Madam Speaker, I would like to say first of all that I am a bit surprised at the Bloc Quebecois position. Despite explanations by the hon. member for Terrebonne, one cannot help wondering how the Bloc Quebecois can move an amendment to an amendment to a bill over which it is in total disagreement. It is a bit surprising.
Similarly, I would like to refer to remarks by the hon. member for Laurentides who keeps harping on the same old theme that the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act is some kind of absolute intrusion in prerogatives of provinces and more particularly Quebec.
I want to point out to the hon. member that the federal government has not only the right but the responsibility, as stated by the Supreme Court, to deal with environmental assessment, if only in such areas of exclusive jurisdiction as coastal zones, navigable waters, fisheries, national harbours, airports, the St. Lawrence Seaway, Crown lands, native lands, defence facilities, not to mention the shared jurisdiction on environment itself.
Indeed, I would point out to the hon. member for Laurentides, if she is interested in getting information, that joint assessments have been made for a very long time in Quebec concerning, for example, Cacouna Harbour, the St. Marguerite River more recently and the Lachine Canal very recently. There are instances of several projects assessed either by BAPE or, on rare occasions, by the federal government, when the project was essentially under federal jurisdiction.
As for the motion by the hon. member for The Battlefords-Meadow Lake, we are quite aware that under several acts of Parliament, regulatory systems are established independently of Parliament.
In the case of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the regulations were subjected to one of the most rigorous and progressive procedures established by the Government of Canada. During the last election, we on this side of the House promised an in-depth review of the existing regulations-