44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 5, 2024 11:00AM
- Feb/5/24 2:36:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think that a lot of the people watching us just cannot understand why, in 2024, a party that wants to form the government someday, maybe, still cannot grasp the importance of climate change.
In 2021, drought caused a 27% decrease in Canada's grain production. Just two years later, in 2023, grain yields dropped by 13% across the country, again, due to drought. Over the past decade, 200,000 Canadian farmers have seen their costs increase because of climate change.
What is the Conservatives' response? They are going to make polluting free again.
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- Feb/5/24 3:54:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have two petitions to present today.
The first petition is on behalf of members of my community who are calling the attention of the government to the warning by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that rising temperatures over the next two decades will bring widespread devastation and extreme weather, and that the climate crisis requires a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
Therefore, they call upon the Government of Canada to move forward immediately with bold emissions caps for the oil and gas sector that are comprehensive in scope and realistic in achieving the necessary targets Canada has set for a reduction in emissions by 2030.
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- Feb/5/24 5:51:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I saw that tweet from Elon Musk, and I would disagree with him in saying that it is not the only thing we need, but it is the first thing we need. It is the easiest, cheapest way to bring down our emissions and help solve the climate crisis. We will need to do everything else, but that is the first thing we need to do.
We have had it in British Columbia for over a decade and it has worked, despite what Conservatives say, and despite Conservatives telling my constituents that we should get rid of the federal carbon tax to help my constituents; we do not pay a federal carbon tax in British Columbia. However, it is an essential part of any country's fight and any jurisdiction's fight against climate change.
I am boggled by the fact that the Conservatives do not get that. I am happy that Elon Musk gets it, because I do not agree with everything Elon Musk says. It is certainly the easiest and cheapest way to fight climate change, and we need to do it and everything else.
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- Feb/5/24 6:04:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a youth climate corps is an invitation to the youth in Canada to mobilize and confront today's gravest threat, the climate emergency.
On December 5 I presented a motion calling on the government to establish a youth climate corps, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to explain what the youth climate corps is, but also to talk about how it has an essential role in fighting the climate crisis, building a better future and uplifting Canadian youth.
I have spoken to young people across the country, who have told me they are scared about their future. They know that the climate crisis is real. According to one study, 84% of youth aged 16 to 25 report being worried about climate change. Almost half of them said that their feelings about climate change negatively affected their daily life and functioning. This is extremely concerning, but it also makes sense. It seems like every summer we are facing unprecedented wildfires, extreme weather, heat domes and flooding. Every few months there are grim scientific reports published, saying that our elected leaders are not doing enough.
In the face of the climate emergency and government inaction, it is hard to have hope, but we owe it to future generations to give them tangible solutions and ways to engage in what is the existential crisis of our time. We can build a better future, with clean jobs and climate-resilient communities, and a youth climate corps could be one critical piece of making that a reality. The program would provide jobs and training in emergency response to climate disasters, in the clean energy sector, in green building and in reducing emissions, as well as in building climate-resilient infrastructure and restoring ecosystems.
This past fall, U.S. President Biden announced an American climate corps, which will employ 20,000 youth and set these young people on the path to good-paying union jobs, but here in Canada, Canadian youth are being left behind. We need a federally funded job training and placement program that offers a good, green job to any young person who wants one.
The Climate Emergency Unit has outlined how a youth climate corps could be implemented in Canada. It would be a large-scale, national program aimed at young people that would provide paid opportunities to work on projects that protect the environment, restore ecosystems, reduce our emissions, make communities more resilient and build the new climate infrastructure that they need. Then, when they complete their service, they would be able to access free post-secondary education or training in the sustainable jobs of the future.
A recent poll showed that two-thirds of young people in Canada would consider enrolling in a youth climate corps. That is 1.3 million young people. If the Liberal government supports my motion and implements a youth climate corps, the next generation of young people, aged 17 to 35, would receive on-the-job training to participate in projects to fight the climate crisis and natural disasters and to build a better future for Canada and the planet. This program would not only provide employment for thousands of young people but also reduce our carbon emissions, incorporate environmental justice and set our youth on a path for success.
Will the government implement a large-scale youth climate corps program with the urgency and ambition that we need to fight the climate crisis?
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- Feb/5/24 6:12:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to the member for his willingness to engage in this conversation.
I urge my Liberal colleagues to listen to young people and to address the climate crisis with the appropriate urgency and at the scale that matches it. I just have to say that this is 280 jobs; we have 1.3 million young people who would consider joining a youth climate corps.
Young people are relying on us. They are relying on the current government, and they have not seen the bold climate action required to keep temperatures below 1.5°C. Therefore, a youth climate corps could be a transformative program that gives young people a pathway to meet this moment. Will the government do the right thing and implement a large-scale youth climate corps?
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- Feb/5/24 6:13:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I think it actually speaks such volumes to our climate action initiatives that I cannot get through all of them in just a short response in an adjournment debate.
It certainly does not stop the Canada summer jobs initiative or the green jobs initiative with the Canadian Parks and Recreation Association. I hope to sit down with the CPRA and talk more about how those 280 jobs are going to improve climate literacy, and about action being taken by municipal governments and indigenous-serving organizations right across the country.
There is also the climate action awareness fund, which is investing over $206 million over five years to support youth climate awareness and community-based climate action. It does not stop there; I simply do not have enough time to talk about all the great initiatives the government is undertaking to support youth and climate action.
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