A Speech
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My government is committed to the creation of a sustainable energy future for Canada. We are committed to reducing the environmental impact of Canada’s economy. We are committed to curbing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Today I am tabling a bill in the House of Commons which will achieve those commitments if you, the people of Canada, give us the mandate to accomplish this massive task.
Our goal is nothing less than the elimination of emissions from power generation and the Alberta tar sands as well as a shift in our economy toward a bright green future.
How? Well, frankly, not by sending billions of dollars to the often corrupt governments of third world nations. We have enough to do in Canada.
Our plan is bold, direct and workable.
We propose to use proven, Canadian, technology and resources to generate power.
My government will ask for your approval to undertake an efficient, effective and environmentally sensitive shift away from fossil fuels in industrial applications.
We will be asking for your mandate to construct at least six and possibly as many as twelve CANDU 6 reactors across Canada. As these reactors come online we will decommission current coal and natural gas fired electrical power generating plants. Our goal is to replace the 27% of the energy we generate from burning fossil fuels with nuclear power. We already generate 12% of our electricity from nuclear and we have a long way to go to reach or exceed France’s current 75% nuclear electricity generation capacity. We also plan to largely eliminate burning fossil fuels in order to extract fossil fuels.
In addition, we will be asking for your mandate to build out our wind power generation to the level which can be sustained by our current electricity grid.
We will also create an Energy Research Institute to look at increasing the efficiency of our energy transmission and end use. We also propose to offer prizes for advances in battery storage technology, transmission efficiency, and end use efficiency.
This program will cost money. A great deal of money. A dozen 700Mwe reactors, even with the cost savings implicit in buying in bulk, will run a minimum of 60 billion dollars if we are conservative about the possibilities of cost overruns. Wind energy is estimated to cost another 3-5 billion. The research and prizes will add another 5 billion. At a minimum we believe this programs’ capital costs will be 75 billion dollars.
To put this into perspective, at the moment the current Canadian federal budget is 223 billion dollars and our federal debt is 483 billion dollars.
So, how will we pay for this?
Your government proposes to borrow the money in the form of 30 year Canada Energy Bonds which will be issued in series as the program proceeds. These bonds will bear market interest and have the full backing of the Government of Canada.
While they will be backed by your government they will be paid for with a number of measures.
In 2004 (get current stats) Canadians consumed 40 billion litres of gasoline. We propose a ten cent a litre energy surtax which would raise four billion dollars a year.
In 2005 Canada exported over 2 million barrels of oil per day. We exported 3.9 Tcf of natural gas and a net 10 Bkwh of electricity. We propose to impose a small export tax on all Canadian energy exports. The goal of such an impost will be an additional 4 billion dollars per year.
My government believes that reaching a nuclear fueled sustainable, emission free, energy strategy for Canada is worth a dime a litre. We believe that Canadian and world markets will welcome strong Canadian Energy Bonds.
To be honest I do not believe in Kyoto. I do not believe in Kyoto because Kyoto will not work.
And, to be blunt, my government is not at all convinced that the science of climate change is well enough understood to form a sensible basis for policy.
Which means that we have created this made in Canada bright green strategy because we are convinced it makes economic and environmental sense. It just happens that by following this plan we estimate that we will reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions radically and quickly.
As you know, climate change was not an issue in the last election. We do not have your mandate to embark upon this fundamental and expensive change to the Canadian economy. We need that mandate.
To that end we will be bringing this proposal to the House of Commons for a full and, we hope, productive debate. At the end of that debate, and after incorporating suggestions from Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, we will bring this program to a vote in the Commons.
I sincerely hope this measure passes. However, I don’t believe that an election should be called on this matter. Rather, once the House has debated, amended and voted on the proposal I will call on you, the Canadian people, to vote yea or nay on a bright, green, future.
I propose to call a referendum to be held within 60 days of the final vote in the Commons. A simple 50% plus one can pass or defeat the proposal.
If we are confronted with a real crisis then it is imperative that we all work together to ensure Canada makes its contribution to the reducing world’s emissions. However, even if the climate change issue has been exaggerated, your government believes that the measures proposed tonight will be a tremendous economic boost for Canada.
This is your fight as much as it is your Government’s. Read, ask questions, learn: because in the not too distant future you are going to have to decide Canada’s energy and emissions future.
Good Night
Written by jay on February 2nd, 2007 with 6 comments.
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