Following a speech by Patrick Bonin (Bloc Québécois)
“Mr. Speaker, today I want to heartily commend the member for Laurier—Sainte‑Marie, the former minister of environment and heritage, for his public service. I am even taking the unusual liberty of addressing him by name, Steven, this one last time. He and I have known each other for 25 years. Back then, he was with Greenpeace. He had long hair and a longer beard, but with fewer grey hairs. He enjoyed climbing towers and installing solar panels on premiers’ homes. Some people even called him “Jesus of Montreal”. We crossed paths for years within the Quebec, Canadian and international environmental movements, and at over 30 international climate conferences, or COPs, which he participated in and excelled at, including a number which he attended as environment minister. Without a doubt, one of his greatest achievements was the Kunming-Montreal agreement on biodiversity, a resounding success that would not have been possible without him. His accomplishments also and obviously include the climate change plan, which may not have been perfect or ambitious enough, but was by far the most ambitious in Canada’s history. We have certainly had our differences when it comes to the best way to serve the environmental cause. We did not always agree on the best strategy to take. We were sometimes critical of one another, but I never doubted his commitment to fighting climate change. On behalf of the Bloc Québécois and myself, I want to wish him all the best going forward. I know that he will continue to advocate for the environment and climate in other forums and other groups, and I would be pleased to be able to work with him again one day. It is unfortunate that he is leaving, but it is a consequence and an illustration of a fundamental divide in Canada. He was by far the most ambitious environment minister in the history of this country, the one who did the most. He is, without a doubt, the best environment minister this country has ever known. However, it was too much for Canada, and yet despite always being between a rock and a hard place, he truly did everything that he could. For that, I sincerely thank you, Steven. Now that he might have more free time on his hands this summer, I heard that, if he wants to have a bit of fun and if he wants to send a clear message to the government about climate change, he can always visit the CN tower. The question that I want to ask him today and the one that is on everyone’s mind is this: Will he take this opportunity to give us a sneak peek at what he plans to do next?”
Statement grade
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Not graded: a tribute or commemoration is there to honour, not to make a case.
Not graded
A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.
Thanks 79%Claims 14%The question 7%
This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.
Mr. Speaker, Thanks · 137 wordsI thank my colleague for the time he has spent in the House.I certainly will not forget when he was first elected in 2019.1I had been here for four years, 2and I was sitting in the House when he was about to give his first speech.He turned around to me and said, “Do I start talking now?”He was just getting his feet established here, but it did not take him long to become a force to be reckoned with in the House.I thank him for the time he spent with us and for always pushing the government, for always pushing us individually, to do more and to be more thoughtful when it comes to climate change and what we could do.He always pushed us to do better no matter the circumstances.ThanksClaims · 24 wordsThe member opened his speech by talking about a young 20-year-old who travelled for the first time to engage in activities around climate change.The question · 13 wordsWhat would he say today to that young 20-year-old to give him advice?
