House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 47% of the vote.
Petitions October 1st, 2001
Mr. Speaker, 58 concerned constituents of the great riding of Halton have petitioned the House of Commons. They are calling on parliament to enact an immediate moratorium on the cosmetic use of chemical pesticides until such time as their use has been scientifically proven to be safe and the long term consequences of their application are known.
Nuclear Fuel Waste Act September 27th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the reason for its existence is that Whiteshell is located on impervious rock known as a pluton. All the early work for long term storage was done there. If the pluton concept is acceptable, which we were told it was 22 years ago, the pluton at Whiteshell is probably the safest place for the long term storage of that material. What would be gained by removing it and putting it above ground somewhere? That technology is now probably considered the front runner in terms of the choices that will be made in the future for ultra long term storage.
Nuclear Fuel Waste Act September 27th, 2001
I would be pleased to, Mr. Speaker. In 1996 the federal government signed memoranda of understanding with every province, undertaking to purchase a percentage of its electricity needs from green energy. The only province to ratify that memorandum of understanding was Alberta. It is only in this year that Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan have ratified.
The result in Alberta is that green energy is moving on and doing well. When we were in Edmonton a few weeks ago, the people who run the LRT in Calgary announced that they would be buying green power to run that train. The slogan they have adopted is wonderful; “ride the wind”.
The elements were put in place by the federal government in 1996, but only a few provinces have ratified. We are most anxious that all the provinces get on board. The result in Alberta has been that private industry is now saying that it wants to hang up the green sign too.
Nuclear Fuel Waste Act September 27th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, this bill was introduced by the federal government. It is the federal government, the minister and the elected representatives who are accountable to the people. If decisions are made that would be erroneously approved by a minister or a subsequent minister or whomever, it is he or she who would be directly accountable to the people.
The other comment I should make is that nuclear knowledge, the technology, lies within these bodies. It always has. I am not sure how my hon. friend would deal with putting a decision in the hands of a third party who probably would be about as knowledgeable as the member or myself and once again would be vulnerable to making an erroneous decision.
I think that the best path has been struck. We go to the technology and then have the people who are accountable to the public make the ultimate decisions.
Nuclear Fuel Waste Act September 27th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, 22 years ago in a former incarnation as a member of the Ontario legislature and as a member of the select committee on Ontario hydro affairs the subject of the storage of high level nuclear waste was on the front burner. The committee was taken to Whiteshell, Manitoba, and exposed to the technology to be used for the long term burial of that waste. It is the same technology being proposed in the bill. It was highly developed 22 years ago. I believe that is rather ironic.
Politics entered into the debate because storage required the location and development of a natural formation of impervious rock known as a pluton. There are some hundreds of plutons in the northern parts of Ontario, Manitoba, and elsewhere. When it got down to actually developing it, public resistance did not allow for it.
The bill before us might have been more useful 22 years ago. However the minister must be commended for bringing the legislation before the House at this time. It shows that he understands the problem is still with us and growing.
The bill would provide a three year study period which is felt to be quite adequate despite my friend from Windsor--St. Clair claiming that it is not enough time. Enough is known and understood now about the technology. This is a great step forward.
I remember some 22 years ago raising the question of long term storage of nuclear waste at power sites being vulnerable to terrorist attack. The plants were not designed to be secure. The waste being stored in what we called swimming pools at that time was vulnerable because they could have been drained and have released radioactive material. That is still the case. Over the years the amount of radioactive material has compounded. Whether or not nuclear power has a long term future in Canada, the waste is still there and must be dealt with.
In spite of my overwhelming support for the bill I have a concern about its content. My concern is provincial in nature and has to do with financing. We may have difficulty amending the legislation in an effective manner. The bill clearly states that funding would come from the utility involved or a third party. When I see the expression third party I begin to get concerned about the fact that I could read it as subsidy.
If there is third party funding that results in a subsidy for electric power generation, it once more gives us a false sense of what it really costs to produce electricity from nuclear power. There is no energy in Canada that is not subject to some form of subsidy, whether it is financing on the tar sands or the $16.2 billion that has already gone into nuclear subsidy over the last 40 years or so. The time has come, especially looking into the future and the energy options as my friend across the way mentioned, to deal with the real costs of producing energy and the real environmental costs as well.
In an article in the Globe and Mail a couple of weeks ago, two professors in California did a comparison of generating electricity with wind power versus coal. At first coal was half the price of wind generated power but when the true environmental costs were injected into the equation, wind power won. Such is the case with many other forms of energy and energy comparisons.
As long as we keep the blinders on and fail to look at the true costs and keep convincing ourselves that what we are paying at the moment is the real cost, we will not be able to proceed into a new and necessary era of renewable and environmentally sustainable energy. Those technologies are there, they are mature and developed but they are not attracting sufficient investment to make them work. That is why I have a concern for the third party addition in the bill.
When the bill is studied at committee, I will attempt to introduce an amendment that may be satisfactory, if we can satisfy ourselves that it is also constitutional because electric power generation is the purview of the provinces and we are not the provinces. At least we will make that attempt. Hopefully through the discussion and debate that will ensue we will expose the fact that we are not looking at true costs for energy and that we need to do what my friend across the way described as whole costing. Whole costing must be the way of the future.
We can no longer hide our heads in the sand as we have done for so many years, particularly in Ontario. The premier told us a few months ago that the stranded asset, and I use that term advisedly because it should be stranded debt, has now reached $38 billion. That is unrecoverable money that was never passed through the electric power system and the power corporation act clearly stated that the mandate was to produce power at cost. We have deluded ourselves over the years. I am not familiar enough with other provinces to know whether similar activities have gone on but this has resulted in a serious concern inside the province. Ultimately the taxpayers of Ontario will be the ones who will have to cough up the $38 billion one way or another.
In conclusion, I support the bill and what it is intended to do. Finally we are getting a grip on one of the key components of nuclear power generation. If nuclear power has any chance of a future, this has got to be dealt with. I think the bill does it but I will be supporting an amendment at committee stage that will do something with the wording of third party.
Terrorism September 18th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the people of the riding of Halton, I rise to offer our condolences to the American people and our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the victims of last Tuesday's attack.
It is difficult to comprehend the enormity of the act. Many constituents of Arab dissent and/or Muslim faith have expressed to me their profound horror and sadness, not only at this act of terror but also at the hijacking of their faith by extremists.
This is not a war between nation states or religious beliefs. It is a war where the enemy tries to cloak hatred and vengeance in the Islamic teachings of justice and peace.
Throughout the past week we have been filled with emotions ranging from sadness to outrage, to anger and to fear, but we cannot allow these emotions to rule us.
I call on all Canadians to grieve together over this horrific act and to remain united in our fight against terror.
Petitions June 13th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition from 75 citizens of the great riding of Halton.
The undersigned residents of Canada call upon parliament to enact an immediate moratorium on the cosmetic use of chemical pesticides until such time as their use has been scientifically proven to be safe and the long term consequences of their application are known.
The Environment March 22nd, 2001
Mr. Speaker, established in 1988, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provides objective, scientific, technical and economic assessments about climate change.
The IPCC's working groups have released three reports that must not be ignored. These groups have concluded that the planet is moving faster than scientists first imagined toward a troubling new climate era and that the impact which climate change will have on everything from crop yields to rising sea levels will result in dire consequences for the global population.
The IPCC's reports are not all doom and gloom. In fact they report that the world possesses effective and affordable means to combat the threat of global warming but that we lack the political will to implement these measures.
I have confidence that during the government's mandate we will prove that Canada has the political will to implement the necessary changes.
Canada Foundation For Sustainable Development Technology Act February 19th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I was very happy and excited to hear the member's comments in support of the bill and getting it to committee to be properly scrutinized and perhaps amended and improved as we go along.
The member's heart is in the right place. He understands the direction that the country has to go in. We do not have a choice any more. I would leave him with one question. How does he consider a finite resource is sustainable?
Canada Foundation For Sustainable Development Technology Act February 19th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would like to correct my hon. friend. That is not what I said at all. I said that the government had no idea that global warming had accelerated to the extent that it has.