Mr. Speaker, no, it is quite untrue.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2004, with 35% of the vote.
Kyoto Protocol November 25th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, no, it is quite untrue.
Kyoto Protocol November 25th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister, in June of last year, made it clear that 2002 was the year he expected to have a decision on ratification.
More recently, at a meeting in Johannesburg some two months ago, he indicated he would put a resolution before the House so that the opinion of members of the House of Commons and the Senate could be canvassed prior to ratification.
As far as I know these two indications of time which he gave back in June and September are still entirely valid and I do not see this as any undue rush at all.
Softwood Lumber November 22nd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, it is true that the softwood lumber problem exists everywhere in Canada. Unfortunately, some regions and companies are very affected.
As for helping a specific company, this is an issue that is in the hands of my colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources. He is trying, along with the industry, to create a balanced plan for all of Canada, not just one region or another. I hope that the details of his plan will be tabled in the House in a few weeks.
The Environment November 22nd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the details we have about storage tanks and fuel generally are readily available on the website. I refer the hon. member to the Natural Resources website and the Environment Canada website. A good deal of the responsibility within the province is handled by the provincial government in British Columbia which, for most of the last 10 years, has been in the hands of the NDP.
Kyoto Protocol November 22nd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member's understanding of what has taken place is simply wrong.
The fact is that we have been working with the provinces and the territories. All 14 governments have been working together. We have been doing it for more than a decade. It goes back to 1979. In the last five years, in particular since Kyoto, we have had close working relations with them.
It is certainly true that when the plan for implementation is being put forward, every province wants the burden to be borne by a province on either side or perhaps even further away than that. That is understandable. Provinces will be--
Kyoto Protocol November 22nd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, there is no sudden rush. We have been working on this issue since the Rio meeting back in 1992. We of course have had the agreement that Canada entered into at that time with other countries refined at the Kyoto meeting in 1997.
We have been working consistently with the provinces and territories. The federal government and the government of Alberta were co-chairs of the 14 government processes up until last summer when Alberta pulled out. Since then, Alberta has consistently attempted to adjourn every meeting we have had.
Kyoto Protocol November 22nd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, in a plan as complicated as Kyoto, a plan that applies to all of Canada, all of the industries, all of the provinces, and all of the territories, it is certain that there cannot be one principle, one single principle, ignoring all others, which are also important.
The hon. member is forgetting the principle we set out in the plan, that no region would be disadvantaged. This principle was accepted by the Province of Quebec, and all the other provinces, some years ago.
Kyoto Protocol November 22nd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, it is always hard to provide negative proof. Nevertheless, in response to the question raised by the hon. member, it is clearly indicated in the plan that no industry that has taken measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would be disadvantaged for so doing because of the timing of those measures.
The plan makes this very clear.
Kyoto Protocol November 22nd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, we have to distinguish between two things. First, there is the issue of ratification. A motion was moved yesterday in my name by my hon. colleague, the government House leader. Then there is the plan to reach our Kyoto objectives.
These are two separate things and there will be a vote before year's end on the first issue. We will work together with the provinces and territories to improve the plan that was tabled yesterday. We will listen to their suggestions for the lowest cost solution with the greatest benefits.
Kyoto Protocol November 22nd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, there has been no change in the Government of Canada's position. We support ratification. Indeed, I hope and expect Kyoto to be ratified before the year is out.
Yesterday, we indicated in the plan we tabled in the House that no industry or company would be penalized for measures they took prior to the protocol entering into effect.