The equinox actually happened yesterday morning around 5 AM Eastern time.  But March 21^st always feels like the right day for the first day of Spring!

It is also International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – and World Poetry Day! Sierra Club of Canada is inviting people to celebrate today World Poetry Day with a walk in nature to connect with “Nature as Muse.”

This morning I decided to share more links to the spiritual side of life. As a practicing Anglican, I have been faithful (mostly!) to my Lenten practices since Ash Wednesday, February 17^th.  Due to COVID, church services are on-line.  I really miss my church communities – St. Andrew’s in Sidney and St. Bartholomew’s in Ottawa.  For those who are non-Christian or just non-observant, Easter is coming up April 4^th and next Sunday is Palm Sunday.

Increasingly, the church community in Canada has been linking climate activism with Lent.  This campaign, “For the Love of Creation” runs past Easter and all the way to October 4^th – the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.  It focuses on encouraging Christians to reduce their carbon footprint as an experience of “Faith in Action.”

Meanwhile, two amazing people I had the joy of meeting back in 1997 through the Earth Charter Commission (co-chaired by the late Maurice Strong and Mikhail Gorbachev) sent me the link to their gorgeous new website.  Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim created the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology in 1998.  Unlike the “Love of Creation” work, the Yale Forum is explicitly non-denominational, reaching out to all the religions of the world in dialogue.

I am now chair of a similar effort in parliament to create a Parliamentary Inter-Religious caucus.  I am well supported by a number of other MPs from all the other parties.  Not sure how I ended up being chair, except that I remain very weak in my “saying no” skill set.

The Yale Forum website gives particular prominence to the Papal Encyclical, Laudato Si.  If you have not read it, please do. It is, regardless of one’s belief or non-belief, an important contribution to an ethical framework for humanity and the planet.

http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html

Interestingly, Laudato Si came up in conversation on CBC’s The Current this week when Matt Galloway interviewed Mark Carney.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-march-18-2021-1.5954500

It turns out that Mark Carney’s new book Value(s): Building a Better World For All, was inspired by a conversation Carney had with the Pope.  Pope Francis is deeply committed to climate action, as he is to the poor.  I have resolved to get Mark Carney’s book and read it. I have still not finished Michael Mann’s book, The New Climate War; the Fight to Take Back our Planet, which is excellent.

I also recommend this powerful piece in The New Republic. https://newrepublic.com/article/161575/climate-change-effects-hurtling-toward-global-suicide?s=09

It is definitely a challenging read, as the title “Hurtling toward Global Suicide” will suggest.

Which is why I need my faith. I need to do my work while fervently believing in miracles. When a close friend became an atheist, she acknowledged that I needed religion as a crutch.  I could never deny that, if it is a delusional belief (since most of my friends seem to be atheists), I am happy – blessed- to have it.  I keep soldiering on, without feeling discouraged. I feel buoyed up and supported by the Creator.   And I rely on prayer and faith on a daily basis.  I mutter my way through Ephesians 3:20 a good bit “praise God, whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.”  Great words from St. Paul, even though I regret his politics and his primary role in creating the Christian patriarchy – but that is a discussion for a different newsletter!

Speaking of miracles, a good piece of news this week as Chevron pulled out of Kitimat LNG! https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/chevron-canada-stop-funding-kitimat-lng-1.5956182

The CBC story, like all the business press, strives to create the impression that the Kitimat LNG project will be taken up by another corporation, but this is in defiance of all evidence.  Russ Francis writes frequently on the reality of fracking and LNG in Focus on Victoria.  https://www.focusonvictoria.ca/issue-analysis/42/ https://www.focusonvictoria.ca/issue-analysis/46/ins

The reality is that the market for Canada’s LNG has dried up. There is a global glut, the price has plummeted and this ugly fossil fuel is increasingly seen as a “stranded asset.”  Time for Horgan and Trudeau to stop subsidizing it.

