Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to stand today to speak to Motion M-37, moved by my hon. colleague from Davenport.
The member for Davenport has been chairing the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development as we go through CEPA, a bill which has some 380 clauses and some 480 amendments. So his task in the last few weeks has been rather daunting. It is encouraging to see that he still has the strength to be up on Friday speaking to his private member's motion.
We do not agree on how to get to a clean environment, in most respects, but we do agree that a clean environment is important.
The motion reads:
That in the opinion of this House, the government should act decisively, in response to the evidence in the Canadian Arctic Contaminants Assessment Report, to eliminate persistent organic pollutants by working to advance the POPs protocol.
I think it is important in order to fully understand this motion to explain the origin of the POPs protocol. The roots of this protocol can be traced back to the creation of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, a forum at which the countries of North America, western, central and eastern Europe and central Asia came together to forge the tools of economic co-operation.
This large group of countries, with close historical ties, accounts for 64% of world production, but it also is responsible for 60% of the world's CO2 emissions. These facts illustrate the region's responsibilities toward its own people as well as toward those of the other regions of the world. They are the backdrop against which UN/ECE's activities are carried out. The ECE is intended to be a forum for dialogue aimed at bringing about better understanding and agreement on common guidelines and policies. Where agreements are negotiated and assistance activities prepared, its main purpose is to harmonize the policies and practices of its member countries.
The ECE has many different divisions, one of which deals with environment and human settlements. One of the many bodies of this division is the executive body for the convention on long range transboundary air pollution. This was drafted after scientists investigated the link between sulphur emissions in continental Europe and the acidification of Scandinavian lakes and later studied the possibility that air pollutants could travel several thousand kilometres before deposition and damage occurred. This implied that co-operation at the international level was necessary to solve problems such as acidification.
The convention was the first international legally binding instrument to deal with problems of air pollution on a broad regional basis. It was signed in 1979 and entered into force in 1983. Since its entry into force the convention has been extended by seven protocols, one of which is a protocol on persistent organic pollutants. The executive body adopted the protocol on persistent organic pollutants on June 24, 1998 in Denmark. It focuses on a list of 16 substances that have been singled out according to agreed risk criteria. The list contains eleven pesticides, two industrial chemicals and three byproduct contaminants. The ultimate objective is to eliminate any discharges, emissions and POPs.
The protocol bans the production and use of some products. Others are scheduled for elimination at a later stage. The protocol severely restricts the use of DDT, HCH and PCBs. The protocol includes provisions for dealing with the wastes of products that will be banned. It also obliges parties to reduce the emissions of dioxins, furans, PAHs and HCBs below their 1990 levels. It lays down specific limit values for the incineration of municipal hazardous and medical waste.
Canada has been host to the first of five negotiating sessions to be held over the next two years that will eventually see a legally binding treaty by 2000. What does this mean to Canada? The Canadian Arctic was once considered pristine because of its remoteness and sparse population. However, over the past 50 years the north has been exposed to contaminants originating from local sources such as heavy industry and from distant regions of the world through air and sea currents.
Since this is the case we are faced with quite a dilemma. Many of the contaminants of concern in the Arctic are pesticides and industrial chemicals that are no longer used in Canada and that in many cases have been banned or restricted for use in most of the developed world. However, they continue to be used by developing countries and can be found in Canadian lakes, rivers and snow. It is important for developing countries to be part of any protocol to reduce pollution in the world. Canada has been a world leader in assessing the problem of long range airborne pollutants but it will require co-operation on a global scale before the pollution problem is properly assessed.
Arctic ecosystems are very fragile. The nature of these chemicals is such that they tend to accumulate in the tissues of living things. Animals at the top of the food chain have been found with unexpectedly high levels of these contaminants which is cause for some concern for Inuit people. The Inuit people rely heavily on naturally harvested foods such as fish, seals, caribou not only for their diet but also to maintain their culture.
If this were to be taken away the socioeconomic impact alone could be vast. Because of this heavy reliance on traditionally harvested foods northern aboriginal people are susceptible to exposure to the potential adverse effects of these contaminants. Although the Canadian arctic contaminants assessment report concludes there is not an immediate threat to the health of adults, there are concerns over possible health effects on unborn children and infants.
This motion is not the right way to fix the problem. The environmental damage to Canada's north is from more than just POPs. The motion is only a piecemeal solution to a much bigger problem. The government has not yet told Canadians how it is planning to deal with contaminated sites on federal lands.
Last week the auditor general recognized that the government has no idea how to deal with the estimated 5,000 contaminated sites located on crown land in Canada. It has no comprehensive view of the potential risk to health, safety and the environment associated with these sites. It does not yet have a complete and accurate view of the related contingent or actual liabilities.
The government has not developed and implemented a central timetable and has not finalized and implemented a high level environmental policy for common standards for due diligence in a consistent manner. There is still confusion over who would take a leadership role with respect to this mess, so as a result there is no leadership.
The Reform Party recognizes the right of all Canadians to dwell in a clean and healthy environment. It has been our policy from the beginning to support immediate long term restoration programs for areas of the environment damaged due to inadequate or improperly enforced regulations.
But this motion is not a long term restoration program for an area of the environment that has been damaged due to inadequate or improperly enforced regulations. It is a solution to only a small part of a greater problem.
The motion lets the government off too easy. When will we see a motion that would commit the government to a clear plan of action, a plan where it will take responsibility and show some leadership? It would be seriously remiss for this House to approve this motion, although I know it is not votable, while ignoring the bigger problems Canada's northern people face.