Mr. Speaker, on May 17, 1996, I questioned the Minister of the Environment regarding the Taro dump in Hamilton.
The proposed dump is slated to be located within 800 meters of the Niagara escarpment, a fractured rock bed which is a United Nations declared biosphere.
Constituents in this area are concerned that the leachate has the possibility of going into Lake Ontario, water protected under the Great Lakes eco-basin agreement signed in 1974.
Surface runoff from the site is now piped into the lake. People are seriously concerned the local water table and land will be negatively affected.
My question to the minister was direct and succinct: "Can the minister tell us whether a federal environmental assessment panel review will be conducted?" His answer had everything to do with the election in Hamilton East and little to do with environmental assessments.
In my supplementary question I asked: "Will the minister use his power and commit to launching a full environmental assessment of the Taro dump so all sides will be allowed real influence?" Again the minister answered with the same political bluster.
I remind that this is the jurisdiction of the federal environment minister to initiate full panel reviews. The former minister never
conducted these, even when the problem was very close to her own constituency office. Taro dump is an example of a larger problem of environmental assessments.
Section 28 of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act gives the minister the power to launch a full panel review of a project:
Where at any time the minister is of the opinion that
(a) a project for which an environmental assessment may be required under section 5, taking into account the implementation of any appropriate mitigation measures, may cause significant adverse environmental effects, or
(b) public concerns warrant a reference to a mediator or review panel. The minister may-refer the project to a mediator or a review panel in accordance with section 29.
Will the project cause adverse environmental effects? If leachate from the dump goes into Lake Ontario, which is under federal jurisdiction, then yes, the project will cause serious environmental effects.
Is there public concern? The minister could easily review the Hamilton Spectator newspaper and he will discover the anger of the locals, especially those who have been threatened with lawsuits to keep them quiet about this project.
The issue at stake is whether the Minister of the Environment is willing to do his duty. If a minister does not make use of his powers then Canadians must ask what special interest has a hold on him.
Last month I was Sydney, Nova Scotia to see the extremely hazardous tar ponds site. The people of Sydney for years have desperately looked for help. The provincial government wants the most economical solution, while the federal government seems to be hiding. I challenge the minister to spend a day of inspection at Sydney like I did.
This was the scope of my question from May 17: when will the minister do what is needed to put Canada on the right track of environmental sustainability?
The minister knows full well that my two previous questions were not answered properly. I ask now three pointed questions on which I expect a clear answer.
First, does the Minister of the Environment envision ever using the power to conduct environmental assessments? Second, if leachate seeps into Lake Ontario, does the province of Ontario suddenly become responsible for the Great Lakes or does it remain the responsibility of the federal government? Third, the parliamentary secretary stated that before the end of the term the government will do something with the Sydney tar ponds. Can she explain exactly what the government plans to do with this poisoned black tidal inlet?
Sadly the answers so far appear to be process rather than action, paper making instead of field operations. My questions relate to needed action by the minister. The time for excuses is over.