House of Commons photoWon her last election, in 1997, with 46% of the vote.
The Environment May 27th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, it is a very important priority for this government to look after its environment and to improve it where there are deficiencies.
We have made commitments to make sure Canadians have clean air and clean water. We have policies and regulations in place. The people in my a department work as a team. People are designated a certain position, but we work as a team, and we do enforce our regulations and our policies.
The Environment May 27th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, our government is committed to the environment and we will continue to meet the existing challenges.
As human beings become more engaged in the environment in Canada, there are more challenges. We have specific targets to try to meet all the challenges and assure Canadians of a good environment.
The environment affects Canadians' health and it is important to all of us in the government.
The Environment May 27th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I have never denied that there are problems in the environment in Canada. It is my role to work with the government to ensure Canadians have better quality air, water and natural ecosystems.
Our department has worked very hard, has worked with Canadians from coast to coast at grassroots level to improve our environment. We will continue to do so and bring in policies and measures to do so.
Environment May 26th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I am not going to retract my comments made in March.
I understand that there are some difficulties with enforcement measures being taken in my department. For that reason I requested my department to undergo a review some months ago. I also requested that the standing committee do a review of enforcement.
I believe that the resources within my department can be reviewed and that we can put resources to better effect to ensure proper enforcement.
Environment May 26th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, environmental assessment is a very important aspect of the work of Environment Canada.
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act is in its third year of operation. The agency is working very diligently to make sure that all departments working with me do proper assessments. We are having to look to see how we can improve the processes. We are working hard on that and have provided different guidelines to departments and other groups that do environmental assessments.
The Environment May 26th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the government is totally committed to reaching our objectives, our Kyoto commitments, but what is confusing is the stand of that party, the party that denies the science, the party that says we ought not to take any action, the party that today is not involved in working with all Canadians to help us meet our objectives.
The Environment May 26th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, after our engagement at Rio in 1992 we have realized that we did not meet voluntary obligations we set for ourselves at that time.
We are in the company of many other developed nations in the world. That is why we went back to Kyoto and determined that we had to enter into legally binding obligations.
The commissioner's observations were made prior to our negotiation at Kyoto and prior to the action we have taken since then which has been very significant and will be successful.
The Environment May 26th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to share with my colleague the government's comprehensive plan on how we are working today with all partners to find the most cost effective way to reduce emissions and to achieve our commitments at Kyoto.
The government set aside $150 million to be used over three years to develop our plan, but that does not stop us from implementing measures right now, which is what we are doing.
The Environment May 26th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I have said many times that the government is absolutely committed to achieving its Kyoto protocol commitments.
The Prime Minister has put in place a secretariat to assist the Minister of Natural Resources and me to lead on this initiative on behalf of all of Canada. We have a secretariat in place which is implementing a national or a federal strategy. We are working with all our partners, provinces, territories, business and industry, communities and individuals, and we will achieve our target.
The Environment May 26th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the important work that is accomplished by the people in my department. They work very competently and efficiently. We are fulfilling our obligations. We are absolutely committed to meeting our Kyoto protocol commitments.
We will continue to review everything that is said and look to improving our practices, but we are now doing a very good job on behalf of all Canadians.