The parliamentary secretary to the minister of the environment raised eyebrows Monday when he twice argued that Canada's Conservative government is "a world leader in addressing climate change."

Colin Carrie made the statements during question period and was quickly ridiculed in the House of Commons and online.

Carrie was grilled by both both NDP and Liberal MPs Monday on his the government's climate change policies and Prime Minister Stephen Harper's decision not to attend the United Nations climate summit on Tuesday, despite being in New York to deliver a major speech to the General Assembly. U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron will both speak at the summit, which Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq is scheduled to attend.

Throughout the questioning, Carrie read talking points from a paper, arguing that the Conservative government has reduced greenhouse gas emissions without resorting to the "job-killing carbon tax" he said is favoured by the NDP.

But it was his claim that "our government is a world leader when it comes to addressing climate", repeated twice, that grabbed the attention, and ire, of many watching the debate.

While Canada's carbon emissions did drop in the wake of the 2007 financial crisis, Environment Canada data shows that emissions are currently rising.