House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2004, with 35% of the vote.
Leadership Campaigns May 2nd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, in carrying out his duties the hon. minister of fisheries visited the front where the harp seal happened to be. It is many miles off the coast of Newfoundland, to the northeast of Newfoundland. He did that of course by aircraft and on his return he stopped at Gander. It is perfectly acceptable for him, in the course of his duties as fisheries minister, to stop off in a community in Newfoundland.
Species at Risk Act April 29th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I have been constantly asked by people on the other side to admit things which are simply untrue. The fact is it will protect endangered species. The fact is there are compensation provisions in the legislation. They are in section 64.
As I am not permitted by the rules of the House to give legal explanations on what is before the committee, I am unable to answer the specifics. I can urge the hon member however to read it. If he needs help, we can provide that.
Species at Risk Act April 29th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, once more he made the statement that there were no references in the bill to compensation. There are. They are in section 64. I urge the hon. member to read it.
Species at Risk April 29th, 2002
Obviously, Mr. Speaker, I would not make such a statement because it would be patently untrue.
In the bill we find compensation provisions and I believe the words used are “fair and reasonable”. It is important for us to make sure that where there are costs that are well out of what is expected, exceptional costs, the government does indeed recognize that it is important for the state to come forward and provide assistance.
Species at Risk April 29th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I certainly welcome the good work done by the committee and the hon. members on that committee in listening to representations with many different viewpoints from right across the country.
That said, the difficulty we face with compensation, of which the member is well aware, is that we had a number of studies done. They were put to some of the stakeholder groups and it was not possible, despite very constructive discussion on all parts, to come up with a compensation system which was, we should say, completely acceptable. Therefore we intend in the first months and years of the bill on the basis of experience with providing compensation in an ex gratia way, to develop regulations--
The Environment April 25th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the ownership of any facility producing power, the ownership is not the issue for the Government of Canada. The issue is whether or not they meet the requirements of the agreements that we have with respect to pollution or emissions.
With respect to Ontario, I can repeat that while we were pleased with the decision by the Ontario government to make some reductions on the emissions from the power plants owned by the Ontario government, they do not achieve the goals that we have set. We expect the Ontario power plants, regardless of who owns them, to go further in terms of reducing emissions.
The Environment April 25th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, there is no question of any provincial premier vetoing the decision of the federal government with respect to the ratification of any international agreements.
The report referred to by the hon. member is a very useful part of the discussion on the issue of ratification and on the benefits that could occur through ratification and through taking measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but that was not a Government of Canada study. We are awaiting the federal-provincial-territorial working group, which is expected to report early next month.
Kyoto Protocol April 23rd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the Kyoto protocol has been an unexpected success on one front, and that is in getting the Bloc Quebecois to abandon the principle of consultation with the provinces. It is amazing that such a party does not wish there to be effective consultations with the provinces and territories. This is an unbelievable conversion.
Kyoto Protocol April 23rd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, what the hon. member is referring to as a delay is the time needed to consult with the provinces and territories, the affected industry, and Canadians.
Of course, there may be a certain cost associated with consultations, but if they are to count, to be effective, we must at least make the effort.
The Environment April 22nd, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the involvement of the agricultural and forestry sectors in the so-called carbon sinks has been a very important part of Canadian policy. We were successful in negotiating this at the international level and we have it now firmly embedded in the Kyoto agreement.
We are now working with the agricultural organizations as well as with the provinces and others to make sure that full advantage is taken of this so that Canadian farmers can find what we trust will be another income stream related to their good farming practices which allow them to reduce greenhouse gases.