OTTAWA -- Conservative leadership hopeful Peter MacKay says a government under his rule would scrap the carbon tax yet would still 鈥渢ry鈥� to meet the Paris climate targets.
During an interview on CTV鈥檚 Question Period, MacKay said Canada can be a global leader in the fight on climate change without having to implement a domestic levy.
鈥淐anadians can be innovators and be big contributors to the global effort because we鈥檙e not the problem,鈥� said MacKay. 鈥淲e have an obligation to do our part, but I think we can be bigger in our vision and bolder in our effort to try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally.鈥�
As for meeting the Paris Agreement 鈥� the international pact to curb global temperature rise thatCanada signed in 2015 鈥� MacKay said his government would 鈥渢ry鈥� to get there.
鈥淚t鈥檚 aspirational,鈥� he said, doubling down on the idea that putting a price on carbon isn鈥檛 the way to do so. 鈥淎 carbon tax does not lessen [emissions]; it gives license to pollute.鈥�
On military spending
MacKay said he鈥檇 also prioritize military spending if he were prime minister, increasing contributions to two per cent of GDP to meet NATO targets.
鈥淚t is something Canada needs to do and the way in which it鈥檚 calculated at NATO of course is an important part of how we get there. What I would argue is that we need to do more in North America that should be considered as part of our NATO commitment.鈥�
Canada has signed on to the commitment but has received criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump about failing to meet the target to date.
MacKay skirted around questions about where his government would find the billions of additional funds needed to reach the threshold.
鈥淭here are ways to calculate that don鈥檛 necessarily mean a direct injection of $11 billion.鈥�
On medically assisted dying
and directed at Justice Minister David Lametti, MacKay urged lawmakers to include a provision in any new legislation on physician assisted-dying that doctors be able to refuse the delivery of care on the basis of their freedom of conscience.
The current legislation mandates that doctors who have a conscientious objection to a medical service refer their patient to another doctor who will carry out a procedure.
During the Question Period interview, MacKay said 鈥渃onscience rights are extremely important鈥� and he wouldn鈥檛 pass legislation that would force the referral process.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not talking about limiting access, to be clear. This is not about in any way limiting what is now the law in Canada but it is protecting another element of society in Canada and that is people who have a strong belief that they don鈥檛 want to end somebody鈥檚 life.鈥�
On learning French
MacKay has come under fire for his French-language abilities since announcing his Tory leadership bid, with some saying any prime minister of Canada must be proficient in both French and English.
To address these concerns, MacKay switched over to French during the interview.
He then turned back to English to underline, 鈥渋t鈥檚 like a muscle. I haven鈥檛 been speaking French to a large degree over the last four years working at a law firm here in Toronto there鈥檚 very little occasion but I believe I can work at it, I can continue to improve my French.鈥�
