Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for his tribute to Paul Dewar, whose loss I also mourn today.

Our government has taken a responsible approach to cannabis that includes legalizing, strictly regulating and restricting access to cannabis in order to get profits out of the hands of criminals and cannabis out of the hands of youth.

As it relates to our climate action, our government is taking leadership at home and abroad. We are taking concrete steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support clean growth and build climate-resilient infrastructure. In addition to being among the first countries to sign and ratify the Paris Agreement, Canada is following through on its Paris commitments by implementing a national plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030 and to build resilience to the impacts of climate change.

We have a climate change plan. The pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change is the first climate change plan in Canada's history to include collective and individual commitments by federal, provincial and territorial governments. Our plan has more than 50 concrete measures, including a pan-Canadian approach to pricing carbon pollution and new policies, programs and regulations to reduce emissions in every sector of the economy, build resilience to the impacts of climate change, foster clean technology solutions, and create good jobs that contribute to a strong economy.

A key pillar of the framework is putting a price on carbon pollution. When pollution is not free, people and businesses are motivated to pollute less. Our analysis found that carbon pollution pricing in Canada will reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by 50 million to 60 million tonnes by 2022. That is equivalent to closing more than 30 coal-fired electricity plants.

In the provinces of Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick, the federal backstop carbon pricing system will be in place to protect the environment and spur innovation. Any direct proceeds collected will go directly back to people in these provinces. Households will receive a climate action incentive, which will give most families more than they pay under the new system. Funds will also be given to the provinces' schools, hospitals, businesses and indigenous communities to, for example, help them become more energy efficient and reduce emissions, helping Canadians save even more money and improve our local economies.

The framework also contains important additional actions to reduce emissions across all sectors of the economy, including phasing out coal-fired power plants, developing new building codes and regulating methane emissions. We are also protecting and enhancing carbon sequestration in our forests and in our agricultural sectors as well as supporting clean technology and innovation.

We have covered a lot of ground since launching the pan-Canadian framework, and we are just starting to see its results.

Karen McCrimmon

Transcript

Adjournment Proceedings

Discussions (0)