I have more than the usual number of events to promote in my post script, so please keep reading!!

Have a lovely spring day wherever this email finds you!  Be well! Stay safe!

Lots of love,

Elizabeth

P.S.

A LOT going on this week- March 23^rd, an event with our Salmon hero Alexandra Morton and Adam Olsen

March 28^th – Green book club AND an afternoon protest organized by Dogwood – COVID-safe and at distance against TMX. I will be at both of these!

A call for donations to stop Site C and support the West Moberly First Nation in a court case.

And, petitions!!

Links to all below:

March 23^rd

Wild salmon runs in coastal BC are in steep decline. No one has fought harder and longer to save them than Alexandra Morton, a marine biologist living in the North Island Green Party riding, and the Green Party’s candidate there in 2020. Her extensive study of the ecological impact of open-net salmon farms has been instrumental in government decisions to shut down salmon farms between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland.
In this Voices of Saanich webinar Alexandra Morton will be conversing with Adam Olsen on what it will take to restore the salmon runs that are so critical to indigenous communities in particular, and the ocean environment generally.

Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zxKQbySrR-efboY5RuuOBQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

March 28^th:

Join Dogwood and concerned citizens who are coming together to show their resistance for the continued building of this unnecessary TMX pipeline.

When:      Sunday, 28 March

Time:        1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Where:     Dallas Road – from Clover Point to Douglas Street

Meet up:   Dallas Road & Cook Street

Though only a tiny fraction of pipe has actually been laid, the pace is picking up in the Lower Mainland. Trees are being cleared in the Brunette conservation area as the company snubs its nose at federal and provincial regulations that were conditions of its approval, and acres of precious wetland habitat at Colony Farm are about to be bulldozed.

Enough is enough!

This is not a rally or a gathering, and all pandemic protocols including wearing masks will be followed.

Participants will spread out at a distance of 2 meters along the length of Dallas Road in a show of defiance against Trans Mountain and solidarity with Indigenous land defenders who continue to carry so much of the weight in this fight.

Bring 2 metres of red ribbon/fabric or a piece of rope and join our human red line of resistance!

An invitation to join Elizabeth May and James Marshall for our first Saanich Gulf Islands book club event.

Sunday, March 28th. at 7pm. on zoom.

James Marshall, the author of WHAT DOES GREEN MEAN? THE HISTORY, PEOPLE, AND IDEAS OF THE GREEN PARTY IN CANADA AND ABROAD will be joining us to discuss his book. It will be an interesting session as Elizabeth has been involved with the Global Greens and has personal knowledge of many of the events mentioned in the book.

There will be an opportunity to ask questions, and we suggest you read the book ahead of time. It is available as an ebook for $12.99, and $22.99 for a paperback.

https://books.friesenpress.com/store/title/119734000103277601/James-GS-Marshall-What-Does-Green-Mean%3F

A copy of the book will be given to one of the first fifty registrants. Maximum registration is 100 so be sure to register soon.

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0kdeiorTMsE9348JmGMlejO2h9a0tkiYf9

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information for joining the meeting.

STOP SITE C:

Support Chief Roland Wilson West Moberly First Nation

https://raventrust.com/campaigns/sitec/

And please sign these petitions!

Stop weapons sales to Saudi Arabia (sponsor Jenica Atwin):

https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3075

Insist on real climate action to hold to 1.5 degrees (sponsor Jenica Atwin):

https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3221

Calling for meaningful action to address the housing crisis (sponsor Paul Manly):

https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3239

Focus on local violence prevention (sponsor Paul Manly):

https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3218

Support for COVID “long-haulers” (sponsor: Elizabeth May):

https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3229

Call for Ombudsperson investigation of Recon-Africa fracking plans for Okavango Delta (sponsor: Elizabeth May):

https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3256

Saanich-Gulf Islands Greens
http://www.sgigreenparty.ca/

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Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-12-03 19:22 [p.2955]

Madam Speaker, in Adjournment Proceedings this evening, I am pursuing a question for which I did not receive an adequate answer on November 20.

