Mr. Speaker, my NDP colleagues and I have been concerned for some time that the Liberal government would not do the right thing in responding to the fine work of the Standing Committee on Environment on the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
Since the release of the committee's report last June there have been numerous media reports about how the government would respond. There have also been fears expressed that the Minister of the Environment, who is said to be a supporter of the recommendations of the committee, is being pushed out of the decision making picture by the interests of the Minister of Industry and the Minister of Natural Resources who are said to oppose the same recommendations. In fact, some officials within the industry department said openly that the committee's proposals are a threat to the country's investment climate, costly to implement and grounded on shaky science.
At the same time the Minister of Natural Resources, speaking in the House of Commons on the government's CEPA response in relation to concerns raised by the mining industry said: "At this point I am willing to go on record that, working together, we will ensure a regulatory regime that supports the mining industry".
When we take those comments into account and add to the mix the fact that the government has blatantly ignored the committee's request, indeed Parliament's direction, that a response be provided within 150 days, it is easy to see why concerns about the government's ultimate intentions remain in the minds of all those who care about the future of the environmental regulatory process.
Members of Parliament will remember that on November 21 I criticized the government for failing to table its response. The only answer I received was that the response would be coming within two weeks. It is 10 days later and we are still waiting.
It is possible that the Minister of the Environment is having difficulty getting a favourable response through cabinet. This is the government's most important environmental decision to date.
Few would argue that the 365 page committee report entitled "It's About Our Health" with its 141 recommendations dealing with virtually every aspect of the federal government's role in the protection of Canada's environment is not significant.
May I remind members and the public that is listening that the committee made recommendations for amendments in the areas of toxic substances assessment and pollution prevention, the assessment and regulation of biotechnology products, ocean dumping and coastal zone management, the role of First Nations in environmental protection, the ecosystem approach to environmental protection, environmental management within the federal government, public participation in federal environmental decision making and federal environmental law enforcement.
In a recent article in the Globe and Mail Paul Muldoon of the Canadian Environmental Law Association and Mark Winfield of the Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy said:
The federal government's response will be a bell-wether indicator as to whether it will take its responsibilities regarding toxic substances and other aspects of environmental protection seriously.
Based on the weight of evidence known to date, the standing committee recommended that strong action is needed regarding the most toxic substances.
The departments opposing CEPA reform demand absolute proof of harm prior to any substantive action.
They are willing to roll the dice with the health of Canadians. The Liberal government must now decide whether it is prepared to do the same.
On October 24, concerned about the comments of the industry officials mentioned earlier, I asked the Minister of Industry if he was going to take the advice of those officials or would he welcome the opportunity to turn Canada into an international leader in green legislation as detailed in the impressive recommendations of the environment committee.
I ask that question again tonight, in the hopes that the government is prepared to confirm its support and indicate to us when its response to the CEPA report can be expected.