Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to speak to this bill. I would like to start by saying that I fully support the amendments presented previously by the hon. member for Laurentides. The Bloc Quebecois had many good reasons for wanting to postpone third reading of the bill.
Since the government has decided otherwise, we will continue the debate. Manganese is an additive that we get mainly from our neighbours to the South, the United States. Now if it were produced in Canada, in Ontario, for instance, would the government have spent so much energy on trying to ban it? I wonder.
The government says that this bill represents a serious threat to public health. It also says that it may cause serious damage to antipollution devices on cars, and third, it has confirmed that it must harmonize its policies with those of the United States.
I may remind the government that we now have an agreement on the free circulation of goods. I also realize that the Minister of the Environment is under enormous pressure. There is a very strong lobby, I agree. But who are these people who are putting pressure on the minister? Who are they? Auto manufacturers? Friends of the government? Other people, other companies, including car manufacturers who think that this product damages antipollution devices?
However, many studies have shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that manganese can even be beneficial to the environment. It has been scientifically proven that it helps reduce emission levels of nitrogen dioxide, which causes urban smog, by up to 20 per cent.
And we all know that nitrogen dioxide is itself harmful to the environment and to the health of Quebecers and Canadians. In
other words, by passing this bill, we are helping to destroy our environment and consequently endangering the health of our constituents.
In fact, this bill also increases emissions of nitrogen oxide. The effect would be the same if all of a sudden we increased the number of cars on our highways by several hundred thousand. We can imagine the harm that would do.
If the government thinks it is deleterious to our health, then why is the health department not drafting a bill to ban it outright? Asking the question is answering it, as this government is unable to prove, scientifically or otherwise, that this product is harmful.
In my opinion, there is only one real reason why the government has introduced this bill: protectionism. As several of us in this House have pointed out, we must keep in mind that manganese can be replaced with ethanol. Through this bill, the government is protecting ethanol producers, most of whom are based in Ontario and western Canada. Protectionism is one of the reasons why the government has introduced this bill.
Let us not forget either that, in 1994, the then Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health had taken position on this issue. They were very well positioned. Did they not put forward a development program favouring ethanol production? This program was financed to the tune of $70 million. Can these previous commitments suddenly be set aside? No, we are stuck with them.
Having taught mathematics for several years, I think of this as a very simple equation: Ontario ministers plus proposed ethanol plants in Ontario equals the bill before us today. It is that simple.
What about the $275 million lawsuit filed by Ethyl Corporation, an American company that produces manganese? Ethyl claims that this is a violation of NAFTA. Do we as Canadians have so much money that we can afford not to take this lawsuit seriously? Did the Minister of the Environment take the time to consult with his legal advisors on this lawsuit matter before going any further with his project? At a time when this government is making cuts in social programs and the health sector, in the Canada social transfer, I think this is serious enough a matter to consider before passing this bill.
I have another concern relating directly to the bill. The government must take the opinions of the provinces into account. If it asks the provinces for their opinions, it is only natural that it take these opinions into account at some point. But it is a well known fact-this is nothing new, not just since we came here-that the federal government does not respect the provinces. In fact, it is an old habit of theirs, in almost every area.
They are not acting any differently in this matter as in others. It is no secret, the point was made over and over that six of the ten provinces strongly oppose this bill and demand that it be withdrawn.
Once again, interprovincial trade is threatened. The provinces had their say, but this government, the federal government, is a centralizing government. That is nothing new either. We must not pass blindly legislation dealing with the health of Quebecers and Canadians and their environment. We must have all the facts we need to ensure that this government bill truly protects those it is intended to protect, that is to say the public as a whole.
The government must not listen only to powerful lobbyists. It must be more open than that. As I said earlier, the minister's decision to go ahead is not based on any scientific facts. It is imperative that the government redo its homework because the homework handed in by the Minister of the Environment is full of mistakes.
While the government redoes its homework on this bill, we could take a look at all the consequences this bill may have.
I move that the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word "That" and substituting the following therefor:
That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word "That" and substituting the following:
"Bill C-29, An Act to regulate interprovincial trade in and the importation for commercial purposes of certain manganese-based substances, be not now read a third time but be referred back to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development for the purpose of reconsidering the Bill in its entirety."