Environment Committee on June 21st, 2011

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Go ahead, Ms. Rempel.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Centre-North, AB]

My comments are complete.

(Amendment negatived)

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

We're back to the main motion, and the main motion has been read. Is there any discussion on the main motion?

Ms. Rempel.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Centre-North, AB]

I'd like to propose an amendment that the first round of questioning remain the same and that the second round of questioning be as follows: New Democrat, Conservative, New Democrat, Conservative, New Democrat, Conservative, Conservative, Liberal.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

That's an amendment. What is being proposed is that the first round of questioning stay the same and that the second round of questioning be dealt with differently, as proposed.

The first round of questioning will be Conservative, NDP, Conservative, Liberal. The second round of questioning, in what is being proposed, will be NDP, Conservative, NDP, Conservative, NDP, Conservative, Conservative, Liberal, which is what was being proposed by the NDP in their previous amending motion. It provides the Liberals with a second opportunity to question. That is the amending motion now.

Is there any discussion on that amendment?

(Amendment agreed to)

(Motion as amended agreed to) [See Minutes of Proceedings]

Thank you. We've completed our routine motions.

The discussion of future business we will leave until the fall session, because we have no directions yet from the House as to what they would like us to consider. Likely SARA will be referred back to us, but we can't assume that. We are in the middle of actually getting towards the end of the study on SARA. We had just started CEAA, but that has to be referred to the committee before we can officially begin that. So we'll wait until the beginning of the fall session and then create a work plan of what we'll be discussing.

I'd like to take this opportunity to maybe do a quick round table so that we can get to know each other a little bit. Take maybe two minutes or a minute and a half to just share where you are from.

We'll start with you, Stella, and just work around the table, including the analysts and the clerk.

[Stella Ambler, Conservative, Mississauga South, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

My name is Stella Ambler, and I am from the riding of Mississauga South. I am very excited for this opportunity to serve on this committee. It was definitely at the top of my list.

My riding borders Lake Ontario, and a number of my constituents are very concerned about water quality issues and air quality. We fought the battle recently against a power plant in the riding, so I familiarized myself at that time with many air quality issues that would have resulted.

It's a keen interest of mine for that reason, but also from a business perspective. I was a member of the green committee on the Mississauga Board of Trade. I think there are great opportunities we can take advantage of where businesses can be part business and small and medium enterprises can be part of making the environment a better place. I'd like to be able to examine those kinds of issues and have this issue be not just one of government and coming from the top and regulating but be what private enterprise can do to be part of the process of making the environment a better place.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Thank you.

Mr. Woodworth.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I am from Kitchener Centre, in the Region of Waterloo, which of course is one of the new high-tech hubs of Canada and the world. I was elected in 2008, after having practised law for almost 30 years. And if the definition of retirement is leaving what you have been doing to do something you really enjoy, then you could say that I am retired and quite enjoying my work as a member of Parliament.

I suppose I have two personal reflections on our work for the environment committee. One is that my lifelong passion has been wilderness canoeing, and I've spent many a happy hour paddling through the lakes and rivers of northern Ontario and Quebec. So I am certainly quite sensitive to the question of protecting our natural environment and quite aware that in fact it's said that a true Canadian is one who has a love for the natural environment.

However, I want to say also that my own home has running through it the Grand River watershed, the greatest river in southern Ontario. And it provides an excellent example of how nature and man can co-exist in balance, whether it's deer or beaver. That river runs right through the middle of a metropolis, so I think a lot can be learned. In fact, we're hoping to set up an agency on water studies, based in the Grand River watershed, so we'll learn a lot from that experience at this table.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Thank you, Mr. Woodworth.

Mr. Toet.

[Lawrence Toet, Conservative, Elmwood—Transcona, MB]

I am Lawrence Toet. I am from Elmwood—Transcona, a suburb of the city of Winnipeg in the beautiful province of Manitoba, land of a hundred thousand lakes.

