Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a divided opinion on the minister's statement. While I support action that will lead to the clean up of the Great Lakes, I question the manner in which the minister is planning to attain this goal.
During the last few weeks we have seen a flurry of activity coming out of the minister's office. Some of the announcements I have agreed with, such as the submission on environmental assessment regulations and the commissioner for the environment. Others I have disagreed with, such as the $57 million subsidy to the already booming environmental services industry.
Despite the minister's recent activity I still have some concerns regarding this government's approach to the environment. Considerable obstacles remain before Canada can claim, in the words of the minister, to be a world leader on environmental issues.
Most important among them is the question of federal-provincial jurisdiction. Herein lies the Achilles heel of all environmental laws and regulations in Canada, this tug of war, this fight between the federal government and the provincial governments on environment, or who is going to have control.
The minister will recall earlier this year she fought hard to have the NAFTA environmental office placed in Montreal. We have heard nothing further from this commission for environmental co-operation. Why? I would suggest in all probability it is because the commission is ineffective without provincial co-operation. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act still requires federal-provincial agreements to avoid confusion and duplication with provincial laws.
These are some of the critical issues that must be addressed before we can claim to be a leader in the environmental sector.
This announcement on the Great Lakes is one which I support in principle. However I cannot agree with the minister on its content for it is heavy on studies but light on substance. For example phrases like detailed assessment, improved access to information, seeking global action, and improved scientific understanding are all nice rhetoric and make great headlines but they result in little action.
As my colleague has said, the Great Lakes provide one-fifth of the world's fresh water supply. I will repeat that: one-fifth of the world's fresh water supply is in the Great Lakes. Protection of this resource is clearly of critical importance and there is no one who disputes this.
Numerous agreements and reports have been produced since the first Great Lakes water quality agreement was signed in 1972. Protection of this resource clearly remains critical. Response to this problem to date has been a Canada-Ontario agreement and a proposal to manage chlorinated substances. The Canada-Ontario agreement is a jointly funded $250 million program to clean up the Great Lakes. This is a good first step, but we must take our southern neighbour into consideration when dealing with the Great Lakes.
Environment Canada released a report last year estimating that dump sites along the U.S. side of the St. Lawrence River were responsible for about 60 per cent of the most hazardous substances polluting Lake Ontario. With facts like these obviously a Canada-U.S. agreement is critical, but there is no joint agreement with the U.S. to date. The minister says she is working with the U.S. toward an agreement, however I would like to see some concrete actions toward this goal.
This plan does not hold much water-no pun intended-without an American agreement. We are sharing the same water trough. Our actions are being undermined by the fact that we do not have a joint agreement to ensure U.S. participation and compliance.
The minister was correct when she stated that progress can only be made in co-operation with other governments and federal spending will be useful only if it levers participation by other parties. Without American and provincial co-operation these plans are futile.
The minister talks about discussions, but when will the minister get beyond talk and take some concrete action? We need an agreement, not just rhetoric.
The seventh biennial report which the minister refers to suggested that the degradation of the Great Lakes has potentially catastrophic implications for human health. The IJC report noted, as the minister has pointed out, that chlorinated substances are an integral part of the problem and link chlorines with low sperm counts in men and increased breast cancer in women. Although the IJC report suggested a ban on all chlorinated substances, these conclusions lack scientific backing. It is impractical to ban all chlorinated substances, however we do need to manage them more effectively.
To reduce the release of chlorinated substances the minister talks about working with two industry sectors. She mentions the dry cleaning and metal degreasing industries. What about Canada's number one industry, forestry? Pulp and paper mills are major users of chlorine in the bleaching process. The minister fails to mention this industry in her speech and I question why. I suspect it has a lot to do with the older mills and the precarious balance they have between the economy and the environment. However it is a major sector in Canadian industry and I believe it needs to be addressed here.
In conclusion, I am encouraged that the minister is taking action on the Great Lakes. However it is not enough just to say that Canadians want to be a world leader on environmental issues, we must take the necessary steps to attain this goal. We need an agreement with the Americans and all of the provinces to reduce chlorinated toxins. We must work closely with all the industries involved.