Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  If we hear criticism of certain specifics, whether it's flooding a field or draining a field or somebody wanting to put a wharf up, that's a matter of how the minister runs his department. But the minister still has a constitutional duty to stand up and be counted, and he ought t

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  And if the regulations need to be changed to improve efficiency, if we have to have consolidated administrative agreements with the provinces, I am quite concerned about the fox in the henhouse—that is, proponent ministries running their own environmental reviews—because they are

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  Thank you, Mr. Chisholm. I have a number of recommendations and comments on several clauses that we haven't gotten to. I'd refer to clause 147, the “let them off lightly” clause, because I was the minister who brought in fines of up to $1 million to the Fisheries Act in 1989.

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  Is this for me?

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  I'm glad the member has raised this question of the habitat having broader importance and significance. If you consider the canary in the coal mine example, if the fish aren't happy—I have always liked this picture on the front of our habitat policy, because the fish has a happy

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  I don't think it's possible. You know we have had a major investment in the capacity of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. We have several laboratories all across Canada. We have a history of learning about some of the problems I listed in my opening remarks, where we learne

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  I was going to wrap up with my recommendations, but first of all, I think it's extremely important you separate the bill. That was the message in the letter that four ministers signed to the Prime Minister. This matter and these potential consequences do not deserve this kind of.

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  I certainly do. I was a minister at the dawn of the environmental responsibility era. I was part of a government that took that to the point of practice through the development of Canada's first and only green plan and various pieces of legislation that I spoke of earlier. What

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  It starts, Mr. Chair and Madam Duncan, with my belief that the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans is the only elected responsible minister in all of Canada with a fiduciary and constitutional duty to uphold the provisions of an act that has 144 years of history, and that ou

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  To begin, Mr. Chairman, if you write into legislation something that goes beyond principle and it involves a lot of words—which you know as lawyers describe them, they're million dollar words or silver dollar words—you open up a field day in court for challenges. Whereas the prin

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  The letter that you referred to, Mr. Member, is available. It's not in both official languages tonight, but if members wish to have it, I think they could approach the chair for a copy. It does reflect our apprehension and concern that this broader group of interests is being t

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  Mr. Chairman, what I see being attempted here, with all due respect, is to suggest that the principle of section 35 can be replaced by a long recitation of some of the practicalities of application, which is the place for regulations, not for legislation. The principle should sta

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  Thank you, Mr. Kamp. Yes it is, because I feel the fisheries officers and the minister already have substantial latitude to define what constitutes a harm, alteration, or a destruction or disturbance to habitat—the HADD clause.

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  I would certainly hope to think so, Mr. Chairman, through you to Mr. Kamp. First of all, if you read clause 142, which is one-and-a-half pages long, and compare it to the section 35 that Mr. Kamp read from at the beginning of his remarks, which is two lines long, you will see th

Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Finance on Bill C-38 committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. It is a great honour for me to appear before your committee this evening. I have studied Bill C-38, and I have several comments to make. I want to start by giving you a quick overview. As a young boy living a little south of you, along the Red Deer River,