I asked about the new legislation before us, Bill C-12, which proclaims itself as a net-zero climate accountability act. It fails on almost every point. The Green caucus is struggling with how to handle it. We want so very much to support climate accountability, but we struggle with whether we can even vote for this legislation at second reading to send it to committee.

Here is what the legislation must do as the bottom line requirement to be called accountability on net zero for climate action: We have to get the science right, we have to get the process right and we have to get the accountability right. Right now, it has three strikes and this legislation is out.

Getting the science right means that in the preamble, one does not cite one aspect of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change science, that to hold to 1.5°C we must have net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, all the while ignoring the closer-term reality of the emergency and the urgency. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also says that to have any hope of holding to 1.5°C, we need massive reductions in greenhouse gases in the next decade.

It is not an even pace of having three decades so we take our time and do it in even bits every 10 years. No, we cannot do that. Most of the heavy lifting has to be done before 2030. That is not clear in the legislation. As a matter of fact, it is denied by the way the legislation is structured with a first milestone year in 2030.

Next is getting the process right. I am honestly baffled that the Liberal government appears to have ignored the experience garnered in other countries with climate accountability legislation. The U.K. has had its legislation since 2008. There are lessons to be learned there. Similarly, New Zealand, which brought in its legislation, learned from the U.K.’s experience, as did Denmark. All of the climate accountability legislation in countries where it is working have relied on expert advice. To the extent they have an advisory group, they are experts.

This legislation wants to have an advisory body that seems to be another version of a multistakeholder group without expertise. That is a very significant error. I like multistakeholder groups. I used to be vice-chair of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, which was destroyed and repealed. It was originally put in place by the Mulroney government, by the way, and it was repealed under Bill C-38 in the spring of 2012. We should bring a national round table or something like that back, but not through the backdoor of Bill C-12, where we need expertise, not multistakeholder advice.

The third area of accountability that fails is having the mechanisms to hold the government to account and getting them right. This bill does not use mandatory language around the minister meeting a target. It is interesting. I have been conferring with colleagues in New Zealand and they are looking at saying, if the target is missed, that means the government will have to make up what it missed by buying credits and paying for them. Their finance department is getting ready to book the costs of missing the target. Therefore, there is a financial penalty and the government will then be keeping its eye on the ball to avoid that penalty.

The bottom line here is that the Paris Agreement now has the support of the United States, President-elect Joe Biden has appointed a high-level special envoy in John Kerry. Canada should be jumping up right now to be bold and ambitious.

This bill is not what we need. I hope we can see changes before it comes back at third stage and report stage.

Paul Lefebvre (Sudbury)
2020-12-03 19:26 [p.2955]

Madam Speaker, the immediate priority of the government is to support Canadians through the pandemic. However, we are also planning strategically for how to promote economic prosperity while also addressing the global crisis of climate change.

Canadians are experiencing the impacts of climate change and the government understands the urgent need to take action and ensure that sustainability is built into all aspects of our economy. This is critical for Canadians today and for our future generations.

We are making progress through Canada’s current climate plan, the pan-Canadian framework. This plan is projected to achieve a historic level of emissions reductions, but we know we need to do more. That is why the government has committed to exceeding its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions targets, and putting the country on a path to prosper in a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.

We have also committed to bringing forward a new NDC emission reduction target by 2030, prior to COP26 in November 2021.

To reach these targets, we are strengthening existing measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and introduce new ones. The 2020 fall economic statement announced some of these new measures, and our work to build back better will make the economy greener, more inclusive, more resilient and more competitive.
Investments include putting climate action at the centre of our plan to create a million new jobs; bolstering training support for those hit hardest by the pandemic, including marginalized and racialized women, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, and new Canadians; and proposing to provide up to 700,000 grants to homeowners to help them make energy efficient improvements to their homes.

