Check Against Delivery

I am here today to tell you how our government will be the first to introduce comprehensive national regulations to clean up the air that Canadians breathe.

Today, we are introducing Canada’s Clean Air Act which will give us new and stronger powers to do things we need to do to protect the health of Canadians and our environment.

Canada’s Clean Air Act will enhance our monitoring, reporting, enforcement, and auditing powers to ensure industry is reducing their pollution and show Canadians that we are achieving results in cleaning up the air we breathe.

It is time that Canada did its part to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases. It is time that Canadians feel they can trust their government to put in place real measures that will reduce smog – measures that will result in healthier Canadians, suffering less from asthma, chronic bronchitis, and lung cancer.

Past governments relied on voluntary measures, satisfied that industry could set their own standards. Those days are over – from now on, all industry sectors will have mandatory requirements and we will enforce those requirements. Our plan puts the health of Canadians and the health of our environment first. Any polluters that go over their targets will be fined and all money will go towards the Environmental Damages Fund.

We know the key to reducing greenhouse gases is technology. But we will not use a carbon tax because the only people that end up paying are Canadian taxpayers – and we think they have paid enough with their health. Any industry that goes over their greenhouse gas limits will be fined and will pay into a Canadian Technology Fund. The money paid into the fund will be reinvested in technology to reduce greenhouse gases.

Everyone will be able to play a part. We will explore an opt-in plan to cover small and medium size businesses, organizations, co operatives and municipalities that don’t fall under regulations but also want to make our environment cleaner and greener.

We will work with provinces, territories and industry to explore opportunities to encourage early investment and reductions through technology such as CO2 sequestration.

We will be the first federal government to introduce mandatory regulations on all industry sectors across Canada to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases. We will be the first government to establish national air quality objectives. We will be accountable to Canadians by reporting on our progress in a public annual air quality report and we will be HELD accountable through measurable outcomes linked to the health of Canadians, especially the more vulnerable in our society, our children and the elderly, who suffer from childhood asthma and respiratory diseases.

We will also be accountable to Parliament by mandatory annual reporting to Parliament on our actions and their effectiveness to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases.

We want real reductions in pollution and greenhouse gases. We will see real reductions through regulations that impose mandatory requirements. We have set an ambitious target of achieving 45-65% of absolute reductions by 2050. We have set an ambitious agenda over the next few months to negotiate short terms targets with provinces, territories and industry by spring.

In addition, in the coming weeks and months we will introduce air pollution regulations from big equipment used in construction, mining, forestry and agriculture.

New regulations on outboards, seadoos, snowmobiles and ATV’s.
New regulations for heavy trucks, buses and forklifts.

New regulations on consumer products such as paints, cosmetics and cleaning products.

And new regulations to reduce pollution from the rail, shipping and aviation industry.

When Canada’s Clean Air Act passes, we will have the power to:

• set fuel efficiency standards in the auto sector
• establish national air quality objectives based on health and be accountable for reaching them
• be accountable to Parliament by reporting on annual progress
• be accountable to Canadians through an annual report on air quality
• be able to regulate products that create emissions such as woodstoves and gas-powered lawnmowers
• be able to blend fuels so we can offer Canadians cleaner fuels like ethanol and biodiesel and give our farmers opportunity to participate in the renewable fuels industry
• be able to regulate indoor air for radon, which is the leading cause of lung cancer among non smokers.
• be able to issue mandatory reporting notices on products that cause pollution and require companies to report on their human health and environmental impacts
• be able to issue interim emergency orders to shut down polluters if we believe immediate action is needed
• it will expand the inspection powers of our enforcement officers
• companies will no longer be able to voluntarily report to government, they will have to have independent verification and evaluation of their pollution information
• we will introduce new energy efficiency requirements and labeling requirements for 20 new consumer products such as washing machines and dishwashers and electronic products like televisions and DVD players.

And this is only the beginning, today I am here to share with you our regulatory agenda. Our government will also be introducing educational and consumer programs in the coming months. But today, we are here to talk about the most important thing we can do as a federal government to protect the health of Canadians and the environment - regulate big industry and find ways for smaller businesses, farmers and municipalities to be a part of a cleaner, greener Canada.

Our health has suffered long enough and our environment has suffered long enough. We need Canada’s Clean Air Act to make real progress for my generation and the generations that come after me.

Thank you.