Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member of the Bloc for his question. It is a very important question that deals with the environment and alternative energy sources.
The question of the member is very much at the heart of the concerns we have with respect to the bill. It is great to see that there has been some movement internationally with respect to the Kyoto accord. I understand that Japan just officially indicated its support for Kyoto. We hope the present government of the day takes notice and is prepared to muster the political courage to do the right thing with respect to the Kyoto accord.
We are very concerned about this bill in that context. In fact any bill that encourages privatization and deregulation in the area of nuclear energy, encourages expansion of the use of nuclear energy as an energy source. Obviously members of the New Democratic Party, as I am sure is the case for those in the Bloc, are constantly searching for ways to convince the government to pursue alternative energy sources.
We desperately see the need for a reduction in the use of nuclear power. We urge the government to find ways to make the transition from reliance upon the nuclear energy industry to alternative energy sources. We believe, with the will from the government, that there are ways to deal with workers in transition, to deal with the questions about jobs in the sector and to ensure that we build a sustainable economy for the future.
That is certainly one of the key concerns we have with the bill. We hope this is understood not to be simply a housekeeping bill, or a minor technicality, or in fact part of a broader agenda to pursue privatization in the field of our renewable resources and nuclear energy and to encourage broader use of energy sources which are not in keeping with our notions about sustainability and protection for all of our citizens.