Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to speak to Motion M-425 because I want my Reform colleagues to know that I support it wholeheartedly. I am delighted indeed that the Reform Party has brought it forward.
I regret that my colleague from Mississauga West and I find ourselves on different sides of this debate. The reason I support this bill so wholeheartedly is that not only does it address a very serious problem and address it in a very responsible way, but it also addresses the problem of federalism versus regionalism. I find to my absolute delight that the Reform Party has put a motion on the floor that actually argues for a strong central government rather than regionalism, as that party tends to support generally.
I am very aware of the sewage problem that occurs in Victoria, where sewage treatment consists of building a longer pipe into the ocean so that the effluent does not come back to the beaches of Victoria. I am also aware that the United Kingdom is very angry right now because constantly on the beaches of the Hebrides and the Orkneys and the northern coast of Scotland are effluent, plastic materials, and garbage that can be identified as coming from Canada. This is absolutely an intolerable situation.
Why can we not rely on municipalities to spend the money to give the kinds of treatment facilities that are demanded by this motion? The answer is that municipalities are driven by local interests. Often they have priorities that are very local and are unwilling to support things that actually pertain to society at large and to our global environment. In other words, if it is not in one's own local backyard then it is easier to spend elsewhere.
We have a situation where regional interests cannot look after the problem and we must look to a strong federal government to provide the money and the leadership to attack this problem. I regret absolutely that we do not have in the Constitution some provision that says the federal government would have the power to prevent Victoria from simply dumping sewage into the sea.
Not only is this motion well taken, but it is ironic, because it shows that the third party-and I have great admiration for the third party on certain issues-supports the kind of concept that we Liberals have when we see a strong central government showing leadership in many ways.
I have to add that implicit in this motion is the suggestion that the federal government should have the necessary funds to provide minimum sewage treatment in various municipalities across the land.
In conclusion, I do not support the Bloc amendment because that is a regional amendment, but I want the Reform Party to know, especially the member for Comox-Alberni, that this is a very fine motion. I congratulate them on bringing it before the House.