Statement made on 15 April 2010 by Senator Grant Mitchell
Hon. Grant Mitchell:
Honourable senators, the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources had the pleasure this morning of having the Minister of the Environment, Jim Prentice, appear. It was an excellent presentation appreciated by all of us.
He said that if the United States implements cap and trade, then Canada will implement cap and trade. He then said something startling. If the U.S. does not implement cap and trade, then Canada will probably end up implementing climate change policy by regulation.
Why does this hard-nosed, business-driven, Conservative government want to abandon cap and trade — which at least has a good portion of market mechanisms driving it — for the old proverbial red-tape approach? This is hardly consistent with a government that says it cares about business and wants to promote it in an effective, efficient and competitive manner.
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