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Decentralized Democracy

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson

  • Member of Parliament
  • Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
  • Liberal
  • North Vancouver
  • British Columbia
  • Voting Attendance: 62%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $134,232.65

  • Government Page
  • May/27/24 12:28:18 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, yes, it is important to talk to folks in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. It is important for the federal government. It is important for federal political parties to be engaging this conversation about the opportunities of the future. It is also the case that the governments of Nova Scotia and of Newfoundland and Labrador have been talking about this very actively. I was in Nova Scotia just six weeks ago to celebrate the conclusion of the FEED study for EverWind Fuels, one of the leading developers of offshore wind. This is the first FEED study that has actually been completed anywhere in North America with respect to hydrogen from wind and offshore wind. Some 300 business leaders came to celebrate this in a restaurant in Halifax; it is extremely important. However, as I said before, it requires that the parties to this House, and the Conservative Party in particular, actually have a belief in the reality of climate change and have a view about the economic opportunities that would be enabled through this transition to a low-carbon future. When the Conservatives brought a climate denier, Ches Crosbie, a friend and adviser of the Leader of the Opposition to the committee to actually say that climate change is not real truly reflected the view of the folks who sit across the way. It is a shame.
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  • May/21/24 2:45:21 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again I would encourage my hon. colleagues across the way to stop misleading people with respect to the price on pollution. They need to look at and read the letter that was written by 300 economists across this country, who say the carbon price is the most economically efficient way to address the climate in a manner that actually addresses affordability for Canadians. I would encourage the Conservatives to go talk to their friend Premier Smith, who said exactly that. Her family got more money back than it actually paid in the price on pollution. I would encourage them, if they are concerned about the price of gas, to go talk to Premier Smith and ask her to reduce it by 13¢. That is how much she just raised it, with no rebate whatsoever.
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  • Apr/16/24 2:47:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure if the hon. member is trying to insult me or give me a compliment, but I would say that it is important in this chamber that we use facts and are not misleading Canadians. Eight out of 10 Canadians get more money back. That is underlined by 300 economists in this country. To be honest, it is underlined by the premier of his province. When Scott Moe came here and testified, he said that they looked at the alternatives and they were all too expensive. It is absolutely the right thing, because we have put in place something that does address affordability and reduces carbon emissions. On that side of the House, Conservatives do not believe in climate change and they act— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • Apr/15/24 2:48:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important that people are not talking nonsense in the chamber. The Parliamentary Budget Officer actually said that he was extremely troubled by the opposition's selective use of the facts and their spin. Now 300 Canadian economists from across the country have said that the price on pollution is the best way to reduce carbon emissions in a manner that actually addresses affordability. It is a true shame in the House that we have a climate-denying opposition, one that does not care about affordability. It is truly a shame.
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  • Apr/10/24 2:46:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again the hon. member is saying things that are devoid of facts. What she is proposing would take money away from folks who live on modest incomes. Eight out of 10 families get more money back than they pay into the price on pollution, and it works directly inverse to income. It is those people who live on the most modest incomes who would be most impacted by their plan to cut the carbon rebate. That would be reckless and irresponsible, and it would put at risk people who live in this country on modest incomes.
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  • Apr/10/24 2:35:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is important for this country to address the climate crisis that is facing us, and certainly Canadians understand that. There are significant costs that we are facing, including issues around wildfires as we move forward, if we do not address climate change. However, it is also important that we do that in a manner that is affordable. Eight out of 10 Canadians get more money back from the carbon rebate than they pay in the price on pollution. If that is taken away, as the Leader of the Opposition would like to do, that would actually be attacking the poorest members in our society. Shame on them.
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  • Apr/9/24 2:50:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the whole structure of the price on pollution, as the hon. member knows, is done in a manner that creates an incentive to reduce carbon emissions but does so in a manner that is affordable for Canadians. Eight out of 10 Canadians get more money back. It works in direct proportion to income so that those who live on modest incomes are the best off with respect to carbon pricing. Climate change is real, whether the Conservatives like to understand that or not. Their premiers, Scott Moe and Danielle Smith, have both admitted that carbon pricing is the most effective and efficient way to reduce emissions. Get with the program.
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  • Feb/1/24 2:56:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the price on pollution is an affordability measure. The vast majority of Canadians receive more money through the carbon price than what they pay. Research from the University of Calgary shows that the Conservatives' plan to cut the carbon price would only benefit the richest 1% and hurt the other 99%. While the Conservatives are fighting to give money to the rich and take money away from those who are most vulnerable, we are building a climate plan that addresses climate change in a manner that— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • Feb/1/24 2:38:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would just say that the Conservative Party needs to stop misleading people. The carbon price is an appropriate and thoughtful way to address climate change in a manner that actually addresses affordability. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back. The Leader of the Conservative Party's plan to address climate change is to take rebates away from Canadian families. It is to let the planet burn. It is to actually ensure that Canada's economic competitiveness will be eroded going forward. He should be ashamed of his thoughtless policy on climate change and the Canadian economy.
