QUESTION PERIOD — Environment and Climate Change
Conference of the Parties
June 23, 2022
My question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate. Leader, friends of your Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Steven Guilbeault, agree that the aviation industry’s carbon emissions are responsible for 5% to 6% of global warming and that pollution generated by global aviation increases 3% to 4% per year.
The government that you represent never ceases to amaze me with its inconsistent and illogical decisions, as I will explain.
Leader, I would like to know why the Trudeau government will spend no less than $64 million to host, next October, COP15, the United Nations conference on biodiversity, which was to be held in China. It will turn 12,000 to 15,000 environmentalists into global polluters, who are coming from 190 different countries to see Canadian achievements in biodiversity, which could easily be presented on digital platforms.
How can anyone justify such a contradiction on the part of environmentalists, who are shirking their responsibilities in the fight against greenhouse gas emissions?
Thank you for your question.
The world we’re living in demands that we find a balance between the necessary — existential, even — fight against climate change and the fact that life goes on, and that includes travel to major international conferences.
We should be proud that our country can welcome experts from around the world to share their knowledge and help us move forward. We also recognize that this is not the world of Starfleet Enterprise and people can’t just say, “Beam me up.” This includes us, as well, since we travel to do our jobs here. Our work comes at a cost and with environmental consequences.
Canada is a leader in the fight against climate change and it is entirely appropriate for us to host such a gathering of experts.
Leader, can you explain how a government that is totally incapable of issuing passports will be able to organize COP15 in just three months, a job that normally takes two years? I hope we won’t have to be calling on those same people who are now working on issuing passports.
Thank you for your question. As I have said many times, the situation Canadians are facing with passports is unacceptable. That is the position of this government, which is doing everything it can to find a solution.
If Canada commits to organizing such an event, I have faith that it will do so capably and with the brio it is known for.
