Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and thank you to my colleagues in the House. It is my pleasure today to join with members of this House of Commons in celebrating Earth Day. First, I congratulate all those in Canada who are taking as a priority not only our country but our planet in terms of its environment.
I have met with many individuals and organizations in my constituency in the city of Regina who are taking an active role in their community to ensure that when they leave this earth as living persons, they leave it a better place in terms of environment and resources for their children.
I congratulate them on their efforts in terms of recycling programs and other approaches that they are taking, which I participate in as well. I recycle all of my glass, tins, plastics, newspapers, clothing and other things that I or my family consumes. I think it is important that all legislators consider following that example that, indeed, many of our children have set for us.
I agree with the government's priority of ensuring that we have an environmental plan in this country. I agree with its sentiment that we should leave this earth better than we found it because we are indeed caring for this earth on behalf of future generations. Nobody knows that more than parents who see their children growing through various stages of their lives and see some of the very difficult challenges that face our young people in today's economy and today's environment.
I have a little bit of a difference of opinion from the government. The Liberals in opposition spoke very loud in terms of opposing the green plan that was put forward by the former Conservative government. The catch words here are: Actions speak louder than words. Their action in opposition was that they opposed the green plan .Their action is government is that they are implementing the Conservative green plan. To me that is a flip-flop.
I do not believe the government is taking seriously its verbal commitments to ensuring we have a healthy and strong environment in this country. That is demonstrated very clearly by the fact that here we are into the end of April 1994, we have been sitting here for three months, and the government has yet to bring forward any major discussion opportunity in the House of Commons on our environment in Canada. There is no new green plan. It is implementing an old green plan that was not acceptable to the Liberals in opposition. Now they flip-flop in government and support the green plan. Actions speak louder than words.
The other action the government has undertaken is it appointed the NAFTA environment office to the city of Montreal which does not have an example of good environmental protection for its citizens. It has one of the worst records in Canada.
My sense is that actions speak louder than words. The Liberals are very, very wordy. They get up, talk and rant and rave about all sorts of wonderful things they are doing but they are not doing anything. Their actions prove the opposite.
On behalf of the New Democratic Party we will continue to ask the government to ensure that it does put the environment on the agenda and to ensure that Canada's environment is sustained for future generations.