SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 272 - Jan/31/24

Ms. Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné (Terrebonne, BQ)

Jan/31/24 6:01:51 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, my colleague spent most of his speech talking about the fact that Canada should be a world leader in building a low-carbon economy. Unfortunately, this economic statement's proposed approach to reducing Canada's carbon emissions is very weak. Canada is the laughingstock of the G7 due to its low environmental ambitions and, worse, poor environmental performance. The question I have for my colleague deals with housing. In the economic statement there is an entire chapter on housing, and yet it contains nothing of substance, except for the part on cutting the GST, but we know that is not going to do much to solve the housing crisis. What can this economic statement do? When will the government understand that there is an urgency to build affordable and social housing?

133 words

Context: House Hansard - 272 - Jan/31/24

Ms. Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné (Terrebonne, BQ)

Jan/31/24 6:18:26 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I respect my colleague who just made a speech, so I am going to appeal to his intelligence. Quebec already has its cap and trade system, and it works. We know that, by 2015, Quebec had reduced its emissions by 8.8% over 1990 levels. That means it is working. If my colleague believes, first, that climate change exists—which is not a given in his party—second, that climate change must be fought, and third, that there are economic tools that work to lower carbon emissions, as demonstrated in Quebec, then why is he so opposed to economic tools that we know work?

108 words

Context: House Hansard - 272 - Jan/31/24

Mr. John Brassard

Jan/31/24 6:19:06 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, we are going to strongly disagree on this issue. There is no question that there will be strong disagreement between the way the Bloc feels and the ideology of the government. We happen to believe that clean Canadian energy and clean Canadian technology are the answer to reducing climate change, not just here at home but also around the world. I happened to meet with a European Union representative whose primary focus is to source clean sources of energy. What they said to me was that Canada has become an unreliable partner in that because of ideology. We have the best environmental standards, the best human rights standards, the best labour standards and the best technology in the world to supply the world with clean Canadian energy. If we are not doing that, ideological attacks on our energy sector aside, if we are not supplying the world with clean energy, then who is supplying it? Russia, Iran, Venezuela and others are. We are going to disagree on this. It may be an ideological thing, but the fact is that we have clean Canadian energy that could help reduce emissions not just here at home but also around the world.

201 words

Context: House Hansard - 272 - Jan/31/24

Ms. Anita Vandenbeld (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, Lib.)

Jan/31/24 9:20:36 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure this evening to be answering a question from the member for Calgary Rocky Ridge, who is a former classmate of mine from the University of Calgary. I also very much welcome the opportunity to once again clarify how having a price on carbon and making sure that it is no longer free to pollute is the most effective way of addressing climate change, curtailing its devastating effects on both the health and safety of Canadians, and preserving Canada's natural beauty. Canadians deserve measures that address the significant cost of climate change while making life more affordable for Canadians and that is exactly what our government is putting forward. We know from experts and research that the most effective and efficient way to address climate change is to put a price on carbon pollution emissions, which are the chief cause of man-made climate change. It encourages savings across the economy while giving households and businesses the flexibility to decide when and how to make changes. It creates incentives for Canadian business to develop and adopt new low-carbon products, processes and services, and it is both effective and affordable for consumers. That is because the bulk of proceeds from the price on carbon pollution goes straight back into the pockets of Canadians in provinces where the fuel charge applies, with eight out of 10 households in these provinces continuing to get more money back through their quarterly climate action incentive payments than they pay as a result of the federal pollution pricing system. In provinces where the federal system applies, a family of four can receive up to $1,500 a year under our plan. Our government understands that we need to maintain the price signal that is necessary over the long term for carbon pricing to work and bring emissions down. However, at the same time, we have also shown that we are willing to be flexible and innovative in supporting options that will go even further to cut down on climate pollution in the long run. We have taken temporary, targeted measures to suspend the tax on home heating oil to encourage consumers to switch from using home heating oil to using a cleaner, much more affordable solution that will allow them to save thousands of dollars and reduce carbon emissions in the long term. Measures such as this will make life more affordable in the right way while supporting the goal of achieving a prosperous, low-carbon future for all Canadians.

421 words