Who Will Be The Next Liberal Critic For The Environment Portfolio?

First we had Scott Brison who said:

Instead, the previous plans in terms of Kyoto agreement was written on the back of an airplane napkin on the way to Kyoto. There was no altered planning. There was no real negotiations with the provinces or with industry sectors. In fact, it was a last minute, hastily drafted, agreement.

Scott was removed:

Well on Wednesday, the new Environment Critic, David McGuinty, brother of the infamous Dalton McShifty, showed me what kind of politician he really is.

First, he get’s bitchslapped by Environment Minister, John Baird when Baird quoted past statements by McGuinty:

While we are talking about quotes, what about this quote, “when people see the cost of Kyoto, they are going to scream”. Who said that? It was the environment critic for the Liberal Party, the member for Ottawa South.

Note the member from Ottawa South is David McGuinty.

Here is another quote that I wonder if the hon. member opposite will agree with: “If Canada does ratify Kyoto…the cost…would be as much as $40-billion a year.”

Do we know who said that? It was the official spokesman, the Liberal critic for environment, the member for Ottawa South, who said that.

Note the member from Ottawa South is David McGuinty.

So how does the grown up David McGuinty react? Let’s take a look. During points of order the following conversation took place.

Mr. David McGuinty (Ottawa South, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, during question period the Prime Minister was asked 18 times whether he was misleading Canadians then or misleading them now on climate change. In answering those questions the Minister of the Environment continued misleading the House of Commons and Canadians by taking out of context comments I have made in the past as a professional. This is precisely the kind of conduct that Canadians have come to count on from the new government.

I would ask the Minister of the Environment to table the documents. I would ask all Canadians to understand these comments were taken out of context.

I would ask the Prime Minister again to answer the question as to whether he was misleading Canadians then or whether he is misleading them now.

Hon. John Baird (Minister of the Environment, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I am very happy to give the references for my comments in question period.

When I said, “if Canada does ratify Kyoto, the cost would be as much as $40 billion a year”, that was from the Globe and Mail of January 29.

When I said that the Liberal member for Ottawa South said that the Liberal Party was involved in a “medium sized car crash during the recent federal election”, that came from the National Post of March 23, 2006.

When I said “but when people see the costs of Kyoto, they are going to scream”, that came from Canadian Speeches, January 1, 2003, volume 16, issue 6.

The Speaker: I do not know that we are going far with this. It sounds to me like debate.

Is the hon. member for Ottawa South rising on another point?

Mr. David McGuinty: Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Minister of the Environment for his extensive detailed research into my background. I thank him very much.

I would remind him on this point of order that the kind of conduct he is pursuing is conduct unbecoming of a Minister of the Environment. He should understand that Canadians are watching; his constituents and my constituents are watching. This does not advance the cause of climate change one iota. In fact, what the Minister of the Environment should do is prevail upon his boss, the Prime Minister, to answer the question.

The Speaker: I do not think we are on a point of order here, so we will move on.

Even the Speaker says it is not a point of order. I call it a point of whining on behalf of Liberals everywhere and with comments like these, I can’t imagine Dion will keep McGuinty on the Environment portfolio for long.