Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I am pleased to present this motion to the committee. I will read it first:
That the committee recommend that the government ensure that the implementation of regulations resulting from the eventual adoption of Bill C-33, An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, not result in an increase in the proportion of Canadian corn production currently used to produce ethanol and that it be reported to the House at the earliest opportunity.
Mr. Chair, the reason we are tabling this motion today, is that we hope to send a clear message to the government concerning Bill C-33, which seeks to increase the ethanol content in gasoline by 5%. Why this motion, Mr. Chair, and why do we want to ensure that this bill does not result in an increase in ethanol production from corn? Simply because this policy has contributed greatly to an increase in the world price of food commodities. Between 2003 and 2008, ethanol production rose from 212 million litres to 1.5 billion litres once the final projects for 2008 will have been carried out.
This type of policy contributes to the world food crisis, and we do not believe that Bill C-33 should heighten the current crisis.
Furthermore, it has not been proven that the use of corn-based ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions; on the contrary we believe that it is important to compare how much energy is expended to grow corn for ethanol production purposes with the energy expended by the combustion of gasoline containing ethanol.
Therefore, the energy balance of the greenhouse emissions reductions is not what we would have expected a few years ago.
Lastly, it should be kept in mind, Mr. Chair, that producing a single litre of ethanol requires 1,700 litres of fresh water and releases 12 litres of fertilizer and pesticide into the environment. Mr. Chair, this could mean negative impacts for fresh water in Quebec and Canada, and I think that it is our duty, as members of the environment committee, to ensure that this policy and Bill C-33 do not contribute to an increase in social tensions on the world stage or to an increase in environmental hazards, while making no real contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gases.
Thank you very much.