QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
Challenges in the Fight Against Climate Change
March 3, 2022
Welcome to the Senate, minister. As you know very well, 30 years ago, Canada was a global leader in managing climate change. Now, after the constant failures by all governments, we are the worst country in the G7. In a global context, last week, the IPCC once again sounded the alarm that we are reaching a point of no return. What are we to do, minister? Yes, I know you are a new minister and we have a new law, but after all these failures, how can we have confidence that, ultimately, we will be able to properly manage the enormous challenge of climate change?
Thank you for your question, senator. I want to start by pointing out that we do not have the worst record in the G7. According to Energy Policy Tracker, an independent international NGO, our economic recovery plan is the greenest among all G7 countries in relation to investments, not in relative terms, but in absolute terms, and it ranks second in the G20. That said, Canada has a lot of work to do to combat climate change.
Since we came to power . . . Why didn’t all the previous governments meet their targets? The answer is simple. None of these governments set themselves up to meet their targets. Since 2016, we have made significant investments, to the tune of $100 billion, and we have adopted a series of policies and regulations that will help us meet our targets, such as creating the carbon tax and reducing emissions of methane, which is a very powerful greenhouse gas. We are committed to regulating vehicle emissions. All of these measures will help us meet our targets.
Thank you.
