Sheila Copps

[The Environment, February 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member because of his vast environmental background will know that when you are talking about chlorine you are talking about a number of chlorinated compounds. We are looking at the sunsetting of various chlorinated compounds and in that context we would certainly be happy to have his input as the chair of the standing committee on the environment.

We consider it a very serious question. We also recognize that chlorine comes in many forms and that in the past the substance has been used to avoid cholera outbreaks and other very contagious diseases.

We would like to have a balanced approach that can sunset chlorinated compounds when they are toxic and we would certainly love to have his input on this issue.

[The Environment, February 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the decision to strike a panel was not taken carelessly believe me. It was taken after much consideration, in particular because of the nature of the mountain.

We have cultural heritage and we also have natural heritage. We want to approve development that is in the best interest of the business people, yes, but what about our children, our grandchildren and their grandchildren?

We have a responsibility to respect the environment. The striking of an environmental assessment review panel meets the objectives of government to ensure that any development, particularly in an area as sensitive as our national mountains should be done in an environmentally sensitive way. That only makes good sense for our kids' future.

[The Environment, February 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the FEARO panel review will not cost a million dollars. It will cost substantially less than that, hundreds of thousands of dollars less.

The government believes that projects of the nature of Sunshine, which will substantially alter the geographic face of the mountain, deserve and should have an environmental assessment review panel visit the decisions.

We think the cost of not doing an environmental assessment is far greater than the cost of doing an environmental assessment for our children and for their children.

[Justice, February 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, in the absence of the Minister of Justice I would certainly like to take the question under consideration. It is a very serious one. Obviously substance abuse is a very serious problem. We will report back to the member as soon as possible.

[Bosnia, February 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, according to the most recent information we have, the ceasefire negotiations are proceeding very smoothly.

Evidently we have 10 days counting down from midnight last night. Our information is that the negotiations are going quite well. We are very optimistic that the ceasefire will be respected. Obviously we will not know for sure until the deadline, which is 10 days from midnight last night.

[Bosnia, February 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the countdown for the ceasefire started at midnight last night. We are told that things are going very well up until now. We are waiting for a chance to get both Bosnian Serbs and Muslims to give up their weapons. Everybody hopes that, with the support of NATO, the ceasefire will be observed within the ten-day ultimatum period.

[Goods And Services Tax, February 11th, 1994]

Of course, Mr. Speaker, we want to do both. A few weeks ago, the Official Opposition asked the Auditor General to examine all cases of duplication in fiscal and other programs. We in the government want to do our job and eliminate this duplication, and I hope that we will have the support of the Opposition in creating a more equitable a tax system for taxpayers who are paying a heavy price at the federal, provincial and municipal level.

[Goods And Services Tax, February 11th, 1994]

Having said that, I think that the Prime Minister of Canada and his counterparts from every province, including Quebec, are very aware of the problem of overlap in the tax system. This problem was raised on many occasions by the Leader of the Opposition and by the finance departments, and we want to deal with it, mostly with the support of the provinces who also want a more efficient tax system doing away with overlap. That is the basis for the new tax system.

[Goods And Services Tax, February 11th, 1994]

First of all, Mr. Speaker, I must admit that I have several vices but being Vice Prime Minister is not one of them.

[Cigarette Taxes, February 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would remind my hon. colleague that the smoking problem was not created during this government's mandate. We have been here for barely 100 days and it took us barely 100 days to work out a solution. The policy of the opposition leader should be challenged: for a year and a half, he was in the former Prime Minister's Cabinet and he did absolutely nothing.

We must say that when we were the opposition in the House, we raised the problem of smoking four years ago, but when the leader of the opposition was in Mr. Mulroney's Cabinet, he did nothing.

Obviously, a problem which has been dragging on for four years will take more than a year to solve. Yes, we took 100 days to launch our four-part program, which we hope will bring a solution within a year. I hope that is what you want, too.