We are committed to investing in Canada’s clean power supply and working to connect Canadians with clean electricity across the country. We are investing in zero-emission vehicles, including charging and refuelling infrastructure. The Government of Canada is also working to develop a well-functioning, sustainable finance market in Canada. We are also prioritizing investments in nature-based solutions, including plans to plant two billion trees over 10 years.
We are investing in climate-smart, natural solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to ecosystem loss, and we are committing new funding to support climate solutions for agriculture. In the coming weeks, the government will bring these and other elements together in a coherent, enhanced climate plan, providing Canadians with transparency as to how Canada will exceed its current 2030 Paris Agreement targets.

After the proposed plan is released, we will be consulting with our partners, indigenous peoples, provinces and territories, municipalities, industry and civil society. These consultations will inform the development of Canada’s updated 2030 target.

I would like to thank the hon. member for her commitment to increased climate action. I look forward to working with the member, our colleagues and Canadians as we work towards bringing forward a plan that will enable Canada to exceed our 2030 targets and help set Canada on a path to achieving a prosperous net-zero emissions future.

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-12-03 19:29 [p.2956]

Madam Speaker, when the hon. member refers to our Paris targets, the number he is referring to is that from the third time that Stephen Harper weakened our target. It is the weakest of the three Harper targets, and we still have it five years after an election. I find this not just baffling but tragic.
The Government of Canada committed in Paris, in the COP decision document, that we would increase our 2030 target this year, in 2020, not merely before COP26 next year, but this year, when we have vanishing days left for us to fulfill our international obligations.

We have a short time left. The window closing on 1.5 degrees will close in the coming years, well before 2030. If it closes, it closes for good, and it closes for our children the opportunity to have a liveable world. The stakes could not be higher. The government has to do better.

Paul Lefebvre (Sudbury)
2020-12-03 19:30 [p.2956]

Madam Speaker, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, global greenhouse gas emissions need to decline rapidly over the next three decades according to scientific experts.

The Paris Agreement calls for governments around the world to take urgent and ambitious action on climate change to keep global warming well below 2 degrees and to pursue efforts to keep it below 1.5 degrees in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its special report on global warming of 1.5 degrees in 2018. That report concluded that global emissions need to reach net zero around mid-century for there to be a reasonable chance of meeting the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees.

On November 19, 2020, the minister tabled the Canadian net-zero emissions accountability bill, which, if passed, would legally bind the government to a process to achieve net zero by 2050. It would make our 2030 target legally binding, and set five-year emission reduction targets to 2050 to improve accountability and transparency. We look forward to working with all the parties to pass this important legislation and strengthen our 2030 targets.

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Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-11-30 15:07 [p.2688]

Mr. Speaker, on December 12, the United Nations will be marking the fifth anniversary of the successful conclusion of the Paris negotiations. The Paris agreement stands as our best hope to avert runaway global warming. We have had some good news and the U.S. is planning to rejoin under President-elect Biden.

Could the hon. minister update the House on where Canada is toward improving our target as we are required to do within calendar 2020?

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (North Vancouver)
2020-11-30 15:07 [p.2688]

Mr. Speaker, our government has made very clear its firm commitment to bring forward a plan to exceed our 2030 targets under the Paris agreement and to define pathways to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. We have previously put into place what is by far the most significant and comprehensive climate plan in Canadian history. I look forward to bringing forward a plan to exceed our 2030 targets in the very near term.

We will then be engaging consultations with indigenous peoples, provinces and territories and with Canadians generally as part of informing and finalizing Canada’s updated nationally determined contributions well in advance of COP24.

