Mr. Speaker, I stand to congratulate the Minister of the Environment and the government for doing in less than a year what the previous government could not do in seven.
The announcement of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act signals this government's commitment to its red book promises and its commitment to the health of our environment and economy.
The act will remove uncertainty and get environmental assessment out of the courts and back into the hands of the people where it belongs.
The minister in her statement clearly pointed out that the government wants to work with all jurisdictions that care about their environmental future and is willing to discuss harmonization with every province and aboriginal group.
Five ministers of the previous government tried to do this and failed and it only took one Liberal minister, one Liberal government to succeed. One Liberal to five others, sounds like fair odds to me.