Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise at this hour and speak to Bill C-6. I do not have as many lively stories about dancing girls and entertainment in the far north, but from the member's comments it sounds like a good place to visit and I had best get there as soon as possible.
On behalf of the Reform Party, I am pleased to support second reading and referral to committee of Bill C-6, an act to amend the Yukon Quartz Mining Act and the Yukon Placer Mining Act which are old acts, 1924 and 1906 respectively. We will be recommending acceptance of the bill with no amendments.
To reiterate one problem with the bill, both our mining critic and our aboriginal affairs critic had hoped that the bill would be referred to the natural resources committee. The bill deals exclusively with mining activity but I understand it is within the prerogative of DIAND because of the location of the activity north of 60.
The natural resources committee has dealt extensively with mining regulations. It has just gone through a major review of Canada's mining regulations with a report to Parliament on the mining activity within our country. It seems a shame not to take advantage of referring this bill to that committee since the bill is about mining and not about aboriginal people. It seems to us that we are not taking the best advantage of the expertise in committees. We had hoped that since there is no other bill before the natural resources committee it could have dealt with this one.
I realize the bill does deal solely with mining. Of course, mining is extremely important to Yukon. About 30 per cent of the entire economy of Yukon is mining related. By far it is the biggest industrial activity in that territory. The importance of this bill to that industry cannot be overstated.
A bigger part of Yukon territory's economy is the federal government. At a time when the federal government is being forced to cut back in all areas by billions of dollars, transfers to provinces specifically by some $7 billion, health care, education and other former untouchables seem to be on the chopping block, we must ensure that we support whatever industries we have in any part of the country.
It is important that the mining industry not be damaged by this bill. One of our first considerations when we looked at the bill was to see if any of the proposed changes would harm the mining industry in Yukon and if the legislative framework was similar to that in which the mining industry was accustomed to functioning. I am glad to say the bill will do the job for the industry in that area.
Although the mining industry is important, the people of Yukon and elsewhere in Canada would say that the protection of the environment is of primary importance. The mining industry has taken a lot of bad raps, some them deserved, for its activities in times past, but the industry is making a very conscientious effort to clean up its act and its mining sites.
In that sense it is important that the people in Yukon and in all of Canada be reassured that this bill will not result in a lowering of environmental standards. In this day and age it is just not going to be accepted, nor should it be accepted, nor, to give the mining companies credit, do they want a lowering of the environmental standards. The environmental protection aspect of the bill is also important.
There is a misconception about what has been going on in Yukon prior to the passing of Bill C-6. Many people wrongly believe that few or no environmental controls are in place regarding placer and hard rock mining in Yukon territory. That simply is not true. This act will supplement many pieces of existing territorial and federal legislation enforcing the environmental concerns on Yukon miners, including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Any activity that involves federal moneys, federal land or federal permission can and does trigger a Canadian environmental protection assessment on that activity. Anything that happens up there already comes under that purview.
In addition to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, Yukon mining is also subject to the following acts: the Fisheries Act, with fines ranging up to $1 million; the Yukon Waters Act, with fines of up to $100,000 if they foul up; the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act; the Territorial Lands Act; the Dangerous Goods Transportation Act, with fines of $100,000 if they botch it; the existing provisions of the original Yukon Quartz Mining Act and Yukon Placer Mining Act; and several Yukon statutes, including fire and forest prevention, gasoline handling, the Miners Lien Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and on and on.
Yukon mining is well regulated already. We needed to modernize it and bring it under one umbrella, under one piece of legislation. We needed to fill the gaps and to make both the regulations and the enforcement regime easier to understand and more consistent throughout all of those different acts I have just referred to.
I mentioned that the mining industry across Canada is on record through the Mining Association of Canada and certainly in my speaking with them, as being in favour of strict environmental controls. As long as this legislation is clear, timely and orderly and it is based on science rather than politics, the mining association will have no trouble with it.
One of the main things which has been a very productive part of Bill C-6 is the way in which the bill has arrived at this stage. The legislation was developed through five years of consultation with all stakeholders in Yukon. All of us like to see things happen in a hurry but in this case the go slow process was very productive. Many pages of accompanying regulations are still to be drafted and there are concerns that will have to be addressed as we try to enforce this legislation.
The Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development has been engaged for some time in consulting with the Yukon First Nations regarding proposed regulations. There have been quite a number of drafts, 13 drafts as has been mentioned, just to reflect the various viewpoints of all the groups involved to date. The facts appear to indicate that DIAND representatives in Yukon are making a sincere effort to ensure that once again all stakeholders are involved in finalizing the new regulations.
The new regulations will be extensive. They are not included in the bill itself. Except for the generic headings under which the government will now have to make up those regulations, we are going to have to look at the regulations separately from the bill to make sure that they are workable and so on.
I have heard people nitpicking about certain regulations or concerns about the bill. I am nervous that people who sit on other House committees and have not watched this process go through for several years are going to propose nitpicking amendments and changes to the bill as we go through second reading.
We in the Reform Party are convinced that there have been extensive consultations on this bill with all of the stakeholders, with aboriginal people and non-aboriginal people in the area, with the mining association, with the Yukon self-government people and so on. They have all had input and are satisfied that Bill C-6 is as good a piece of legislation as we can get to bring together all of the disparate groups. All of them have been involved throughout the five years.
We will not be proposing amendments at this stage because of the extensive consultations. As long as the grassroots have been consulted properly, when they come to a consensus with that many viewpoints then we had best go along with it. We are not going to suggest to people who have put that much time and effort into it to get a consensus that now is the time for someone sitting in Ottawa to pull a word out from here and there to try to improve it.
Certainly some concerns remain with both environmentalists and some of the prospectors. There are concerns which have been brought to our attention from some prospectors who fear that new regulations may have a negative impact on some very small, hard rock operations. They feel that those small operations may have to jump through so many hoops and go through so much costly and time consuming bureaucracy that the small operations may no longer be viable. Again, we will be watching those regulations. We hope there will be ways to ensure they will be able to do their work.
Although we will be supporting the bill, it is worthwhile to note again that on the greater issue of mining regulation in Canada we have been promised things and deadlines have come and gone. Deadlines have been set by the Liberal government which have come and gone on the streamlining of the regulatory process. The industry minister promised regulatory reform by last December and it has not happened. The natural resources minister promised regulatory harmony between the provinces and the federal government and that has not happened. The government must ensure that
it goes beyond the good promises and the good talk. We have to start walking the walk.
This bill will work in Yukon, but south of 60 we need some regulatory streamlining. It has to happen. The mining association is no longer thanking the minister for her good comments, it is demanding action.
In this bill a delicate balance has been struck which the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development states will not have a negative impact on mining. Mining is the most important private sector contributor to the Yukon economy. We want to register our strong belief that the House should act to fulfil the local expectations of the people of Yukon who have helped to put this together by passing this bill as soon as possible.