Debates of Oct. 21st, 2002
House of Commons Hansard #11 of the 37th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was diamonds.
Topics
- Export and Import of Rough Diamonds Act
- Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport
- Terrorism
- YWCA Week Without Violence
- Royal 22nd Regiment
- Canadian Accredited Insurance Brokers
- Prairie Farmers
- Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case
- Fédération des agricultrices du Québec
- Communities in Bloom
- Terrorism
- Parliamentarians against Corruption
- Terrorism
- Highway Infrastructure
- Autism Month
- Member for Cardigan
- Biofuels
- Grain Transportation
- Women's History Month
- Kyoto Protocol
- Ethics
- Kyoto Protocol
- Foreign Affairs
- Kyoto Protocol
- The Environment
- Government Grants
- Foreign Affairs
- Government Grants
- Taxation
- Middle East
- Cultural Policy
- Kyoto Protocol
- National Defence
- Government Grants
- Kyoto Protocol
- Ferries
- Kyoto Protocol
- Trade
- Health
- The Environment
- Justice
- Archives
- Automobile Industry
- Government Grants
- Foreign Affairs
- Committees of the House
- Canada Labour Code
- Lisa's Law
- Endangered Species Sanctuaries Act
- Criminal Code
- Internet Child Pornography Prevention Act
- Committees of the House
- Petitions
- Questions on the Order Paper
- Export and Import of Rough Diamonds Act
- Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act
Kyoto Protocol
Oral Question Period
2:15 p.m.
Calgary Southwest
Alberta
Canadian Alliance
Stephen Harper Leader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, if it is going to delay its plans it should delay the ratification as well.
As the minister said, last week the Alberta government tabled its plan for the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions without destroying the economy. Will the federal government now agree to work with the Alberta government on its alternative to Kyoto?
Kyoto Protocol
Oral Question Period
2:15 p.m.
Victoria
B.C.
Liberal
David Anderson Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition must have taken some absence from this place. We have been working with the Province of Alberta since 1997 on the Kyoto accord.
The Alliance members who surround him also appear ignorant of the fact that it was Alberta and the federal government that chaired the federal-provincial-territorial working group for five full years.
Kyoto Protocol
Oral Question Period
2:15 p.m.
Calgary Southwest
Alberta
Canadian Alliance
Stephen Harper Leader of the Opposition
Mr. Speaker, Albertans will never forget the attitude of this party toward Albertans on energy issues during the national energy program. We expect the government to work with the provincial government on this.
The federal government promised that it would consult the provinces before ratifying the Kyoto protocol. However, the implementation of this agreement will inevitably result in interference in provincial jurisdictions, both shared and exclusive.
Will the government pledge to not implement the Kyoto protocol without the consent of the provinces?
Kyoto Protocol
Oral Question Period
2:15 p.m.
Victoria
B.C.
Liberal
David Anderson Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, it is very simple. The federal government has certain powers and the provinces also have powers. We want both levels of government, including the territories, to work together to arrive at a plan for Canada in which no region of the country will be adversely affected.
Ethics
Oral Question Period
October 21st, 2002 / 2:15 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
John Reynolds West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC
Mr. Speaker, last week the Prime Minister was minutes away from firing his Solicitor General. A cabinet shuffle was imminent because of the unethical behaviour of the man of Green Gables.
Today the Solicitor General is still there--
Ethics
Oral Question Period
2:15 p.m.
Some hon. members
Hear, hear.
Ethics
Oral Question Period
2:15 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
John Reynolds West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC
The former defence minister argued that the sins of the Solicitor General were the same as the ones he committed.
We have known for weeks that the Solicitor General ignored any thinking person's idea of ethical guidelines. Is the Solicitor General going to remain in place? What is the Prime Minister waiting for?
Ethics
Oral Question Period
2:15 p.m.
Ottawa South
Ontario
Liberal
John Manley Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister will review the report that Mr. Wilson has been working on and give it full consideration.
Ethics
Oral Question Period
2:15 p.m.
Canadian Alliance
John Reynolds West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast, BC
Mr. Speaker, from the standing ovation it seems that some of them already know what is in the report.
They call it the Liberal limbo. The Prime Minister sets the bar so low his ministers can tunnel under it and they choose not to step over it.
Is it not true that the Prime Minister will not fire the Solicitor General because he does not know how many other ministers would be forced to follow the Solicitor General out the exit door?
Ethics
Oral Question Period
2:20 p.m.
Ottawa South
Ontario
Liberal
John Manley Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
Mr. Speaker, the notion of the hon. member trying limbo now is intriguing to think of, to say the least, but I am sure he will recover soon.
I think it is fair to say that the Prime Minister ought to have the time to review the report that Mr. Wilson is preparing.
Kyoto Protocol
Oral Question Period
2:20 p.m.
Bloc
Gilles Duceppe Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, Alberta's environment minister recognizes that Quebec produces little greenhouse gases, but feels that Quebec should do more than Alberta to reduce gas emissions, even though that province is a bigger polluter. Alberta's minister even went so far as to ask Ottawa to crack down on Quebec.
Does the federal Minister of the Environment share the twisted logic of his Albertan counterpart? If he does not, will the minister condemn it by proposing an implementation plan that takes into account Quebec's good performance?
Kyoto Protocol
Oral Question Period
2:20 p.m.
Victoria
B.C.
Liberal
David Anderson Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, we have no intention of discriminating against any region of the country. This is why it is so important to enlist the cooperation of the provinces and territories to develop a national plan.
Kyoto Protocol
Oral Question Period
2:20 p.m.
Bloc
Gilles Duceppe Laurier—Sainte-Marie, QC
Mr. Speaker, thanks to huge federal grants, Alberta got rich for years with its oil and gas, without any regard for the environment, while Quebec developed, at its own cost, its hydroelectric energy, which is a clean form a energy. Quebec is still prepared to do its share, but only its fair share.
In this context, does the Minister of the Environment agree that implementation of the Kyoto protocol must include the polluter-pay principle, a principle that is fair for everyone, including Alberta and Quebec?
Kyoto Protocol
Oral Question Period
2:20 p.m.
Victoria
B.C.
Liberal
David Anderson Minister of the Environment
Mr. Speaker, the most important principle to us is that no region must be adversely affected by the implementation of the Kyoto protocol. That is the basic principle. The other principles—and there are many, including the least expensive approach, for example—would hurt one region or another in one way or another.
Kyoto Protocol
Oral Question Period
2:20 p.m.
Bloc
Bernard Bigras Rosemont—Petite-Patrie, QC
Mr. Speaker, the federal plan to implement the Kyoto protocol seeks to reward those industries that pollute the most by making more emissions trading permits available to them than to those that have been polluting the least since 1990.
Does the Minister of the Environment recognize that this approach basically waters down Kyoto to please the lobby of the most polluting industries at the expense of those that have made efforts in the past?