I know that the minister is capable of eating up time, but I would still like to get in a word as an elected official. He is the one who sits in cabinet.
You're playing a very dangerous game, sir. You are trying to convince people that because there are laws to protect the environment, the government needs to repeal some protective measures. We are debating this against the backdrop of a global economic crisis. We are already handing down to future generations a very heavy economic debt. Let's not exasperate the problems by handing them an environmental deficit that can never be rectified.
I was involved in making regulations pertaining to the overpass over Rivière des Prairies where there was a lake sturgeon pool. The negotiations fell under a public-private partnership with the Government of Quebec. The federal and provincial governments acted collaboratively. My federal counterpart, Minister Anderson and myself worked together to standardize the assessment process.