Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I wanted to allude to the extensive report that was provided by the Library of Parliament to all members, and it was at the request of this committee to bring this forward. It's the 33 pages that Mr. Johansen had prepared in February 2001, revised in 2002, and then there was an additional revision in May 2007, talking about bulk water removals and Canadian legislation.
It exemplifies even more clearly in my mind why this whole motion is out of order, in the sense that we're going beyond the scope of this committee, for one. I guess the most egregious part of the motion is where it asks the government to open up talks on water.
I think it has been clearly stated that the government isn't interested in opening up negotiations on water. We've had the 1993 statement that has been clarified by the three leaders of the Canadian, U.S., and Mexican governments, the senior levels of government. We have the International Boundary Waters Treaty, which has been clearly indicated, and Monsieur Cardin has had an opportunity to review that. I have record of those questions in the House that Mr. Cardin has asked Minister Emerson, and Mr. Emerson has clearly stated that Canadian law has built into NAFTA that water in its natural state is not covered by NAFTA--full stop. It's not covered. We heard from witnesses it isn't covered.
The most interesting part for me from Monsieur Cardin is that he wants the federal government to negotiate Quebec's and other provinces' rights to protect their water when those rights are already assured in the International Boundary Waters Treaty Act.
I guess I'm even more concerned that urging the government to open up negotiations on water will put our water at risk. I can say this is something that our government is simply not prepared to do.
Finally, I find it ironic that the member from the Bloc would want the federal government to take away provincial powers from his own authority, which is looking for sovereignty within the province. It just doesn't make sense, and I won't be supporting the motion.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.