Mr. Speaker, last week the Minister of the Environment expressed his support for shale gas and announced plans to regulate Quebec's shale gas industy. However, a representative from Natural Resources Canada, who was taking part in a conference on shale gas in Toronto, said that the federal government has no role to play in developing that industry. Issuing water permits, for instance, is a matter of provincial jurisdiction.
Can the minister clarify this contradiction? Who is telling the truth here, Environment Canada or Natural Resources Canada?