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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
  • May/6/24 3:10:14 p.m.
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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.”
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  • Apr/9/24 3:13:34 p.m.
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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.
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  • Apr/9/24 2:45:03 p.m.
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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.
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  • Nov/23/23 3:02:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for her question and reassure her. Indeed, my former colleagues, who are still my friends, from the environmental community were on the Hill. I speak with them regularly. Over the past few years, we have taken a number of steps to tackle pollution from the oil and gas sector, such as pollution pricing and methane emissions regulations. Furthermore, as the Prime Minister pledged to do in New York a few months ago, we will present a framework for capping greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector by the end of the year.
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  • Nov/9/23 2:24:06 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the Leader of the Opposition is saying in the House is factually incorrect. The facts are as follows: We have had the best performance in greenhouse gas reductions since 2019. We have a plan that has been applauded by environmental organizations, research organizations and municipalities. Even the oil companies have applauded our climate plan. This morning, at the environment committee, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development said that not only is pollution pricing working, but it is responsible for 30% of the emissions reduced in Canada since 2019.
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  • Oct/31/23 3:16:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, given the enthusiasm generated by the questions from our colleagues on the other side of the House earlier, several of us wanted to answer. I was unable to respond to the member for Portneuf–Jacques-Cartier who asked me what Greenpeace thought of my work as Minister of the Environment. In an interview with Patrick Lagacé on 98.5, the Greenpeace representative said that I was the best environment minister in Canadian history.
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  • Oct/26/23 2:48:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, setting aside for a second the la-la land math that the Conservative Party is using on this issue, let us hear what the experts have to say about our plan to fight climate change. The International Institute for Sustainable Development said, “Canada commits a historic investment in clean electricity and fresh water in Budget 2023.” The Insurance Bureau of Canada said, “Canada's National Adaptation Strategy is brave and ambitious. No other country has proposed such a comprehensive suite of adaptation targets.” Environmental Defence Canada said, “New data released…by the Government…demonstrates that climate policy has delivered real greenhouse gas…emissions reductions, bringing Canada one step closer to” our—
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  • Oct/3/23 4:12:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her question, but also for her active commitment, both to reconciliation with indigenous peoples and to the conservation of our environment and nature. The guardians program is an international model. Requests have come in from all over the world seeking to know how this program could be replicated elsewhere. Thanks to the investment she and I announced last week, there are now indigenous guardians in 25% of communities across the country. Our goal is to get to 100%. We also announced that, from now on, the guardians program will be self-managed.
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  • Jun/1/23 3:10:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question and for all his work on the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. In the latest budget, we invested $750 million to protect fresh water across the country. We have delivered on our promise to create an independent water agency, which will be located in Winnipeg. By protecting water, we are protecting the health of Canadians, our economy and our country's future. There is more to do, but we have already done a lot.
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  • Jun/1/23 3:01:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, unfortunately the commissioner of the environment did not have the benefit of our latest national inventory report, which shows that we have the best performance of all— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • Apr/25/23 3:13:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Vaudreuil—Soulanges for his question and above all for his commitment to environmental issues over the past 20 years. In the latest federal budget presented by my colleague, the Minister of Finance, we announced record investments to protect freshwater in the Great Lakes and across the country. A record $730 million has been allocated, including $85 million for the creation of a water agency, which will be an independent agency that will protect freshwater sources across the country.
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  • Apr/25/23 3:02:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague that we have a lot of respect for the work of the environment commissioner. Unfortunately, when preparing his five reports, he did not have access to the latest greenhouse gas inventory report, which came out last week after the commissioner's reports. He will no doubt include them next year. I would also like to remind my colleague that in the recent budget that my colleague, the Minister of Finance, tabled in the House a few weeks ago, we made record investments in clean technologies, in renewable energy, which puts us at the top of the list of G20 countries in terms of investment in this sector.
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  • Feb/16/23 2:34:35 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have been Minister of Environment and Climate Change for a year and emissions are down 9% below 2005 levels. Let us keep going. If I may quote again, the premier of New Brunswick, Premier Higgs, talking about— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • Feb/15/23 2:48:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if they will not take it from me, they will not take it from environmentalists and they will not take it from experts, maybe they will take it from the Cement Association of Canada, which said about our climate change plan, “Emissions Reduction Plan provides cement industry with predictability”. Electricity Canada welcomed the smart renewables and electrification pathways program. The oil sands Pathways Alliance, the five largest oil sands producers in the country, said, “With positive industry and government collaboration, Canada has an incredible opportunity to help provide for global energy security while being a leader in producing clean energy.” That is what we are doing on this side of the House. We are fighting climate change. We are creating jobs and the economy of the 21st century.
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  • Feb/15/23 2:46:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for most of us in the House, and for most Canadians, climate change is the reality and facts do matter, though I know not for everyone. The facts are that greenhouse gas emissions are down 9% below the 2005 level. That is a fact. Methane emissions in the oil and gas sector are down almost 40% two years before scheduled. That is another fact. EV sales in Canada have doubled in the last few years. That is another fact. If they will not take it from me, and they will not take it from environmentalists, maybe they will take it from the oil sands Pathways Alliance, which said, “With positive industry and government collaboration”—
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  • Feb/7/23 3:06:05 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill S-5 
Mr. Speaker, I thank parliamentarians for their hard work on this bill. Ensuring we have the right tools to protect human and environmental health is a key element of our government's plan. For the first time ever in Canadian law, Bill S‑5 recognizes the right to a healthy environment for all Canadians across the country. This is a big step forward for both health and the environment.
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  • Feb/7/23 10:50:29 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I can reassure my hon. colleague that I do not supposedly come from the environmental sector. I am from the environmental sector. I have the arrest record to prove it. We have put in place a number of measures to tackle the emissions of the oil and gas sector. In fact, our emissions reduction plan presented last March is the first time in the history of this country when we have set a trajectory for emissions reduction for the oil and gas sector. We are working on a number of different elements of regulations to tackle the emissions of the oil and gas sector. We eliminated international fossil fuel subsidies just before Christmas, and we are working with the party of the member opposite on eliminating those subsidies in Canada in the first half of this year. We will be doing this two years earlier than all of our G20 partners who have committed to eliminating those fossil fuel subsidies by 2025.
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  • Jan/31/23 3:11:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for the important work that she is doing on the environment committee on its fossil fuel subsidy study. The implementation of this commitment was widely received across the country and by many environmental organizations, including Environmental Defence, and they applauded the announcement. By ending new, direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector, Canada will ensure its investments abroad are aligned with its domestic and international climate goals, which means more investment in clean energy and renewables.
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  • Oct/28/22 11:41:15 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, when the leader of the Bloc Québécois was the Quebec environment minister, he bypassed the environmental assessment for the McInnis Cement project in the Gaspé. He also bypassed the environmental assessment and the public consultations on Enbridge's Line 9B reversal and the environmental assessment, his own law, on drilling in Anticosti. I do not think the Bloc Québécois has any lessons to give anyone in the House on environmental assessments.
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  • Oct/28/22 11:40:02 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for her question, although I find it somewhat perplexing. Radio-Canada recently published an article under the headline “Woodland caribou: [the Bloc leader] draws the ire of biologists”. It said that the Bloc leader had expressed doubts about the science behind the decline of the caribou. On this side of the House, we believe in the science of climate change. We believe in environmental science. That is why we are proposing serious measures to fight climate change.
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