Mr. Speaker, every now and again, and not often enough, a nation has an opportunity to provide leadership to not only its people but to people in other countries.
Every now and again its elected political people in the democratic process have a golden opportunity to participate in that leadership. Every now and again those elected people who want to participate in that leadership have to drag along other elected people who want to keep the country in the dark ages.
We are on the threshold of beginning the energy transition from a hydrocarbon energy economy to a carbohydrate energy economy. Petroleum resources are finite. Their reserves are declining.
As exploration reaches farther out into more difficult areas, the product becomes more and more expensive. At the same time, the consumption of these products is increasing, particularly when we witness the explosion of industrial growth in nations that were considered third world less than a generation ago. I refer specifically to China and India with a combined population of approximately two billion souls.
Therefore, it is essential that we as an industrialized nation begin to look seriously at bringing alternative energy forms on line. Hence the creation of Bill S-7 to the credit of Sen. Colin Kenny who had the vision and has exploited the vision. I am proud to stand here today hoping to bring this bill to fruition so that we can begin the transition of 75 per cent of the national fleet to alternate fuels by the year 2004.
That transition will not be limited to just those fuels that are named in Bill S-7. Since that bill was written, two more fuels have emerged with great potential, not only for the economy of western Canada, but also to enlarge the options available to individuals.
The question was raised why is legislation preferable to guidelines. The guidelines have been in place since 1976 and nothing has happened. The neanderthals remain in place and nothing moves. Obviously it is necessary to legislate.
There is one more reason for legislating. Bringing something new on stream is a chicken and egg situation. If one does not have enough demand for the fuel then the distributors of the fuel cannot afford to set up to supply the fuel. The manufacturers of the vehicles really cannot afford to retool to supply vehicles that will burn alternative fuels. This is the chicken and the egg. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a critical mass of alternative fuel burning vehicles so the distribution system will follow.
Because the country is beginning to move in that direction, two of our major automobile manufacturers, General Motors and the Ford Motor Company, are now in a position to supply vehicles to the market which will burn up to 85 per cent ethanol or any combination from straight gasoline on up at no additional cost. We have an obligation to get the stream started and get things rolling.
My hon. friend in the Reform Party talked about the undesirability of having crown corporations included in the conversion process. One crown corporation, Canada Post, has a major competitor that advertised it used alternate cleaner burning fuels. If I were the manager of the Canada Post Corporation I would be clamouring to convert my fleet of delivery trucks, vans and whatever to alternate fuels and advertise it in order to get the public relations value. Crown corporations need to be included.
I remember a comment being made when we were in committee by someone regarding the conversion of some vehicles of the RCMP and how undesirable that would be because they needed pursuit vehicles. I had to remind that gentleman the Indy 500 which had run two weeks earlier was not run on gasoline but on methanol. The idea that some conversions produce a little less is just not plausible.
I also had the opportunity to tour the Pratt and Whitney plant in my riding last Monday. It has already completed all the work on burning ethanol in jet engines for the Brazilian government. The technology is already in place and all ready to go.
I know my friend in the Reform Party does not like the word ethanol. Somehow it does not have a nice ring to it. He comes from western Canada and I would think he would be an enthusiastic supporter of ethanol as one of the options which is available to us.