Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to participate in the debate on Bill C-48, the marine conservation area act. Like the hon. Minister of Canadian Heritage I believe that Canada has a national and international obligation to protect and conserve marine areas representative of Canada's 29 marine regions.
I recognize that such conservation efforts are necessary to ensure the future existence and enjoyment of these marine areas, and I support the concept behind the bill. I also support the polluter pay principle included in the bill.
However I have several major concerns with the bill. The first is with the structure and wording of the legislation. The second is with the potential impact of the legislation on natural resource development. As natural resource critic I want to address those concerns.
I will begin with my concerns regarding the structure and wording of the bill. Specifically I am concerned about the existence of three Henry VIII clauses which would allow the government to circumvent parliament. In contrast to the government's position, I am a firm believer in the parliamentary process. I am disturbed by the way the bill attempts to avoid the parliamentary process.
In its summary of the bill the Department of Canadian Heritage stated that the proposed legislation required that any proposed amendment to the schedules to establish or enlarge a marine conservation area or reserve should be subject to scrutiny by parliament. However, the summary failed to mention the constraints placed on this scrutiny.
The legislation delegates responsibility for the raising of objections to schedule amendments to the standing committee. The committee has only 20 sitting days after the tabling of the amendment to put forth a motion in objection to the amendment. We all know the results of the Liberal majority in each and every one of the standing committees of parliament and what the government whip does to the decisions of those committees.
If 21 days elapse without any objection the amendments can be made by order in council. If a motion is put forth, the motion is debated for no more than three hours before the House confirms or rejects the committee's objections. Clauses 5, 6 and 7 of the bill allow the government to side step the usual legislative process.
The fact that similar Henry VIII clauses exist in national parks does not make the circumvention of parliament any more acceptable either in this bill or in any number of other bills the government has introduced in this parliament and in the previous parliament.
This aspect of the legislation is particularly suspect as the schedules referred to in these clauses are now empty. The government has put forth the names of five areas already targeted as future marine conservation areas under the act. Therefore I am as curious as I am sure others are why these five areas are not included in the schedule attached to the bill. I can only conclude that they were purposely omitted to prevent full debate on the legislation which might include a controversial debate on the proposed areas.
This brings me to my second concern regarding the impact of the legislation on current and future natural resources development. Clause 13 states that no person shall explore for or exploit hydrocarbons, minerals, aggregates or any inorganic matter within a marine conservation area.
While I understand the necessity of this clause for the sake of environmental protection, I am troubled by the extent of the proposed areas. If each area under consideration is successfully designated through order in council as a marine conservation area, the entire coastline of Canada extending some distance inland and a considerable distance into the offshore area, including a number of already proven mineral rich inland areas, will be covered under the act.
The legislation proposes to prevent all future mining and oil and gas drilling projects along the entire coastline of Canada. This is absolutely unacceptable in light of the fact that Canada is already one of the least mining friendly countries in this hemisphere. Under the legislation projects like Hibernia, Terra Nova and Sable Island would not be allowed to exist. The opportunities that these projects are providing to Atlantic Canadians simply would be disallowed. That is absolutely unacceptable and quite irresponsible on the part of the government.
Future mining areas have already been barred on large sections of land because of the settlement of native land claims. By removing the possibility of resource development along the coastline the government is potentially crippling the future of resource industries in Canada.
The legislation is set up in a such way that it is very difficult to remove portions of the conservation area from the act. It takes only an order in council to add a conservation area. The legislation requires an act of parliament for no net loss, swapping or removal of a portion of a marine conservation area.
This requirement will have serious impacts on natural resource industries. If a marine conservation area proves in future to be a valuable and bountiful source of yet undiscovered natural resources, it will be very difficult to have the boundaries of the conservation area redrawn to exclude the area containing the resources.
I might remind the House that there are a number of areas on all coasts of Canada which potentially hold huge natural resource deposits, both fossil fuel and mineral deposits that could some day potentially be mined.
I am concerned by the ease with which each new marine conservation area can be created and the difficulty involved in removing it from that marine conservation area. By setting up the legislation in this way more area than necessary may be included initially and cannot be freed from the legislation without enormous difficulty.
This major obstacle to future development will undoubtedly impact on our energy and resource independence. This leads into the last point I wish to make. The act is clearly intended to fulfil preservationist and not conservationist objectives. While these objectives may be noble, as I stated in my initial comment they are hardly the usual objectives for a national park or historic heritage site. National parks normally allow relatively free public access.
The legislation requires authorization by permit for any activities in the area or reserves. The bill aims to establish marine conservation areas and reserves under the authority of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the minister chiefly responsible for national parks.
As the legislation's aims are clearly environmental it would be more appropriate to establish authority under the Minister of the Environment. The legislation could then be evaluated by members of the House as well as members of the public for what it is, environmental legislation.
I reiterate that I support the goals of the legislation. Too often Reform members of parliament are portrayed as enemies of the environment. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am a firm believer in conservation and responsible development. I understand the necessity for environmental responsibility.
Canada's biodiversity is one of the many things that makes our nation unique. I support the concept of sustainable development and preservation of Canada's natural environment for this and future generations.
I also advocate participation in the world community of agreements. I commend the government on the inclusion of the polluter pay principle in the legislation although I have some doubts regarding its resolve to enforce this principle.
Unfortunately I cannot support the bill. My colleagues and I want to see parliament restored as the supreme body responsible for the creation and interpretation of Canadian law. Clauses 5, 6 and 7 subvert parliament's law making role and therefore contradict this fundamental belief.
For this and other reasons as previously presented I reject the legislation and encourage other members of the House to do the same, to simply stop for a moment and look at the possibilities for future job and wealth creation in the development of Canada's offshore resources.
In my opinion it has not been the development of our natural resources either offshore or onshore that has endangered, as some of my colleagues talked about, the fish habitat in Canada's oceans. It has simply been poor management and overfishing, not resource development.
It is perfectly reasonable to expect that Canada can develop its natural resources offshore, off all Canada's shores, in an environmentally responsible manner and at the same time preserve the biodiversity and the environment that exist there.