Evidence of meeting #125 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 witnesses.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Liberal
Sophie Chatel Liberal Pontiac, QC
I'd still like to know something. We had witnesses, but what are we doing right now?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
We're debating Mr. Mazier's motion. The witnesses were excused.
Liberal
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
That's not a point of order, Mrs. Chatel. At least, I don't think it is. Anyway, we'll see.
Mr. Godin, you have the floor.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
Mr. Chair, I just want to remind you that you asked the member if she had a point of order. That is not a point of order. I therefore invite you to continue.
Liberal
Conservative
Gerald Soroka Conservative Yellowhead, AB
Okay. I'll keep going as long as I possibly can until the next interruption.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
You know we have to end the meeting at 6:30, because we don't really have the resources to go past that time.
Conservative
Gerald Soroka Conservative Yellowhead, AB
What I'm saying is that I would like to get more witnesses and get a better understanding to make sure that we protect our communities that live not only in Jasper but, like I said, in Banff and in Lake Louise—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
I just want to pause for a second. There's too much noise around the table. I know that members sometimes want to consult with staff, but we have to do it at a low volume.
Mr. Soroka, go ahead.
Conservative
Gerald Soroka Conservative Yellowhead, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I got to 30 seconds before you interrupted again, but that's great.
My point is that we need to make sure we are doing proper forest management to protect our communities. That is all I'm trying to say. With this motion, we can dive a little deeper into things and make sure that it's done properly.
We have a lot of people who are still very concerned about whether or not their home, which survived this fire, will survive the next fire that's coming from the northwest or straight from the north. They know that fire-smarting was done. No one's disputing that. The question is whether it was done well enough and whether it was done far enough back. I think the answer is pretty self-explanatory: If one-third of the town burned, it wasn't.
That's the thing. What is Parks Canada going to do to make sure that we have proper forest management to protect the rest of the town of Jasper and the people in Jasper?
With that, I will pass it over to the next speaker.
Bloc
Monique Pauzé Bloc Repentigny, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm seeking consensus. We could hold two meetings, including a two-hour meeting with indigenous communities and impacted individuals we haven't heard from. Then, we could have a one-hour meeting with just Mr. Boissonnault, who was recently appointed as the ministerial lead for Jasper, and find out how he sees the future.
I would also suggest that these additional meetings take place after the meetings already on the schedule we voted on last week.
That's my proposed amendment. I know it's substantial.
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Okay, now we have to debate this amendment.
If I understand correctly—
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB
Can we just have a short recess to get it all down in writing?
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
If we have it in English, can someone send it to me? In the meantime, I'll take a moment to explain where we're at. There were negotiations—
Liberal
Leah Taylor Roy Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON
Are we waiting for the amendment to be printed or to be given to us before we carry on?