David Anderson

[The Environment, February 28th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. Leader of the Opposition has once again misrepresented a study done for the industry department.

It is a working paper. It is working paper number 34. There are 33 others before it. It states “If such a domestic implementation scheme is adopted, the cost of compliance for Canada is estimated to be modest”. It goes on to state that “If the Kyoto Protocol is implemented with significant international trading, the importantnegative sectoral impacts largely disappear”.

That is the study he is quoting from.

[The Environment, February 28th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has failed to understand that the studies upon which the report for the manufacturing association based itself were done before the American decision with respect to Kyoto and before the Marrakesh agreement.

There are new studies coming out which have been jointly prepared by federal, provincial and territorial officials with the assistance of the private sector. We expect further information in approximately a couple of months. I suggest that he waits until we get that information before continuing with these scare stories in the House.

[Kyoto Protocol, February 27th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the studies, which are currently being done, are being done by a joint federal-provincial-territorial group with three private firms involved. The leadership of this group is the province of Alberta and the federal Government of Canada. The group expects it will be able to provide us with substantial information in April. We certainly hope that is the case.

However certainly by May we hope we will be able to provide some of the figures from this joint federal-provincial-territorial group led by the province of Alberta and the federal government.

[The Environment, February 22nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have been wondering all these weeks when the members of the official opposition would get off their other issues and on to the issue of Kyoto and the environment.

This week they have suddenly come to life with a series of generally inappropriate questions but at least I congratulate them for the first time paying some attention to the issue.

[The Environment, February 22nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have tried to explain to the hon. member that we are at the present time working with the provinces and some private sector firms on the scenarios for cost. The cost of implementing Kyoto depends very much on where we choose to place the burden of reducing emissions. For some industries the burden will be high for very small decreases in emissions. In other industries we could have fairly large increases in emissions at a very low cost.

In addition, there is the opportunity of using overseas joint implementation or clean development mechanisms as negotiated at Marrakesh. It is a complex issue--

[Health Care, February 22nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, there are many programs for training doctors in many universities and facilities across Canada. I will provide the hon. member with a list just as soon as we can assemble it. We will have the details for him in writing, province by province, as best as we can make it available.

[The Environment, February 22nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I believe the hon. member is aware that the regulation of this particular landfill site is under the responsibility of the province of British Columbia. The province of British Columbia has indicated that the waste in question meets all British Columbia requirements for safety in terms of toxicity.

[Kyoto Protocol, February 22nd, 2002]

Not in the least, Mr. Speaker. It is clear that what those of us on this side of the House want to see is assessment of the potential cost and benefits of ratification of the agreement as well as reduction of emissions to 6% below the 1990 level.

[Kyoto Protocol, February 22nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, this Monday and Tuesday's meeting in Victoria is one of a series. Others were held in Manitoba in September and in Ontario in October.

It is not a forum for debate but rather for the parties to exchange views. Everyone shares the same objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Thus, the meeting to be held on Monday and Tuesday is not a matter of provincial-federal negotiations.

[Kyoto Protocol, February 22nd, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, naturally, that is what we will be doing, but the House will have to wait until they are ready.

In the meantime, we have dozens of experts working on this. Some of them are from the provinces and others work for the federal government. Three private companies are working on this. As soon as they have completed their work, we will present the details to the House.