Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak on Bill C-94, which is now before the House.
In the bill the government is taking a decisive step toward protecting the environment, jobs, consumers, and keeping our country at the leading edge of automobile technology. All are very important goals.
Bill C-94 will prohibit the import and interprovincial trade of MMT, a manganese based fuel additive manufactured in the U.S. The proposed bill, to be known as the manganese based fuel additives act, will come into effect 60 days after it gains assent.
Canada is one of the only countries in the world that use MMT. It is very rare in the world these days. The U.S., for example, banned it from use in unleaded gasoline in 1978. It is remarkable that it did it so long ago and we still have it in Canada.
Some members opposite have cited a recent U.S. court decision in favour of MMT as a reason to stop this legislation. But MMT will still be banned in California and in those states that require federal reformulated gasoline to be used. What is more, we have yet to see whether the U.S. government will repeal this decision.
We are taking this action because we need to protect the latest onboard diagnostic systems that Canada's car makers are installing in their new vehicles. These systems are extremely important for the environment. They are responsible for monitoring the vehicle emission controls and for alerting the driver of malfunctions. Without that kind of technology one cannot be aware of how well the car is working or if it is not functioning at all in terms of its emission control processes. They ensure that the cleaner burning engines of today and tomorrow operate as designed. They ensure that automobiles are properly maintained, resulting in decreased tailpipe emissions and improved fuel economy. In other words, this is one more important tool to help us address air pollution, including smog and climate change.
This government will not allow MMT to get in the way of the automobile industry's effort to make cars cleaner and more efficient and less polluting. Canada's environment and Canadian consumers have the right to the best anti-pollution technology possible. Yet Ethyl Corporation, the manufacturer of MMT through its subsidiary Ethyl Canada, denies the vehicle industry allegation about the ill effects of MMT on the vehicle emissions control
systems. In fact it makes a counter claim that MMT is environmentally beneficial.
All this is somewhat fuzzy. What is certain is that efforts to reduce motor vehicle pollution can no longer be addressed by just the petroleum industry, the auto industry, or the federal government. Progress at reducing vehicle pollution requires simultaneous action by all. The petroleum industry needs to keep making improvements in the composition and properties of the fuels engines burn. The auto industry needs to keep making improvements in the vehicle emissions control systems and technologies, such as those offered through onboard diagnostic systems. The government needs to take decisive action in Bill C-94, which removes a major obstacle to the introduction of these technologies. That obstacle is MMT.
Our strategy to reduce vehicle pollution goes beyond just taking action on MMT. The government is doing its part because we know that automobiles are a major contributor to climate change and urban smog as well as some toxic pollutants like benzene. In fact in a recently released task force report done by Canada's deputy ministers of environment it is noted that even with the improvements in emissions technology, vehicles are still the largest contributors to air pollution.
I must say that troubles me. I as a member of Parliament, and I am sure many of my colleagues, have to travel a great deal throughout my riding and often I am the only person in the vehicle. There are times when I feel uncomfortable about that. I know that it is important that I get around my riding, get around to different events, be seen and hear people's concerns. Yet I also know that I am driving a vehicle a lot more than I would like to be driving it. Unfortunately, my riding is too big to go by bicycle. It would take me forever, but it would certainly be great for my health. This issue does trouble me. We should be concerned about the impact of automobile emissions as they impact on the environment and air pollution.
On a national basis, gasoline and diesel powered vehicles still contribute some 60 per cent of carbon monoxide emissions, 35 per cent of nitrous oxide emissions or smog, 25 per cent of our hydrocarbon emissions, and 20 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions. These vehicles, gasoline and diesel powered, are very big contributors to our smog and pollution problems.
This report I just referred to stresses the need to proceed on all fronts at the same time in all of these areas. It states the following: "Vehicle technology and fuel composition, although two separate industry sectors, must be treated as an integrated system in the development of policies and programs in order to successfully reduce emissions from motor vehicles". This is good advice. It should complement our work in preparing our comprehensive motor vehicle exhaust emission standards.
To meet these standards, we are counting on integrating improvements achieved in emission control technologies and fuels. However, clearly we cannot hope to meet these standards without the kind of action we are taking against MMT in Bill C-94. And it is not simply an act of impatience. Since 1985 the federal government has waited for the automotive and petroleum industries to resolve this situation without legislation. It was not resolved. The time for waiting is over. It is now time for the government to act.
Last October the Minister of the Environment urged both the petroleum and automotive industries to voluntarily resolve the issue of MMT in Canada by the end of 1994; otherwise, the government would take action. This deadline was subsequently extended in February of this year to review automobile and petroleum industry proposals. The MMT issue is no longer an industry dispute. Its outcome can affect the vehicle emissions programs we are putting into place. In the long term it could also negatively impact on the automotive sector. Successful resolution of the MMT issue will ensure that environmental benefits are realized through the use of the most advanced emission control technologies. We have to move in this direction.
Members opposite have claimed that this legislation will have an enormous financial impact on the petroleum sector. However, let us be prudent and realistic. The economic impact of removing MMT will be small, not enormous. Estimates for the industry, an industry that involves many billions of dollars, range from $50 million to $83 million per year, which means an additional cost to consumers of 0.1 cents to 0.24 cents per litre at the pump. This is less than one-quarter of a cent per litre at the pump.
Some have said that taking MMT out of our fuel will increase benzene. That is not so. It is nonsense. Gasoline can be refined without MMT and without increasing levels of benzene. Any effort to increase benzene levels or benzene precursors will not be tolerated under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. In fact this past summer the Minister of the Environment announced that benzene levels would be regulated at a maximum of one per cent per volume. So there is nothing to fear. Let us move ahead. Let us do it, because we need new emission control technologies like the onboard diagnostic systems. We need them to help achieve reductions in smog, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons. We need to reduce these kinds of emissions because they have an influence on climate change and urban air quality.
This is good legislation. It is good for consumers and good for the environment. All 18 automobile companies in Canada agree, even if the Reform Party does not, that we are moving in the right direction.
I urge all members to give their support and swift passage to this bill.