I'm going to keep it really short. I think, knowing that I'm from the land of a hundred thousand lakes, you will know that the environment is a very precious thing to me. And I want to see it maintained, although I'm sad right now to see that probably we have under a hundred thousand lakes due to the flooding we're having. Many of those lakes have combined. And we'd like to see that mitigated and fixed too.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

I saw a commercial on TV for tourism there, so thank you for being here.

Mr. Lunney.

[James Lunney, Conservative, Nanaimo—Alberni, BC]

I'm James Lunney, from Nanaimo—Alberni. That's on the far west coast, and my riding is where the far west meets the far east, with just a little bit of water in between us.

While Canada has fourteen UNESCO-recognized biosphere reserves, two of them are in British Columbia and both of them are in my riding. There is a lot of interest in the environment in Nanaimo—Alberni.

It's a beautiful part of Canada. If you haven't visited, you need to come out. We can use the stimulation of the economy.

I was elected in 2000 as a member of the Canadian Alliance and I have served on a number of committees.

In my background I served for 24 years as a health care professional, as a doctor of chiropractic. But prior to that, I have something in common with colleagues on my left and right, both being from Manitoba. I grew up in Manitoba and my B.Sc. is in zoology and chemistry from the University of Manitoba. So I'm interested in how things work in human physiology but also in the environment.

I look forward to working with you on the environment committee.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Thank you.

Mr. Sopuck.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB]

I am Robert Sopuck, from Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette. I have been in the environmental and natural resources management field for about 35 years, starting off life as a fisheries biologist. I did work on the original Mackenzie Valley pipeline, environmental studies in the Berger commission days. I did work in the Arctic.

Also, my wife and I live on a 480-acre farm south of Riding Mountain National Park. We live in the biosphere reserve, and 320 acres of our farm are under a conservation agreement with the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

In other environmental work I've done, I was environmental director at a paper mill; I worked in the area of agricultural wildlife policy for the Delta Waterfowl Foundation; and I did a project called Smart Green, which was an analysis of Canadian environmental policy for the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. I even spent the winter of 2009-2010 doing environmental work in the oil sands, living in an oil sands camp. So I have had a fair bit of background in the environment field.

I was elected in the byelection of 2010 and re-elected this May, of course.

My last point is that from my time in the Arctic, living with the Inuit, I do have an Inuit nickname, and that's Pungniq. You'll have to ask the Minister of Health what that means.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Thank you, Bob.

[An hon. member]

“Guy with big smile and little hair”.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Ms. Rempel.

[Michelle Rempel, Conservative, Calgary Centre-North, AB]

I'm Michelle Rempel. My riding is Calgary Centre-North. I was elected for the first time in this last election of 2011.

My educational background is in economics. I've spent my career in intellectual property management, technology commercialization, managerial consulting, and partnership research administration.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Tim.

[Tim Williams, Committee Researcher]

I'm Tim Williams, with the Library of Parliament. I've been the analyst assigned to the environment and sustainable development committee for about 10 or 11 years now. I saw the Species at Risk Act through its last iteration.

As for my education, it's as a plant physiologist and biochemist. I came to Ottawa to do a post-doctoral fellowship at Carleton University in the ecophysiology of the boreal forest and ended up here.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Thank you, Tim.

Also from the Library of Parliament is Penny, who is on maternity leave and is returning in the fall, I understand.

If you'd like something researched, the Library of Parliament is there for every member of the committee. They do excellent work.

Thank you.

Madame Renaud.

[The Clerk]

My name is Marie-France Renaud. I am the clerk of this committee. I have been a procedural clerk in the House for at least six years. I love being a committee clerk. If you have questions on procedure, on organization or on inviting witnesses, I am the person to contact. You can do so any time during the day. That's about all.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Thank you.

[Isabelle Dumas, Procedural Clerk]

Good morning. My name is Isabelle Dumas. I am also a procedural clerk in the Committees Branch. Since no committee has been assigned to me at present, I will probably be visiting other committees. I will go with some colleagues to see how things work in all the committees. I have been working for the House for four years.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Thank you.

Ms. Leslie.