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Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-11-26 13:24 [p.2511]

Mr. Speaker, to my hon. friend from Calgary Centre, I think it is terribly important to disagree as forcefully as possible with the notion that 1.5° is a political target, as 1.5° has emerged from the intense work of thousands of scientists globally in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was commissioned by governments to find out exactly what the difference is, in terms of impacts, between a 1.5° global average temperature increase and a 2° increase. Both of those figures are embedded in the Paris Agreement. They are critical to ensure human civilization survives. That is not hyperbole. That is science. The member for Beaches—East York had it just right. If we do not achieve 45% reductions globally by 2030, we cannot have a prayer of reaching net zero.

I ask my hon. colleague for Calgary Centre to reconsider what he calls science and what he calls politics.

Greg McLean (Calgary Centre)
2020-11-26 13:25 [p.2511]

Mr. Speaker, I am sorry the member misunderstood my statement. The number arrived at is 1.5°C, but if we get to 1.49°C, I am saying that is actually better. This is not a line in the sand. That is my point to the member. I hope she takes it in the spirit it was intended. The number 2°C was decided on in the 1992 accord as what we needed to get to, and we needed to make sure in 2015 that we had methods for getting there.

In all good spirits, I am certain the member did not mean to misinterpret my remarks to say it was political or non-scientific. They are numbers that people can attach themselves to. If we get to 2.01°C versus 2°C, or we go to 1.98°C or to 1.49°C versus 1.5°C, I think we are still talking about those numbers. They are not lines in the sand. I appreciate the member correcting me on the misuse of the phrase.

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Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-11-25 15:57 [p.2424]

Madam Speaker, with all due respect to the hon. minister, he cannot pick and choose what parts of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change science gets baked into the bill and what parts of the Paris Agreement he now refers to. I want to make it very clear that I was in Paris. I was there when we negotiated. It is very clear that the target for Canada for 2030 was to be ratcheted up and changed in calendar year 2020. We are expected, as a nation with a 2030 target, to have a new one in place by the end of the calendar year. That is the Paris decision document.

It is also very clear that, if we are going to be grounded in science, it is true that IPCC says that we must have net carbon neutrality by 2050, but to get there they also tell us that, globally, emissions must be cut by at least 45% no later than 2030. In other words, the heavy lifting in reducing emissions in this country must be done before the first target milestone year in this legislation.

I cannot vote for this bill as it now is, and I desperately want to vote for it. I appreciate—

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (North Vancouver)
2020-11-25 15:58 [p.2424]

Madam Speaker, I certainly thank the member for her commitment to this important issue.

As I have said in the remarks today and also in conversations that she and I have had, we certainly do intend to bring forward an enhanced climate plan. That is something that I have said very publicly. To her initial point, absolutely, yes we do intend to move forward with an enhanced plan, building on the great work that was done in the pan-Canadian framework, and certainly we intend to move forward in a manner that will enable Canada to be an important participant in the international conversations on climate change. We are committed to that and we will continue to move forward in that direction.

However, I would also say that this bill is an important step forward. I think that if the member looks at the reaction from many in not simply industry or labour organizations but environmental organizations, including Ecojustice, the David Suzuki Foundation, Équiterre and a whole range of others, she will see this is an important step forward.

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Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-11-20 12:06 [p.2191]

Madam Speaker, the government has failed to meet the warnings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The climate accountability act fails utterly to heed the warning that we have to cut emissions roughly in half by 2030 in order to keep the window open of holding to 1.5° Celsius.

By the time the climate accountability act asks anyone to be accountable, that window could have closed forever. Will the government improve this act, such that it meets the warnings of science while there is still time, for God’s sake?

Terry Duguid (Winnipeg South)
2020-11-20 12:06 [p.2191]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for her passion and commitment to this issue.

We are committed to transparency and accountability in this legislation, which will help businesses and people know that they can count on Canada to be a great place to invest. It also sets very clear goals that Canadians expect us to deliver on. They will hold our government and future governments to account if we do not.

I will remind the hon. member that it was the Canadian electorate who ultimately held the Conservatives to account, in 2015 and 2019, on their hostility to climate action. Be assured, we will follow through on this important net-zero commitment.

