Evidence of meeting #116 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
I find it fascinating that, in 2024, the Conservatives think that we can have an economy that is not based on a healthy environment. It makes no sense. Where are they from?
Conservative
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
No. Put some heart into your words. It's amazing to see that they think you can have an economy without ecology. Of course we want to protect biodiversity. Caribou are also linked to an economic sector; it's not just an environmental issue. The two go together—
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
We need a healthy environment to have a healthy economy, so I don't see what the problem is. We must have a—
Liberal
Liberal
Francis Drouin Liberal Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON
With all due respect to my colleague Mr. Berthold, who talked about respect for witnesses, I would remind him that we also must respect our colleagues on the committee. For some time now, he has been commenting while someone else is speaking. I would remind him that he does not have the floor.
Conservative
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Too many points of order are being raised at the same time. I'm losing track.
Conservative
Conservative
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
I could have raised a point of order on the relevance of Mrs. Chatel's comments, but I didn't. I should have done that by asking you for the floor. That's what I'll do next time.
Liberal
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
Mr. Chair, I was interrupted. I know it is becoming a habit for the Conservatives to interrupt me and yell louder when I have the floor. This is the new style of politics the Conservatives are playing, especially with their female colleagues. We are going to try to arm ourselves with a good armour and deal with this new unfortunate reality for democracy.
I'll go back to what I said. Economic health and ecological health go hand in hand. We need to protect the caribou. This is not just a Quebec issue. The Species at Risk Act does exist. It's a federal statute that is part of the committee's mandate, and that is what we are discussing. We have to respect our jurisdictions while fully respecting provincial jurisdictions, of course. I don't think there's any debate on that. The Conservatives would like to make this a political issue, but everything is political for them, even the environment.
That said, I would like to remind you that this is important for the forestry sector and for jobs. Our forestry companies and forestry workers want certainty. We have to agree, we have to make our voice heard and we have to be the voice of our communities.
I think four meetings is more than enough. We want our voice to be heard before the end of the consultations, which go until September 15. The number of meetings we can have is limited.
Therefore, I support the proposed amendment to hold four meetings.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Okay.
First, we have to vote on Mr. Berthold's subamendment, which proposes that we devote two hours to each of the witnesses.
(Subamendment negatived: nays 7; yeas 4)
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
We will now vote on the amendment proposed by Mr. van Koeverden. Enough has been said about all aspects of the issue.
(Amendment agreed to: yeas 7; nays 4 [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Liberal
Conservative
