Canada's two leading parties sparred in the House of Commons on Monday, with the NDP accusing the majority Conservatives of a failure to enact policy or plans to fight climate change.
"This is the government that has stalled real action on climate change for years," said NDP MP David Christopherson, in the video above. "Now that the U.S. is acting, this government isn't willing to lift a finger to make meaningful changes to reduce emissions in Canada. This is not leadership."
Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq responded, saying the Conservatives "are committed to protecting the environment while growing Canada's economy," and said the government has committed $1.2 billion to over 60 developing countries to reduce emissions.
"That's real action, Mr. Speaker," she concluded.
The NDP has often criticized the Conservative Party over its environmental policies – this criticism increased six days ago, when American President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping both agreed to cut and cap (respectively) their nations' emissions at a meeting in Beijing.
"If the world's two largest polluters can form a partnership to prioritise our environment, there's no good reason for the Conservatives to continue to stall Canadian action on emissions reductions," said NDP environment critic Megan Leslie last week.
"The Conservatives have stalled action to reduce Canada's emissions, weakened key environmental protections, and silenced critics."
Files/Video by The Canadian Press