Bob Bromley

Thank you, colleagues.

More than half of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions are all currently in talks to set up a carbon cap and trade system. Did we consider joining them at the recent Premiers’ conference on climate change? Are we moving aggressively to implement a carbon tax to provide the level playing field for all our businesses and to stimulate environmentally and socially responsible economic development?

This is a responsible leadership opportunity, Mr. Speaker. The time to move is now. I will measure the strength of this House on the political will and leadership we demonstrate on this...

Yesterday our Premier indicated that the term “carbon-neutral” had not been heard before in this House. I would like to build on one aspect of this concept: economic tools for eliminating carbon emissions and thus mitigating climate change.

A new report of the National Round Table on the Economy and the Environment, entitled “Getting to 2050: Canada’s Transition to a Low-Emission Future,” states the obvious: climate change is upon us.

Of key interest to me, however, was the authors’ conclusions that with a proactive and immediate response, we can also take advantage of some unique opportunities...

Mr. Chairman, there were many, many things that I liked in the sessional statement, and you know when I say that, there’s more to follow. I thought a number of things did actually reflect some of our early discussions on our priorities and vision. It was when we got to “maximizing opportunities,” and even there I was doing well. I was totally with the Premier until we reached the statement of blind support that says we can do all this with the Mackenzie Valley pipeline. As a biologist in the old days, we always used to look for the one solution, too. And you know what? We never found it. It’s...

I certainly agree with the most economical travel. This government has to be responsible economically, financially. Of course to do that we need full-cost accounting. Obviously air travel is, when it’s fully accounted for, one of the most expensive ways of travelling that’s possible in this world today. You need to account for the subsidies we give to the airports and so on.

Basically, we’ll let you do the necessary research and departmental self-education to engage in a full-cost accounting review in order to minimize our net costs and improve the health of our land and our people through a...

My questions are for the Minister of ITI — Industry, Trade and Investment.

Northerners are certainly quite concerned, as are many Canadians, about the whole issue of climate change. They are aware that we need to do business a lot differently than we have been, and that it is not necessarily easy. They are willing to shoulder their responsibilities to provide leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I’m quite concerned about this policy of not allowing support to be spent in an environmentally responsible way. Will the Minister immediately review the so-called travel policy and make the change to allow...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your committee has been considering Minister’s Statement 1-16(2), Sessional Statement, and would like to report. I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

I have no other people on my list, here, so I would like to turn it over to the Premier for any responses.

Mr. Premier.

Time is coming close here.

Going down the list here, I next have Mr. Jacobson next.

No supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Thank you very much to the Minister for that response.