Will the government stop obstructing the process, keep its promises and work toward getting an agreement signed?
Hon. Stéphane Dion (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, my colleague is misinformed. Canada is pushing hard for a robust agreement that will unite humanity in the fight against climate change. We can be very proud of the role that the Minister of Environment and Climate Change is playing. What a change compared to the last 10 years.
Mr. Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, with two fossil awards, the government is catching up with the Conservatives pretty quickly.
The draft Paris agreement includes the commitment to “limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C... significantly reduce risks and impacts�.
The NDP's targets would have meant Canada was finally doing its fair share. Conservative targets, which as of now are also Liberal targets, will not get us there.
Will the government commit to adopting ambitious new targets with real accountability, or does the government just want to keep collecting fossil awards?
Hon. Stéphane Dion (Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, the international community is celebrating the role Canada is playing in Paris.
We are playing a very positive role. We have been a laggard for the last 10 years, and now we are a leader. We may be proud of it. We may hope that we will have a strong international agreement that will allow Canada to implement a very strong plan with the provinces to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and to make sure that Canada will do its share to fight climate change.