Mr. Speaker, I compliment the Minister of the Environment on the initiatives announced today.
The Reform Party looks forward to assisting the minister and Canadians in achieving her well intentioned objectives. I compliment the minister on asking advice from the standing committee because it is a non-partisan manner of consulting with members of Parliament and through them, Canadians.
She has spoken about her government's commitment to budgetary restraint. I applaud her efforts to avoid overlap and duplication of environmental standards and enforcement between jurisdictions. Completing the process by May 31 will minimize the costs and frustration of a long drawn-out process.
The Reform Party supports ensuring that all Canadians and their descendants dwell in a clean and healthy environment. The party supports sustainable development because without economic development and the income generated therefrom the environment will not be protected or enjoyed.
The Reform Party supports the view that environmental considerations must carry equal weight with economic, social and technical considerations in the development of a project.
The Liberal Party's red book statement on the environment closely parallels ours. On page 64 of the red book it states: "It is past time for the federal government to act on this understanding by adopting economic and environmental agendas that converge". However in appointing an auditor general the red book also states: "Individuals could petition the environmental auditor general to conduct special investigations when they see environmental policies or laws being ignored or violated".
I acknowledge that in the minister's statement she said she wants the standing committee to look at the focus of an environmental auditor general. I believe this is exceptionally important because as a result of over eager activities of some extreme protectionists, some businesses are beginning to express concern about the potential of what I call green tape. Green tape is rules and regulations that could unnecessarily tie up reasonable, productive economic activity. They have expressed concern that the office of an environmental auditor general could easily become the captive of narrow interest groups.
Members of the Reform Party will be active participants in the process of examining the role of an environmental auditor general. As stated, we support sustainable development, recognizing that without economic development and the income generated therefrom the environment will not be protected or enjoyed.
I agree with the statement the minister made about two months ago in this House that we all want to guarantee a prosperous economy, a healthy environment and a bright future for Canada.