Elizabeth May: Madam Speaker, I would like to make a comment and ask the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs a question.
My comment is that quite often in this debate on Bill C-38 government representatives talk about budget 2012 and confuse it with the bill before us now, which is implementing parts of budget 2012 and a great many other measures that were not part of the budget.
In relation to foreign affairs, I would like to ask the hon. member about the retreat from federal activities under the Kyoto protocol and the repeal of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act. Was it considered that it might have been preferable to amend the act to allow reporting requirements to continue, as some reporting will be still be required under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change?
Bob Dechert: Madam Speaker, the member will know that Canada’s participation in the Kyoto accord was very strongly debated in the last federal election. Our government and my party made our position very clear. Bill C-38 is following through on that promise, as it is on many of the other promises that were made in our platform last year.
There are many mechanisms for reporting Canada’s improving record in the reduction of greenhouse gases, one that was woefully inadequate under the previous Liberal government, as she well knows. She will know of recent reports which show that Canada is doing very well in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. There are many ways in which that will be reported to the UN and other agencies.