Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who have spoken to this issue. I know I do not have much time left, although you will probably give me extra time to finish my speech after oral question period.
For several years, I was the environment critic for my party. Other colleagues have since acted in that capacity. As we know, the pesticide industry is a very big industry here. Jurisdiction over the industry is shared by the two levels of government, the Government of Quebec and the federal government.
We know that in the pesticide industry, registration is left entirely to the federal level. In some regards, I am very happy that this bill has been introduced because the two levels of government will have to find a way to co-operate more closely and in a more harmonious way.
At present, many pesticides are registered on an almost industrial basis, while there are significant difficulties concerning the use of pesticides all over the country and Quebec.
As an example, let us look at the small municipality where I live, Prévost, which has taken important decisions on pesticides. If you live within a certain distance of a lake, pesticides are absolutely prohibited.
In my case, this is not always easy. I live very close to a lake and I am not allowed to use pesticides on my lawn. As the member for Verchères--Les-Patriotes, who does not like dandelions, was saying, we are sometimes forced to make do because there are laws.