Mr. Speaker, the Minister of the Environment has a bill before the House which would ban the octane enhancer MMT from Canadian gasoline. She says that since the United States EPA has banned it, Canada should follow suit.
This week the United States District Court of Appeals issued a mandate ordering the EPA to grant a waiver to permit the use of MMT in unleaded gasoline in the United States. The court found that MMT does not cause or contribute to the failure of any emission control device or system.
The industry minister has added that the key to banning MMT in Canada is to create a uniformity of standards between the U.S. and Canada. Now with the U.S. on the verge of reintroducing MMT, Canada again will be on the opposite side.
The government is too stubborn to initiate third party tests which would show one way or another whether MMT is hazardous to our automobiles, our health and our environment. It works now to make things cleaner. The Minister of the Environment has shown that she is swayed by political lobbies rather than scientific evidence.