Madam Speaker, I wish to compliment the member for Fundy—Royal on bringing this issue to the floor of the House of Commons today.
As many members will know, over the last few months a number of us have been seized with this issue. We have been trying hard to work on terms of reference that would be acceptable to all parties for a special committee of the House that would move this debate forward. We want to make sure that the security of our freshwater, the quality of our drinking water and all facets related to water are dealt with in a proper fashion.
I was particularly reassured today, and it is the reason I will be supporting the motion, that all members who have spoken to the motion have said that it is not a partisan issue. It is an issue on which we all have to come together. We all have to figure out a way to make sure that laws are put in place to ensure the quality of our drinking water.
It is very important that we first begin by acknowledging the work of Senator Grafstein in the other place. He tabled Bill S-18, an act to amend the Food and Drugs Act dealing with clean drinking water. I believe it is at second reading right now.
I appeal to all members, their staff, other legislators, journalists, environmentalists and people interested in the issue to get a hold of Senator Grafstein's bill. I am sure the research he has done in this area would be deemed acceptable to the point where we could move the bill from the Senate into the House of Commons. Together we could create an historic moment where the Senate and the House of Commons, in the interest of all Canadians, would work together to ensure that we have clean drinking water in every part of Canada.
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health suggested an amendment to the main motion a few minutes ago that talked about making sure we are respectful of provincial jurisdictions. It is a very important amendment which hopefully the member for Fundy—Royal will accept. It would be a tragic day in the House if we could not get together, because there was some unease by the Bloc Quebecois and other members who felt we were trying to interfere with provincial jurisdiction.
That is not the essence of the motion. We understand the provinces jealously guard their areas of jurisdiction and that we had a tremendous disaster in terms of water quality in Ontario. The world knows about it. We are very sensitive because on an issue like this one Canadians do not want for a moment to be criticizing one another.
We must get together to resolve the problem. We must make an effort to put forward the collective will of all parties of the House to make drinking water better for everyone in the country and perhaps even a template for the world. It would be awful if through a few words the spirit of good will were to fall apart.
It is very important that all members support the amendment and that we respect provincial jurisdictions. It is no secret that traditionally I have a reputation for being a passionate centralist and interventionist. This has been my political background. The issue is so fragile and important that if we are to create a national will all of us will have to put a drop of water in our wine. We will have to bend a little and park some of our traditional philosophical views. Nothing is more important than the quality of our drinking water.
As a nation we have a very special trust not only for Canadians but for the rest of the world. I hope the debate will lead to the next part of the discussion on water technologies. As a nation we have some of the best water purification technologies on the planet. We have a responsibility to take that technology and make sure other parts of the world that are disadvantaged get to share it.
The whole area of water purification technology will end up as another issue for debate, which is very important. On this issue we cannot just think about our own constituents and our own country. We have to reach out to the rest of the world and share the technology.
Over the next little while another issue will be water and our trade agreements. There is no mistake about it. In 1995 I spoke to Mr. Nelson Riis' private member's bill banning bulk water exports. I supported his bill, but when we get into the area of water eventually we come to issues that are explosive and sensitive for us and the House of Commons must deal with them.
I hope the spirit of today's debate will continue. When our House leaders get together tomorrow I hope they will put the special committee of the House on track so that it can move ahead on these issues. We need to deal with them in a constructive way by bringing in some of the best minds in our country and in other countries to talk to us about all facets of water.
I should like to make one final point which I touched on in my question to the right hon. leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. It has to do with water quality on Indian reserves.
The Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development has done a tremendous amount of work on this issue. I believe, without causing any problems with our provincial or municipal friends, that if we started working on the quality of drinking water in an area where we have constitutional jurisdiction such as on reserves this would be a great beginning.
If we could have the best quality of drinking water on our Indian reserves, it could be a template or a model which other municipalities or provinces could voluntarily pick up. It would save some of the potential for disagreement or interference.
I appeal to the House that we urge the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to put that file on a fast forward track to a jurisdiction where we have nobody holding us back. We should make sure that our reserves have the best drinking water in Canada and then we could build from there.
I congratulate the hon. member for Fundy—Royal on the motion today. I hope that it leads to a long and vigorous debate on all facets of the security of freshwater in Canada.