Mr. Speaker, the report which the Minister of Natural Resources has just tabled is another example of the form of centralizing federalism which Quebec chose to move away from on October 25 last. Whereas the Government of Quebec already has jurisdiction in this area, now the minister is announcing clearly today her plans to move further into this field.
Responsible energy management is a provincial matter. It is precisely this kind of jurisdictional overlap between levels of government that we must eliminate if we are to avoid these endless squabbles over jurisdiction which ultimately cost the taxpayers a pretty penny indeed.
Must we remind the minister once again that Quebec has already adopted a broad energy efficiency strategy, that it administers sizeable budgets for energy efficiency research and development and demonstration projects, and that it already has in place an important energy productivity program? Through its Department of Natural Resources, the Government of Quebec is already involved in this area, acting in co-operation with Hydro Quebec, the private sector and regional chambers of commerce.
If, as she claims, the minister really wants to reduce overlap between the provinces, then she should be setting an example and abolishing her department's own programs which only add to the confusion and distort the efforts undertaken by Quebec. If the minister cannot bring herself to do this, then she should at least have the decency to allow Quebec to oversee its own energy efficiency policy independently and turn over to the Quebec government the money she was planning to spend in the province under these nice Canada-wide programs.