including at the community level, is a fundamental piece of work that we want to undertake with the provinces and territories.
I think we all know our health system is facing major challenges, made worse by the pandemic. As we work with the provinces to fix it, we have to make sure that mental health and substance use care is integrated transparently as an integral and equal part of our universal health care system.
I believe the proposal we put forward to the premiers yesterday provides both the resources and the mechanism to get us there.
We are keeping our commitment to transfer billions of dollars to the provinces and territories in the coming years to support mental health, but we are doing so by increasing the Canada health transfer, which includes mental health, and by providing $25 billion over 10 years under long-term integrated bilateral agreements.
At the working meeting with the provincial premiers, the federal government announced that it will increase health funding to the provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over 10 years, including $46.2 billion in new funding.
This funding includes an immediate, unconditional $2 billion Canada health transfer top-up to address immediate pressures on the health care system. A 5% CHT guarantee for the next five years will be provided through annual top-up payments as required. This measure is projected to provide an additional $17.3 billion over 10 years in new support.
The last top-up payment will be rolled into the CHT base at the end of the five years to ensure a permanent funding increase, providing certainty and sustainability to provinces and territories. With this guarantee, the CHT is projected to grow by 33% over the next five years, and 61% over the next 10 years.
We are also providing $25 billion over 10 years to advance shared health priorities through tailored bilateral agreements that will support the needs of people in each province and territory in four areas of shared priority: family health services, health workers and backlogs, mental health and substance use, and a modernized health system.
We believe these bilateral agreements are the most effective way to incorporate shared priorities into this funding, to reflect the unique needs of each province and territory, and to support mental health as part of an integrated patient-centred approach. The goal of this collaborative work and these bilateral agreements is to provide Canadians with a multidisciplinary system of care.
This approach integrates mental health into all the shared priorities, from improving access to mental health through primary care, to improving data and sharing information on health between the professionals that are consulted, or the approach to address the labour shortage in the health and mental health care sectors and to provide better mental health support to prevent burnout.
These are results that will improve access to the supports Canadians need when they need it.
520 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Feb/8/23 8:12:17 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, the significant increases to the Canada health transfer will give the provinces and territories essential resources to support health care, including mental health care. The additional $25 billion for tailor-made agreements with provinces and territories will also help expand the delivery of timely, high quality, integrated and accessible mental health and substance use services in Canada. Through the proposed bilateral agreement, we will be working to integrate mental health and substance use care priorities as a full and equal part of our universal health care system.
This will ensure transparency and accountability by the provinces and territories in access to mental health and substance abuse services. We will build on the $5 billion over five years that we have been providing for mental health and substance abuse support since 2017, which currently provides $600 million annually to the provinces and territories until 2027.
148 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
