SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

Hon. Steven Guilbeault

  • Member of Parliament
  • Minister of Environment and Climate Change
  • Liberal
  • Laurier—Sainte-Marie
  • Quebec
  • Voting Attendance: 59%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $99,511.83

  • Government Page
  • Jun/3/24 2:58:36 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for the question and the fact that, unlike the Conservatives, she thinks that climate change is indeed a significant problem that we need to address. I would remind her that we are the only G7 country to have cut fossil fuel subsidies, two years ahead of schedule no less. We are the only ones to have done that. Just this morning, we announced a $530‑million fund with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to work with our communities across the country. This is going to help 1,400 municipalities across the country to deal with the consequences of climate change.
108 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • May/27/24 2:47:56 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to correct my hon. colleague. Since before the pandemic, our emissions have gone down in Canada, and we have one of the best performances of all G7 countries when it comes to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions since 2019. However, I would agree with the member that more needs to be done, which is why we have put together the first-ever national adaptation strategy, working with provinces, territories, indigenous nations and municipalities to ensure that we are better prepared to help Canadians and their communities face the impacts of climate change. This is something that, unfortunately, the Conservative Party of Canada cannot even bring itself to mention.
113 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • May/27/24 2:41:06 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my hon. colleague that more than half of the oil consumed in Quebec is Canadian oil and that as Quebeckers, we consume 360,000 barrels of oil every day. Yes, our record is better than the rest of the country, but Quebec also needs to make an effort. No one is off the hook from fighting climate change. No one is better than everyone else. We must all work on fighting climate change.
80 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • May/27/24 2:38:38 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for her question. I would like to remind her that Climate Scorecard gave Canada a grade of 70% in 2024 for our climate change performance and that our greenhouse gas emissions dropped by over 50 million tonnes. That is the equivalent of taking 15 million cars off our roads. We are getting there. We need to do our part in fighting climate change. Every sector of the economy and every region of the country must contribute to the fight against climate change.
90 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • May/9/24 3:15:38 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would remind my hon. colleague that just last week the national inventory report came out and showed that, since before the pandemic, our emissions have gone down 44 million tonnes. It is the largest decrease in the last 25 years. It is the equivalent of removing from our roads 13 million gas-powered vehicles. Our plan is working. However, I will agree with the member that there is more we need to do to fight climate change in this country, if only the Conservative Party of Canada could understand that.
93 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • 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
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • May/3/24 11:45:37 a.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that if she bothered to read the report, she would see that our record between 2019 and 2021 is the same as Germany's or even Italy's and that it is better than that of the United States of America. We are not talking about Russia or Iran here, but the United States of America. Our performance on fighting climate change is better than our neighbour to the south. We have tabled the consultation document to impose a cap on greenhouse gas emissions. I have said that we would have draft regulations this year and final regulations by next year.
110 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • May/3/24 11:44:18 a.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would invite my colleague to carefully read the report that was published yesterday because it states that Canada's greenhouse gas emissions are 44 million tonnes less than they were before the pandemic in 2019. That is equivalent to taking 13 million vehicles, or half of Canada's vehicle fleet, off the roads. The last time that greenhouse gas emissions were so low in Canada, Connor McDavid from the Edmonton Oilers had just been born, O.J. Simpson was on trial and the google.com domain name had just been purchased. Our plan is working. We need to continue to fight climate change.
108 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Apr/9/24 3:13:34 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, as my hon. colleague knows, I was an environmental activist for many years. In those years, we could only dream of a federal government that would invest tens of billions of dollars in the transition to fight climate change, to create the jobs and the economy of the 21st century. We have committed more than $100 billion since 2015 in the fight against climate change. That is not double what had been done before. That is not four times more than what had been done before. That is not 10 times more. It is 20 times more. It has never been done before in Canada in terms of investment to fight climate change and create opportunities for the 21st century.
122 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Apr/9/24 2:45:03 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague knows, I was involved for a long time in environmental organizations fighting climate change. At the time, we all dreamed of a federal government that would invest billions of dollars in the fight against climate change. It never happened until we came along. Back then, the investments amounted to a few hundred million dollars. Now our government has committed more than $100 billion to the fight against climate change. That is an absolute record in our country. We are transforming the economy and jobs for decades to come and fighting climate change.
