Mr. Speaker, my first concern is that we have this legislation at all. If the member says that provincial governments are retreating, so be it. That is their right. It is not the right of the federal government to override that and say that it will step in and do it.
The provincial governments in this country have jurisdiction over the environment. The Liberal government's philosophy has been for 30 years, and it is what has led us to the brink of breakup in this is country, that we have to have a strong central government, mother Ottawa, dictating to the rest of the country how it will live. I say, frankly, that is not on.
Does the federal government have a role to play within the environment? Absolutely. When it comes to matters of international negotiation, the federal government has a role in concert with the provinces. It also has a role in consultation and agreement with the provinces. Beyond that there is not. The provincial governments have jurisdiction. If the federal government would just butt out and leave matters to the provinces, we would all be a lot better off and the tensions in this country would start to decrease rather than increase.