Mr. Speaker, I fully understand that and we all fully understand that. There is certainly no need at all for the Liberals to buy hot air because they have plenty of it as it is.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 45% of the vote.
The Environment October 6th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, I fully understand that and we all fully understand that. There is certainly no need at all for the Liberals to buy hot air because they have plenty of it as it is.
The Environment October 6th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, everybody is well aware of the role that Canada plays at the UN. In fact, Canada is one of the most respected countries there.
During this present week, a number of environmental issues are being discussed, certainly one of which is dealing with bottom trawling. One will find that, like any other environmental issue, Canada is front and foremost with a very sensible and sound approach that is supported by most of the nations in the world.
The Environment October 6th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, it just shows how far out of touch the hon. members really are. Of course we do not wait for new legislation to act. If they followed what the minister was doing, they would see improvements every day.
What we need legislation for is to have a concrete framework that cannot be changed by hon. members opposite should they ever, 20 years from now, get into power again.
The Environment October 6th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we have a lot of good legislation in this country but we also have a lot of legislation that just does not work.
The government will soon be tabling a new bill and perhaps the member will wait until then to ensure, collectively, with all his colleagues in the House, we can pass good legislation that will do the job that the Liberals failed to do in 13 years.
The Environment October 6th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, let us see what the environment commissioner said. She actually said:
It has become more and more obvious that Canada cannot meet its Kyoto Protocol commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, instead of decreasing, greenhouse gas emissions in Canada have increased by twenty-seven percent [during the term that these people were in power].
In 13 years from now, I think we will have a much cleaner environment in this country thanks to the present environment minister.
The Environment October 6th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, members of the party opposite certainly are experts on misrepresentation. It is amazing how they can take little bits and pieces out of context and try to blow them out of proportion. Nobody in the House or in country can take the stand that our Minister of the Environment has in relation to cleaning up the environment in this country. We should be very proud of that.
The Environment October 6th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we all know what a breath of fresh air the new environment minister was when she came into the House. If she can clean up the air in the House compared to what we had, is it not only fair that we give her time to clean up the air in the country?
The Environment October 6th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, for a number of years the former Liberal government talked about Kyoto and did absolutely nothing. We are the reverse of that. We are doing something and doing very little talking. That is the way to get things done.
Fisheries and Oceans October 4th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, let me assure my colleague that proper fisheries regulations are the key to conservation and management.
We have a philosophy which involves the provinces and the stakeholders as we make regulations pertaining to certain areas. In this case, these regulations are provincial ones being developed in consultation with the affected groups and which will come to us for approval. We are looking forward to their completing their negotiations and we will certainly approve sound-based regulations in which they all have input.
Fisheries and Oceans October 4th, 2006
Mr. Speaker, we are working with our UN counterparts to make sure that we protect the habitat, that we protect the fish stocks, but let me say to the hon. member that we have to make sure our decisions are based on science.
Banning technology is one thing. Improving technology is something else. Let us not cut off our nose to spite our face, but let us make sure that we do protect the habitat and the stocks. We will take the leadership in doing whatever has to be done to achieve that aim.