David Anderson

[Kyoto Protocol, February 26th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I had very productive phone conversations with the Quebec minister just last night. Of course we will hold meetings with Quebec. As the Prime Minister said himself on November 27, we hope to reach an agreement with the Province of Quebec.

But there is no need for this to be done yesterday or the day before yesterday or today. This is not necessary. No, we have to hold discussions with all the provinces before agreements can be reached with any one province. It is very important to have input from all the provinces before signing any agreements.

[Kyoto Protocol, February 24th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I do not know whether all the provinces, including Quebec, want their talks to be public. It is possible, but I do not know. Often, when we have discussions with certain industries or with the provinces, these discussions are not entirely public. That is normal, it is not uncommon. I do not have the details of all the talks we have had, but I assure the hon. member that we are prepared to reach an agreement with all the provinces.

[Kyoto Protocol, February 24th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the two federal deputy ministers, the Deputy Minister of the Environment and the Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Canada, are meeting with representatives of the ten provinces and three territories. As soon as they have wrapped up the discussions that are currently underway, we might have several agreements with the provinces and territories.

[The Environment, February 21st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the management of mountain caribou in British Columbia, and particularly the south mountain herd, is the responsibility of the provincial government. This will not change when the species at risk act is proclaimed.

Quite properly, the provincial government has taken advice and has established a recovery team. It is launching the process for a recovery plan for this species. I think it is taking prudent steps, but as the hon. member has indicated, there are concerns. If there are such concerns, they should be addressed to the provincial government, which has representation on the--

[Kyoto Protocol, February 21st, 2003]

Mr. speaker, I can assure the hon. member that my deputy minister and the deputy minister of Natural Resources are the two federal negotiators on all such matters with the provinces.

[Kyoto Protocol, February 21st, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, yes, it is true that we are in favour of an agreement with the provinces. I quote the Prime Minister who said in the House on November 27, “as regards Kyoto, we are prepared to sign bilateral agreements with each of the provinces if they want to”.

I can add that, earlier this week on February 17, the deputy ministers of the federal departments of the Environment and Natural Resources began to meet with their provincial counterparts.

[The Environment, February 20th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I wonder whether the Alliance Party and its members actually understand that it was Liberal ministers who took this country from a $42 billion deficit into a surplus position and started to pay down the debt.

I wonder whether the hon. member understands that we have had six consecutive years of surplus while those Conservative governments and other countries have had continuously increasing debt and deficit. Does he understand that?

[The Environment, February 20th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the contradiction in the hon. member's mind is that we intend to spend $1.7 billion, but we intend to do so with the best possible results.

This would be my quote, “To ensure that only the very best projects in terms of cost effectiveness to achieve climate change goals actually get funded. We do not fund pet projects which might have a marginal climate change impact but do not have the cost effective nature that we think is necessary”.

What we want on this side is cost effectiveness and maximum results for the dollars we spend.

[Infrastructure, February 20th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member really must read the budget because in it she will find $600 million specifically for the federal area of responsibility with respect to clean water. She will find $8 billion, the new $3 billion and the previous $5 billion, which is available for municipalities for water treatment plants, both for drinking water and for dealing with waste water.

She will find opportunities in the regional development budgets that encourage municipalities to spend the money in ways which are environmentally friendly. There is plenty there. All she has to do is look.

[Kyoto Protocol, February 20th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said often in this House and elsewhere, we hope to have a bilateral agreement between the Province of Quebec and the federal government. I have spoken with Minister Boisclair on numerous occasions on this. We expect a positive outcome. I do not know why the hon. member is not aware of the cooperation between the two levels of government.