Mr. Speaker, after such a passionate flight of oratory, which seems right out of left field, I hope we will be able to come back to a much calmer, serene and enlightening debate.
We, in the Bloc Quebecois, recognize at the outset that water quality in our communities is a very important issue. Recent events in Saskatchewan and also the problems we saw in Ontario a few months ago make the elected representatives of the people of Canada aware of the importance of providing their fellow citizens with a safe and clean water supply.
However, I do not like the way the Conservatives are trying to politicize this issue, and I will explain why. Only yesterday, the Conservatives were asking members on this side of the House, mainly members of the Alliance and the Bloc Quebecois, to join them in proposing a new form of decentralized federalism that would respect the jurisdictions of the provinces and the specificity of some of them. Today, on the day after their plea, they bring forward in this House a motion calling explicitly for Canada-wide national standards in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction.
Let me give my Conservative friends a warning “You cannot have your cake and eat it too. You cannot claim to be promoting a decentralized Canada and then want to implement Canada-wide standards in areas that do not come under federal jurisdiction”.
Quebecers will not be fooled. One cannot serve them this kind of double talk without having to live with the consequences at some point down the road. That was my introduction.
We have some problems with the motion in its current form. First, there is the fact that water is a provincial jurisdiction. The first problem is a matter of principle: water is not the responsibility of the federal government.
Moreover, our position is influenced by certain elements that have to do with current circumstances. For example, in the inaugural speech, the premier of Quebec, Bernard Landry, announced the imminent implementation of a national, meaning Quebec-wide, water management policy. It is a very laudable initiative, particularly since we know that Quebec is already known as the best province, in terms of the quality of its drinking water.
On June 19, 2000, the government of Quebec announced new draft regulations on the quality of drinking water. The draft regulations are being finalized and have been submitted to the Quebec cabinet. The final version should be released soon.
First, these new regulations would change quality standards according to Canadian recommendations as well as drinking water quality standards currently in place in the United States, which would result in proposed standards that would go beyond the Canadian recommendations.
Second, they would increase substantially the number of systems subject to mandatory controls.
Third, they would establish the minimum frequency for bacterial analysis.
Fourth, they would provide for a periodic review of the standards. Last, they would require operator qualification, which would be renewable every five years and which would take experience into account.
With these new standards, and we are not the only ones saying this, even the Sierra legal defence fund rated Quebec first among the provinces, in terms of having the strictest drinking water standards in Canada. So, we have no need for more standards, at least in Quebec.
However there is a problem. Liberals have come up with an amendment to the motion that says “respecting their jurisdictions” or something like that. The government cannot have it both ways. It cannot have, on the one hand, national standards enshrined in legislation and, on the other hand, respect for provincial areas of jurisdiction, because it is, in fact, an area of provincial jurisdiction. It is a bit like appreciating open doors as long as they are closed. It is nonsense. Because of the Liberal amendment, there is a deep, inherent contradiction in this motion, which no longer makes any sense.
It is also interesting to see the federal government getting involved in this area, since the cuts it made in transfer payments to the provinces, among other things, have caused several problems. The provinces are stretched to the limit; they have just enough money to keep their heads above water, but then the municipalities have had to take the brunt of it. Although they were getting a lot of money from Quebec, they were hard hit by the federal cuts. The federal government has some gall to interfere when it is partly responsible for some of the problems a number of communities are having.
We also have to ask ourselves how a federal system would help improve things? For most people, the federal government is far away. The federal government's habit of interfering in matters that are far removed from it reduces it's efficiency, because those who are accountable for such things are much more remote in the federal government than they would be at the community or provincial level.
There is also the fact that, because things are not going too well in certain provinces, they use that to justify duplicating something that works well in other provinces. We are still talking about duplication and, as far as I am concerned, that is also a problem.
I will move an amendment to the amendment that the House would support I believe. The Bloc Quebecois could vote in favour of the motion thus amended.
I move :
That the amendment be amended by adding between the words “jurisdiction” and “to ensure” the following: “, while allowing for full opting-out by any province,”
If this amendment to the amendment were agreed to, the Bloc Quebecois would support the motion. We could be unanimous in the House in saying that provinces willing to abide by Canada-wide standards could do so. Also, those who would not want to, who want to protect their turf, their jurisdiction, would be free to do it.
