Mr. Speaker, the member put a great deal of emphasis on maybe not consulting or working with the provinces.
I have a specific example for him. A number of years ago, Jon Gerrard was the leader of the Liberal Party in Manitoba. I had a press conference about phosphates in dishwasher soap. We honestly felt that this was something the province could ban. We pushed the government on it. What ended up happening was that there was a great deal of discussion, from what I understand, in the provinces and Ottawa, which led, just a few years ago, to the banning of phosphates in residential dishwasher soap.
I wonder if the member might want to comment on the fact that the provinces have a role. In his comments he made reference to the one American state that has already banned microbeads. If the federal government chooses not to act, there are certain things the provinces themselves can do if they are prepared to take the initiative. Quite often, if a provincial jurisdiction takes the initiative, it fills the gap until we get stronger national leadership.