Madam Speaker, I think the hon. member of the New Democratic Party is right to say that the federal government was all talk in the past. It has been all talk and no action with respect to the export of drinking water. Nothing has been done to protect the quality of our water, this vital resource for humanity.
That is what I am so uneasy about in the NDP motion before the House today. After all is said and done, this government has indeed done nothing. Some provinces, like British Columbia, passed legislation on water exports. Others have seen to it that anything having to do with their freshwater or drinking water requires legislation to be passed; this way they are in control. This motion would be putting in this government's hands Canada's sovereign right to protect, preserve and conserve our freshwater resources for future generations.
I am sorry but I think that what this motion is saying right now is “You the provinces have done what you had to do; now that the bandwagon is on the move, let the Canadian government jump on and take over everything you have done”.
I do hope that is not the intent, but that is how I interpret it.