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Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-09-29 23:24 [p.309]

Madam Speaker, I want to congratulate the leader of the New Democratic Party and the team who made the improvements in the legislation we have before us tonight. It is very important. It is important to see people are not going to be receiving less off CERB as they transition to EI.

I also recognize, though, the leader of the New Democratic Party is in a position to do considerably more. About climate he said, “the climate crisis is still raging”. Of course it is. It is worse by the minute. With the power that party has, I wonder why in the election we heard that this was going to be a priority for the NDP. The NDP in British Columbia has of course increased greenhouse gases and bet its money on fracking and LNG.

I wonder when we will see this federal NDP press the federal Liberals to give us more than lip service on climate. This is the moment. We are running out of time.

Jagmeet Singh (Burnaby South)
2020-09-29 23:25 [p.309]

Madam Speaker, in fairness, the member is right when she talks about a Liberal government that pays lip service to the climate crisis but then does the opposite. The Liberals talk about these lofty goals, and then miss each and every one of them without any accountability. They talk about planting two billion trees and have planted zero. They talk about the importance of our climate and then buy a pipeline.

What we need to do is to stop the pretty, empty words. We need some concrete action. One of the things that we are fighting for and pushing for, once we get past the immediacy of the second wave of the pandemic, is the recovery where we invest in people, create jobs locally and fight the climate crisis by reducing emissions. We must do that. Nothing less can happen.

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OTTAWA – The Green Party of Canada expressed cautious optimism about yesterday’s Speech from the Throne. Its continued support for Canadians struggling with the effects of the pandemic were encouraging. However, the science on the climate crisis makes it clear that we need more than vague promises to exceed the current weak targets for 2030. Canada must live up to its international commitments and the Green Party will keep pressing for stronger climate action.

“The Liberals made a lot of promises today,” said Green Party Interim Leader Jo-Ann Roberts. “Many of their proposals are surprisingly similar to those outlined in the Green Party’s recovery plan Reimagining Our Future. Obviously the pandemic is foremost on people’s minds, so we welcome initiatives that reinforce caring for people and our planet.

“We support ideas like funding for housing and supporting local food supply. Long before the pandemic we were advocating for national standards for long-term care, and we have been calling for investments in early learning and childcare,” said Paul Manly (MP Nanaimo-Ladysmith) “But I believe the government missed a historic opportunity to implement a Guaranteed Livable Income. Communities and lives continue to be ravaged by the opioid crisis, but the commitments in the throne speech to address that crisis are much too weak. And I am very disappointed to hear nothing addressing the catastrophic collapse of salmon fisheries on the West Coast, as well as getting fish farms out of salmon migration routes.”

Green parliamentary leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands) stressed the long overdue action on Indigenous reconciliation. She also welcomed the announcement of a Canada Water Agency. “This is such an important move, so glad to see it finally announced today,” said Ms. May. “Also very happy to hear that Canada will increase international development assistance. In addition to the pandemic, the climate crisis is already devastating populations in vulnerable countries and there will soon be millions more climate refugees needing help.”

MP for Fredericton, Jenica Atwin expressed some trepidation: “Many of these commitments, to legislate net-zero by 2050, to modernize the Official Languages Act, or to enshrine the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People for example, are repeat promises from the 2019 Liberal platform and from last year’s Throne speech,” said Atwin. I am ready to start seeing some action come out of the anti-racism secretariat, to see real dollars behind commitments on mental health and wellness, and to finally see meaningful steps toward developing legislation to enshrine UNDRIP. Words are no longer enough.”

The Green caucus have said they will continue to study the document before giving their unqualified support to the Government’s plan going forward but have indicated it appears to be a step in the right direction.

# # #

For more information or to arrange an interview contact:

Rosie Emery

Press Secretary

613-562-4916×206

rosie.emery@greenparty.ca

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Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-06-17 13:57

Thank you, Madam Chair.