98 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Mar/19/24 3:17:37 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, in fact, we are doing exactly that. We are the first country, the only country, in the G20 to have phased out fossil fuel subsidies, two years ahead of everyone else. We are the only country that has committed to eliminating public financing for fossil fuel subsidies. We have the best performance of all G7 countries in terms of greenhouse gas reduction between 2019 and 2021. We are working to fight climate change. We are working to improve air quality all across the country.
86 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Mar/19/24 3:00:12 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I think there are a lot of people watching at home who just cannot get over the fact that the disinformation coming from the Conservative side is now limitless. The member who just asked a question voted in favour of carbon pricing in Quebec. She voted to fight climate change. She was part of a government that was a North American leader in the fight against climate change, and now, under pressure from her climate-change-denying leader, she is turning her back on all her principles. That is unacceptable.
93 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Feb/27/24 2:44:18 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, while Conservatives still debate whether climate change is real, while some of those members say that climate change is actually created by body heat from humans and others say that carbon dioxide is good for the planet, 200,000 farmers in the last decade have said that they have experienced the impacts of climate change, making food costs go up. There is no link between carbon pricing and food prices, but there is a link between climate change impacts and food prices. What is the Conservative response? It is more climate change.
94 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Feb/13/24 2:53:51 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, right now in Canada, we have a province, Alberta, that has to talk about rationing water next summer because of climate impacts. We have atmospheric rivers in British Columbia that are affecting thousands of people and ski resorts that have to close down. We are seeing the costs of climate change that have not doubled or tripled but increased by 10 times over the last decade. What is the answer of the Conservative Party of Canada? It is to make pollution free again and let the biggest, most profitable and polluting countries off the hook. Not on this side of the House, where we will fight— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
114 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Feb/13/24 2:51:27 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, as the Parliamentary Budget Officer has reiterated many times, eight out of 10 Canadians get more back from carbon pricing than what they pay. Carbon pricing works. It helps to reduce pollution in Canada, something that the Conservative Party campaigned on during the 2021 election campaign. The difference between them and us is that, on this side of the House, we are serious about fighting climate change and working with Canadians to help them face affordability issues.
79 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Feb/6/24 3:09:31 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is wrong. We publish an annual report on greenhouse gas emissions in April. It happens every year, just like Christmas or tax time. I would be pleased to arrange a personalized briefing for all Conservative members interested in the climate change issue—I know there are only a few of them—on Canada's progress in the fight against climate change and on the support we provide to help Canadians transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
89 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Feb/6/24 3:03:47 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, do members want to know the truth? Climate change is real. That is the truth. Do they want to know the truth? Climate change is impacting Canadians all over the country, including farmers from coast to coast. Do they want to know the truth about climate change? It is costing Canadians billions of dollars. That is the truth about climate change. Our party is working. We are reducing emissions. We are helping Canadians with affordability. That is the truth.
81 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Feb/6/24 3:03:06 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, the falsehoods that we hear from the Conservative Party on the issue of climate change and carbon pricing has not been seen before in the history of our country. First, the Conservatives believe that climate change does not exist. That is simply not true. They say that our plan is not working. Our plan has allowed us to reduce— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
67 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Feb/6/24 3:01:38 p.m.
  • Watch
Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, what the member is saying is simply not true. Just before Christmas, we put out a study by Environment and Climate Change Canada that shows that carbon pricing will be responsible for between 20% and 30% of our greenhouse gas emissions between 2019 and 2030. On the issue of carbon pricing and climate change, we have no lessons to take from the Conservative Party, whose official position today, as Alberta is suffering from droughts, as there are unforeseen storms in eastern Canada and atmospheric rivers in B.C., is still that climate change simply does not exist.
100 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
  • Feb/5/24 2:36:49 p.m.
  • Watch
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.
96 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border