Mr. Speaker, now that the Minister of the Environment has praised the government's actions with respect to the environment, the Official Opposition would rather talk, on this Earth Day, about the real problems, that is problems in our ecosystem and challenges that must be met so that we can live in a sound environment.
The minister would rather dwell on her government's accomplishments since the election. So, allow me to put in perspective some of those accomplishments that must leave more than one Quebecer and Canadian totally confused.
Regarding the legislation, the minister has made several statements in the House and in the media. However, we still have not had the pleasure of seeing one single bill come out of her department. The minister seems to misunderstand the legislative process leading to the meeting of an electoral commitment. It is not enough to announce that regulations relating to the Environmental Assessment Act will be produced and that a bill on the round table on the economy and the environment will be presented for people to consider that the Liberal Party has kept its promises. If the government thinks that its commitments have been met simply because they were announced, we may end up once again facing needless verbiage and pious hope.
After announcing with great pomp that there will be consultations on governmental strategy with environmental industries, it seems, as was the case in Montreal, according to some observers, that in fact these consultations were only an excuse for a social gathering of officials. It would appear that the environmental industry was not really associated with the process. Yet, the Official Opposition had given its support to this initiative, hoping it would be an opportunity to promote research and development in environmental industries. So, there is still much to be done before the minister can proudly announce that her commitment has been met.
Mr. Speaker, I would be glad to have talks with the minister. I know she is in a good mood today and it is always with great pleasure that I have talks with her. So I will continue to do so.
As for the St. Lawrence Action Plan-