Address to the Brockville Climate Action Group

April 01, 2007

Thank you for inviting me here today.

As the Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville and as a person who believes that the environment is the personal responsibility of everybody, I welcome the formation of your group.
 
I hope your message spreads quickly and you can count on me for whatever support I can provide.

I have long-advocated for people to take charge of the environment in their own lives and have long held the belief that we can each do our part.

You know I hear almost everyday from people who want government to do this and to do that to stop greenhouse gases and the destruction of our air, water and land.

And while there is a role for government and Canada’s New Government is meeting those challenges through our eco programs, individuals also have a responsibility.

Since we took office just over 15 months ago we have completed renewed the way Canada is reacting to environmental issues and greenhouse gases.

The previous government signed the Kyoto Protocol and told Canadians they were going to meet their targets.

What they didn’t tell Canadians is that they did nothing to halt the production of green house gases - in fact GHGs rose steadily and quickly after they signed the protocol.

Planning to meet Kyoto targets at the last minute by purchasing so-called hot-air credits from failing economies such as Russia is not a plan that helps Canada or the world.

This would have meant shipping billions of tax-payers dollars out of the country to buy credits.
This of course would do nothing to reduce GHG emissions here in Canada.

Canada’s New Government has a different approach.

We believe something should be done right here at home and we are working on programs, targets and deadlines right now.

But it isn’t just up to the government to get the job done.

Individuals and communities do have a role to play. It is people after all who cause ghgs through their life choices.

The kind of personal responsibility I talk about includes changing your light bulbs, driving efficiently, turning your heat down and not lighting the fireplace to compensate.

In my February Householder I outlined some of the things that people can do in their own lives and directed them to resources to learn more. I have a few copies to leave here today.

As I learn more I will continue to share.

On a broader scale, I am proud of the role I played in bringing an ethanol plant to Leeds-Grenville. This is the type of government intervention that works.

It should have been done years ago, but at least we are moving in the right direction.

I applaud your efforts on behalf of your community.

We all do have a role to play and you are pointing the way.

Thank you.