Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak on Bill C-29 but it is also unfortunate in many ways.
I thought this bill would have been terminated in the last Parliament because there is so much contention surrounding this issue. Contrary to what the hon. minister said today, there is ample evidence to support that banning MMT in Canada is really a spurious attempt to do something that should not occur. MMT has not been proven to be damaging to onboard diagnostic devices, the health of Canadians or the environment. I will discuss this a little later.
This bill is very interesting. I will destroy the credibility of the government with regard to this bill. I will demonstrate that the comments made today by members of the government, both in question period and in debate, conflict greatly with what they have said previously and with what they really believe on this matter.
The banning of MMT is supported by a strong automaker lobby group in the previous Minister of the Environment's constituency, and that is the real driving force behind the bill. It is not based on scientific fact. It is not based on any fact at all; it has been done on a whim. The minister has been lobbied strongly for this by the automobile manufacturers and it is obvious the auto manufacturers have won.
It is my impression that Bill C-94 was not drafted in the same manner as other bills. Rather, it was drafted on a whim.
The previous minister did not give a comprehensive analysis to all the stakeholders, especially the hapless consumer. The previous minister had no conclusive evidence whatsoever that MMT was harmful to cars or to humans. All she was going on were the words of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, the big three. It is a sorry state of affairs when the big three, the industry, can actually push a bill through this House.
After the bill's introduction, the previous minister proceeded to hold a press conference where she informed reporters that the reason for banning MMT was because it caused problems with onboard diagnostic systems to all new automobiles. However, this was not the only reason the minister proceeded to ban the trade on MMT. She stated that Canada was one of the only countries in the world to still be using MMT in unleaded gasoline and that this should change.
As a member of this House and as a representative of Canadians in my riding, it is important that we weigh and pursue every available option to come up with accurate and scientific based conclusions before we create legislation on any topic. What is needed on these technical matters is the best that science can offer. The Liberal government can call itself responsible, but I ask whether it is really responsible to take the words of a few automobile manufacturers over the words of hard, scientific evidence which demonstrates that MMT does not pose a health hazard to Canadians? What I will demonstrate later on is that it is going to do the exact opposite.
We know that the bill was introduced last year and MMT was still not permitted at that time in the United States. The minister has stated today quite unequivocally that his goal is to harmonize gasoline with the situation south of the border. That is a very reasonable thing to do, but why are we attempting to harmonize our gasoline by banning a substance that is being reintroduced in the United States? Does this make sense? No, it does not make sense.