Trudeau discusses plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed Bill C-12 at a press conference on Thursday.

"Climate change remains one of the greatest challenges of our times," Trudeau began. "Canadians know how climate change threatens our health, our economic future, and out planet."

"Canadians have been very clear, they want climate action," Trudeau declared.

Trudeau said that Bill C-12 fulfills a campaign promise to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. He insisted that protecting the environment and growing the economy go hand-in-hand, and that the economy would emerge stronger as a result of his environmental policies.

The Prime Minister offered few details about the proposed legislation.

Trudeau was questioned on the bill's lack of accountability. The bill does not offer any strict targets which the government is required to meet prior to 2050, a concern especially pressing given that the government failed to reach its 2020 emissions reduction target by over 99%.

Trudeau insisted in response that the government will "exceed their 2030 targets," and that it will be mandated that every five years the government will have to show that they are on track to reach that target in a timely manner.

"Ultimately, the accountability for government's actions, or inactions, is from Canadians themselves," Trudeau suggested. Trudeau argued that the reason the Conservative Party lost the previous two elections is due to their supposed inaction on climate change.

Trudeau also mentioned his carbon tax and criticized the conservatives for their resistance to it. Canada's carbon tax has been criticized for not being combined with a reduction in other environmental regulations, distorting the price of carbon and reducing the effectiveness of carbon reduction strategies. The policy has also been criticized for significantly raising the cost of energy, and with it, the cost of living for Canadians.

The Prime Minister was also questioned on other topics, including the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Trudeau refused to provide an exact number on how many COVID-19 vaccine doses will be available and when, but said that Canadians will face many more months of having to "do the right thing" by social distancing and wearing masks.

When asked about BC Premier John Horgan's suggestion of a pan-Canadian plan to fight coronavirus through travel restrictions, Trudeau said that this responsibility will remain with the provinces and that it is not the place of the federal government to impose such restrictions.

In an answer to a question concerning the RCMP, Trudeau suggested there is a culture of "harassment and discrimination" in the RCMP, and that Canadians cannot have "confidence in the RCMP to enforce the law" as a result.