Madam Speaker, my colleague raises an important point.
I am a member from Montreal, and I have not had repeated requests from my constituents about the impact that the Species at Risk bill could have in certain ridings on real estate. I am sure that the government members have gotten many calls on the financial impact that the Species at Risk Act could have, both from outfitters and from farmers.
Madam Speaker, like you, I represent a riding in Montreal; you likely have not received many calls about this either. However, the members opposite no doubt have. We have been told that citizens are prepared to protect the species found on their land, but this comes at a price. Quite often, farmers and landowners must bear a significant portion of the cost of implementing the Species at Risk Act. They believe, and I think that their request is legitimate, that there should be some type of financial compensation and they want this to be clarified in the Species at Risk Act. However, the government has refused to respond.
The matter was addressed, and government reports were produced. I am thinking of such documents as the Pearse report, which proposed a form of compensation that was fair for some but not in the least fair for others. As a protector of the taxpayers' financial interests, the government ought to have been made to reach a decision, but it has always refused to do so.
The Liberal members on the other side have been one of the major lobbies in this Parliament. They have put considerable pressure on the government, threatening even to bring it down if certain amendments presented by the Minister of the Environment himself were not passed by the House.
Today, the Alliance is proposing to reopen the debate, and some members have a unique opportunity to make their ideas known. I seem to see some of them looking at me as if to say that I am right and that they refuse to support this process.
When it comes down to it, our fellow citizens, the property owners and the members of Parliament who represent the regions of Canada would very much like to see the Liberal members over there revisit this issue in order to give the government a chance. Who is to say that, over the summer, some public servants have not found a solution that is fair and balanced and what the public wants? Perhaps they have. The government would therefore have a golden opportunity to again introduce clarifications on compensation.
I believe this approach is democratic, legitimate and respectful of the wishes of our fellow citizens. The Liberals ought to commit to supporting and adopting this motion, which has really but the one objective, which is to ensure that we are, as elected representatives, attuned to the needs of our fellow citizens.