We know what the COVID-19 emergency response from government looks like. One year ago today, on June 17, 2019, the House voted that we were in a climate emergency. When can we expect to see the government take the climate emergency similarly and seriously?

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (North Vancouver)
2020-06-17 13:57

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the honourable member for her question.

Climate change remains a high priority for this government. It is a crisis. It is something that we as Canadians need to address, as does the broader international community. We made a commitment to move forward to address and exceed the target that we had established previously. We made a commitment to achieving net-zero by 2050. We are fully committed to ensuring that we move forward in a manner that will allow us to achieve both.

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-06-17 13:58

With all due respect, we know what the government looks like when it’s taking an emergency seriously. It listens to the science and it applies the programs that science requires. In this case, the climate emergency, the scientific advice came in the IPCC report from October 8, 2018, that the window on 1.5°C, the Paris target, was closing. The current target put in place by Stephen Harper is five years old and is about half of what needs to be done.

If this government treated COVID-19 the way they treat climate, we would have told Theresa Tam, “We can’t stay six feet apart. You’ll have to be happy with three feet.”
Again to the minister, when will we see a target consistent with the science?

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (North Vancouver)
2020-06-17 13:59

Certainly, climate change is a science issue. It’s not a political issue. It should not be a partisan issue. We are guided by the science in everything that we are doing. We developed the pan-Canadian framework, which has 50 different initiatives to allow us to reduce emissions. We said that we know we need to go further, and we are in the process of developing an updated plan that will ensure that we do that. We will be standing up a panel to consult the Canadian public on a pathway to net-zero by 2050, and are working actively every day to ensure that we do that.

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-06-17 13:59

When will we see the requirement under the Paris Agreement for a new target tabled by Canada within calendar 2020?

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (North Vancouver)
2020-06-17 13:59

Madam Chair, we have been very clear that we would be updating our target in advance of the next COP. That has not changed. We will be doing that. I look forward to being able to bring that forward and discuss it with all Canadians.

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-06-17 14:00

To the honourable minister, I don’t know. It’s very difficult because clearly there are well-intentioned ministers and well-intentioned people.

Do you know the difference between 417 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the global atmosphere with a well-intentioned minister and 417 parts per million with a disinterested or hostile minister? The answer is that there’s no difference at all.

We are in a worsening climate emergency. I need to hear clearly from the minister, and I hope I will this time. Will we comply with the Paris Agreement and come up with a new target within calendar 2020?

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (North Vancouver)
2020-06-17 14:00

Thank you, Madam Chair.

This government has been very clear. We are fully committed to addressing the climate crisis. It is an enormous priority for us. We have put a plan in place. We have worked very hard to develop an additional number of initiatives that will go forward with respect to a new plan and a new target, supplementing the work that was done by the previous Minister of Environment and Climate Change. We all feel extremely strongly about this in the House. Certainly it’s the reason I got into politics in the first place. It’s something that I’ve spent many years of my life working on, and it’s something to which I personally, and the government as a whole, are firmly committed.

Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-06-17 14:01

I appreciate the good words, Madam Chair. I’ve heard them before. What I have not heard is the firm commitment to at least double our target within calendar 2020 to comply with our goal of holding to 1.5°C. It’s a critical goal and the window is closing.

In COVID-19 this government has acted with resolve. It’s been an astonishing whole-of-government approach. When will we see a similar level of commitment from this government to address the climate emergency?

Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson (North Vancouver)
2020-06-17 14:02

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I think the honourable member should be aware that, even in the context of a very challenging circumstance with respect to COVID-19, this government has moved forward with key elements of its climate plan, including the pricing on pollution, including ensuring liquidity for large corporations was put in the context of commitments to climate change. This government has been very clear this is an enormous priority. It’s a priority guided by science. It’s a priority we are working on not just domestically but internationally, and it is something we will continue to work on because we must.

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