SoVote

Mr. Chris Bittle (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

May/6/24 12:41:58 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate the hon. member on the other side. I think he hit every single one of the Conservative slogans that he was required to by the whip. Nothing was really said, but all the slogans were hit. I have asked a number of members about this, and the hon. member brought it up. He says that cutting the price on pollution will reduce the price of groceries. However, when we look to the United States, which does not have a national price on pollution, grocery prices have increased at the same rate as they have in Canada. I wonder if the hon. member can explain why it is happening in the United States without a national price on pollution. Is it not truly just a misleading fact that cutting the price on pollution will have in impact on groceries, like he has said?

148 words

Context: House Hansard - 309 - May/6/24

Ms. Joanne Thompson (St. John's East, Lib.)

May/6/24 3:06:50 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, cutting the pollution that is fuelling costly climate change while building a strong, sustainable Canadian economy that creates jobs and invests in the competitive decarbonizing world is the key to success in the 21st century. The latest national inventory report confirms that Canada has bent the curve and is reducing emissions toward achieving the country's 2030 emissions reduction goal. Can the Minister of Environment and Climate Change update Canadians on this progress and the next steps in climate action?

82 words

Context: House Hansard - 309 - May/6/24

Hon. Steven Guilbeault (Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

May/6/24 3:07:25 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, in fact, emissions are down in Canada. That is not only according to us; the independent Canadian Climate Institute said that, for the first time in the history of Canada, we are on track to meet our 2026 and 2030 targets. There was less pollution in 2022 by 44 million tonnes than there was in 2019; this is the equivalent of removing 13 million vehicles from our roads, basically half of our existing vehicles in Canada. More needs to be done, which is why we are the first and only country in the G20 to have eliminated fossil fuel subsidies, as well as the only large oil and gas producer to put in place a cap on emissions.

120 words

Context: House Hansard - 309 - May/6/24

Hon. Steven Guilbeault (Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Lib.)

May/6/24 3:10:14 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, if the member will not take it from me, maybe she will take it from organizations she probably knows very well. Environmental Defence stated, “New data released today by the Government of Canada shows that [we are] finally starting to bend the curve when it comes to climate pollution. GHG emissions in 2022 were the lowest they have been in 25 years, with the exception of the pandemic years.” The Pembina Institute stated, “Canada’s climate policies are starting to pay off.... It appears the suite of measures introduced by the Government of Canada over the last several years is starting to make a notable dent in our overall emissions.”

117 words

Context: House Hansard - 309 - May/6/24

Mr. Adam van Koeverden (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and to the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity, Lib.)

May/6/24 10:32:27 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, there is a common misconception about carbon pollution pricing and, quite frankly, I am surprised to be having this conversation with the member, who is extremely reasonable and generally quite fact-based and believes in science. Three hundred top economists from Canada have all written a letter pointed squarely at the Conservatives and their rhetoric around carbon pricing, urging them to look at the facts. A couple of things are true. One, our price on pollution is not having a negative impact on the very real challenges with respect to affordability that Canadians are facing. Inflation is the number one cause of the challenges that Canadians are facing when it comes to paying their bills, but there are other factors as well, like corporate profits and climate change itself, which is having an outsized impact on the price of food, particularly produce and meat, in all provinces and everywhere around the world, not just in Canada. This idea, referenced by my colleague, that carbon pollution pricing is the root of the affordability challenges is absolutely not founded in truth. It is this approach that the Conservatives have taken, which is a fact-free freelance on evidence and science. They seem to be ignoring all these economists who are basically urging the Conservatives to take a different approach. They have not, unfortunately. Even the most progressive and reasonable members of the Conservative caucus need to sing for their lunch and repeat the phrase over and over again, repeating the slogan. Slogans are not progress. Slogans are not policy. Slogans are not going to solve an existential threat like climate change. When somebody wins a Nobel Prize in economics for a concept, and then relates that to Canada's approach to carbon pricing, as William Nordhaus has done, who won a Nobel Prize for carbon pricing and said recently that Canada is getting it right, it demonstrates to the world exactly how carbon pricing should be done. It is because it is having a positive impact on the finances of families who are on the lower-income scale. I think back to how my mom's finances would have been supported with a $1,000 cheque, and now it is a $1,120 cheque for a family of four in Ontario. We need to rely on facts and evidence to get our emissions down in this country. Canada is one of the highest-emitting countries per capita, and a lot of that is coming from the province of my colleague, which is our largest oil and gas-producing province by far. Almost 40% of Canada's emissions are coming from Alberta and the oil sands there. Alberta has about 13% of Canada's population, so that is an outsized footprint that we need to address. It is unfortunate that we are here late into the night repeating slogans and catchphrases, but catchphrases and slogans are not policy. They are not going to help solve an existential threat like climate change. Carbon pricing is just one of a suite of measures that is lowering our emissions. In 2015, our emissions were going up. It is now 2024 and our emissions are coming down markedly. Finally, we will achieve our 2026 targets. That is really remarkable. We were on the wrong path in 2015, and we have changed course. We have turned around and lowered our emissions in Canada. This is a team effort. It does not have to be a partisan thing. It is not a Liberal approach to solving climate change or a Conservative one. It is Canada's approach to solving climate change and lowering our emissions, and I wish the Conservatives would come up with some solutions.

619 words

Context: House Hansard - 309 - May/6/24

Mr. Adam van Koeverden

May/6/24 10:37:27 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, that is false. Economists from across the country, the climate change report, the commissioner of climate change and the environment for Canada, and all the climate action organizations are urging the Conservatives to please stop it with these slogans. It is only the Conservatives. There are zero economists in Canada suggesting that a price on pollution does not lower emissions. Our emissions are coming down. Our plan is working, and it is not resulting in hardship for families. Families are experiencing financial hardship right now, but pointing to pricing pollution is a false narrative. I note that the Conservative member did not mention that Danielle Smith, the Premier of Alberta, jacked up the price of fuel by four cents on April 1. Meanwhile, her whole caucus and the Conservatives in Alberta were screaming and yelling about a three-cent increase. It is just—

146 words