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  • Feb/1/24 2:37:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would suggest that Conservative members of Parliament should stop misleading Canadians. The carbon price is a thoughtful approach that addresses climate change and affordability. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back. The Leader of the Opposition's plan to address the climate issue is to take rebates— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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  • Dec/11/23 2:59:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, not only is the Conservative Party opposed to addressing affordability in this country and not only is it opposed to fighting climate change, it has a hard time keeping its statements straight. In 2008, the Conservative Party platform stated, “We will work...to...implement a North America-wide cap and trade system for greenhouse gases.” The 2021 platform, on which all of these members were elected, stated, “We recognize that the most efficient way to reduce our emissions is to use pricing mechanisms.” More recently, the member for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, who asked a question here about carbon pricing, sat in Premier Campbell's caucus and voted in—
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  • Dec/7/23 2:52:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I find the question coming form the hon. member very interesting given he was a member of the caucus of the B.C. Liberal government that put in place the carbon price in British Columbia. His leader, the former premier, Gordon Campbell, said at the time that putting a price on carbon pollution was a way to reduce emissions, incent innovation and drive an economy going forward. He voted for that.
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  • Dec/7/23 2:20:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, a price on pollution is an important part of a climate plan, one that addresses affordability concerns. The vast majority of Canadians receive more money in the rebate than they pay in the price of pollution. The only group to benefit from the Conservative plan to end the climate program and to end the rebate would be the top 20% of earners, while almost everyone else would be poorer as a result of their plan. The Conservatives are fighting for the rich; they are not fighting for Canadians who are concerned about affordability. The carbon price is both a climate measure and an affordability measure.
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  • Dec/4/23 4:39:14 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, this is about two things. It is about ensuring that we actually have a plan to build an economy that can be strong and prosperous in a low-carbon future, and it is about ensuring that we have workers who are available and equipped to succeed, to actually ensure that we are able to build the economy of the future. I would say to the hon. member that he just needs to look around him at all of the different projects that are ongoing, whether it is the various electric vehicle manufacturing facilities in Ontario, the battery manufacturing facilities in Quebec, the offshore wind development in Atlantic Canada, the potash mines and the nuclear development in Saskatchewan, the Dow chemical facility and the Air Products facility, the carbon capture and sequestration work that will be going on in the oil sands, or the battery facility and the renewable diesel facility in British Columbia. It is amazing how fast this is moving, but it is moving because of deliberate public policy to encourage and incent the development of an economy that will be strong in a world that must, from a scientific perspective, be a lower-carbon future. That is something we are looking to engage Canadians in. We are engaging labour. We are engaging industry. We are engaging indigenous people. Perhaps most importantly, we are engaging young people in a conversation that is so relevant to their future.
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  • Nov/20/23 2:36:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member says is both factually incorrect and grossly misleading. We have put a price on pollution in this country, one that actually helps us to address the existential threat that is climate change, but have done so in a manner that is affordable. Eight out of 10 Canadian families get more money back than they pay in the carbon price. It is a manner that is affordable for Canadians while at the same time taking on and addressing what is a clear threat to the future of our children. It is such a shame that in this country, we still have a political party that does not believe that climate change is real.
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  • Oct/31/23 2:38:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said before, the focus going forward is on ensuring affordability and addressing climate change. The hon. member is entitled to his opinions, but he is not entitled to make up his own facts. At the end of the day, 80% of people in this country get more money back in a rebate than they pay in the carbon price. This program is focused very much on addressing both climate change and affordability. It is something my hon. colleague across the way would not understand, because they simply do not have a plan to address climate change at all.
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  • Oct/18/23 3:06:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague knows that greenhouse gas emissions cause climate change. We must reduce our greenhouse gas emissions in every sector of the economy. We have a very detailed plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and grow a prosperous, low-carbon economy. We will continue to do that.
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  • Sep/21/23 3:03:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, perhaps the hon. member is not aware that the price on pollution in Quebec comes from the Government of Quebec. In any event, we need a plan to fight climate change. That is hugely important for our children and grandchildren. We also need a plan for affordability and for an economy that will make a major contribution to a low-carbon future. We have all those things.
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  • Sep/20/23 2:44:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am sorry, but what my hon. colleague said is untrue. We established a framework to reduce and eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. Obviously, this is a very important issue. We have to move faster on developing an economy that can prosper in what must be a low-carbon future.
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  • Sep/19/23 3:12:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would say that it is important in the context of the fight against climate change that every sector of the Canadian economy play a role. That is what we are doing through the emissions reduction plan we have put into place. Concurrently, we need to look to take advantage of the economic opportunities that can be enabled through a shift to a lower-carbon future. Earlier this week, I was speaking at the World Petroleum Congress and spoke very clearly to the oil and gas sector about the need to decarbonize to remain relevant and competitive in a low-carbon future. Certainly we are going to continue that conversation with all of the CEOs in the energy sector and in other sectors.
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