Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague for his question. It is a matter with which both of us are much concerned. However I will have to ask him not to shoot the messenger as I read the response I have from Natural Resources Canada.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 36% of the vote.
The Budget December 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleague for his question. It is a matter with which both of us are much concerned. However I will have to ask him not to shoot the messenger as I read the response I have from Natural Resources Canada.
The Budget December 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the department is committed to working with other landowners to help mitigate the problem. Any formal proposal by the B.C. government for federal assistance will be considered within the context of the federal mandate. Support and expertise are already being offered, as well as the availability of funds.
It may surprise the hon. member to know that to date the department has not received any formal request for funding or for co-operative planning to solve the problem. It would be happy to hear from my hon. colleague or the B.C. ministry of forests.
The Budget December 11th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I am subbing for my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources. I am not privy to all the knowledge of my hon. friend across the aisle. However I will deliver the answer as I have it.
Forest management is under the jurisdiction of the province. In B.C., Natural Resources Canada collaborates with Parks Canada, the Department of National Defence and the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development on aerial surveys to monitor mountain pine beetle outbreaks on federal lands.
The federal government has been working closely with the B.C. forest industry and with the B.C. government to address the issue of the mountain pine beetle. In its strategic action plan British Columbia is determining how to manage the mountain pine beetle infestation. The federal government will co-operate, where appropriate, on supportive research and collaborative remedial strategies for federal lands.
In his question of November 30 the hon. member made reference to Riske Creek. He also referred to it tonight. It is located on the Chilcotin military reserve of the Department of National Defence. I am sure he knows that because I would guess it is in his riding.
I must point out that the Natural Resources Canada forestry centre in Victoria has a five year memorandum of understanding with DND to provide advice and services regarding forest management on all defence properties within British Columbia, with the exception of the Chilcotin military reserve.
DND specifically excluded this property from the memorandum of understanding because it has an agreement with the B.C. ministry of forests for forest protection and timber management which has been in place since June 1992.
As early as 1995 Natural Resources Canada scientists identified the beginning of the mountain pine beetle outbreak in the central part of the province and alerted the B.C. government. Since then NRCan conducted annual beetle surveys of the Chilcotin military reserve. These surveys were used to prepare reports on the status and trends of the infestation, copies of which were provided to DND and the B.C. ministry of forests.
In the fall 2000 NRCan scientists presented workshops on the mountain pine beetle in four communities in B.C., including one in Williams Lake which is adjacent to the military reserve. Landowners and representatives from industry, the B.C. government and first nations were invited to attend. Information was provided on the biology, research and management tools available to assist in dealing with the outbreak. Options to address the infestation were discussed and made available to the participants.
The current outbreak of the mountain pine beetle did not originate from any one spot. Forest health maps from 1990 to 1996 indicate that the beetle population was on the increase throughout central B.C. regardless of jurisdiction. The present outbreak is a result of these smaller populations increasing, coalescing and then spreading.
I also point out that a map made from aerial surveys clearly indicates the centre of the outbreak is located several hundred kilometres northwest of Riske Creek.
Federal support for the mountain pine beetle epidemic has provided the research on understanding and predicting beetle outbreaks, developing tools to incorporate predictive capacity into higher level planning, understanding the impacts of a variable climate on the beetle and controlling the beetle through stand management activities.
Aboriginal Affairs December 10th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what the government is doing with its money: supporting first nations treaty obligations and negotiations. There are first nations who are not prepared to go along with the minister at present, but there are 250 first nations who are. The National Aboriginal Women's Association is. Therefore, we are going to move ahead.
Aboriginal Affairs December 10th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, the government remains committed to addressing the needs of aboriginal people in Canada. The department has begun a process through the first nations governance initiative to provide the necessary tools for first nations to generate their own social and economic prosperity.
The department will be working with other cabinet colleagues to determine how to build on the progress already achieved. In doing so, the department will be looking at how to better target current spending.
Education December 5th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, Statistics Canada has made public a study carried out by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. This study was conducted in 32 industrialized countries. It showed that Canadian students have superior skills in reading, science and mathematics.
Quebecers and Albertans are the standouts according to this study. They rank higher than the national average.
As a former teacher, principal, superintendent and as member of parliament for Oxford, it is my pleasure to congratulate our young people on their academic performance. This study shows once more just how much aptitude they have for thinking and learning at a high level, both lifelong skills that will serve Canada well in the future.
They are educated, open-minded and optimistic. The young Canadians of today have a great future ahead of them. I would like to tell them all that all Canadians are proud of them.
Yukon Act December 3rd, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the remarks of my colleague across the floor. I thought I should perhaps suggest that he was a bit inaccurate when he said that the Kaska were not allowed to come forward. They were invited along with the premier and any others in Yukon. They did not get months of notice but they knew the bill was going forward. They did not reply and request in time to be included by the committee.
The committee, in its wisdom, sent the Kaska a letter suggesting it would like to look at their written submission. They should make application to the other place when the bill is considered there.
I just thought I would set the record completely straight on that matter. The words not allowed are not the appropriate words.
I appreciate my colleague's comments with respect to the whole bill. He has some interesting stories. I have some understanding of what he means about the lot and the claim and then digging holes in order to show one is doing something. It reminds me a little bit of the houses we used to see in northern Ontario that had no front porch steps. The story was that if the house was not completely finished the taxes were not all payable. There was a strong rebate. For years some houses did not have any front steps and one only went in the back door.
Aboriginal Affairs November 29th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, my hon. friend is mixing up two problems. The government is committed to cleaning up the land at Ipperwash and returning it to the first nations. However, the matter of an inquiry is a provincial matter. The government will support such a provision.
Yukon Act November 5th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, I was not aware that January 16 was Robert Service's birthday but it is relatively close to mine. I would not mind hosting a dinner.
I do not reserve The Cremation of Sam McGee simply for dinners. I recited it three years ago for the church talent show and have been asked back each year since. I have switched to monologues like Noah and the ark and Jonah and the whale but some people at the church asked me to go back to Robert Service and do The Shooting of Dan McGrew . That is what I have on my ticket for next year. Maybe I could do it on January 16.
Yukon Act November 5th, 2001
Mr. Speaker, my sincerest hope and wish is that the agreement be successful and that the Yukon instead of being a have not area, which it may well be now considering the responsibilities that the Department of Indian affairs and Northern Development has there, may well become an important player in our mercantile and industrial system, as have Alberta with the big oil and B.C. with the forests.
We talk of the gas pipeline, or perhaps an oil pipeline or the Mackenzie River. There are many resources that can be developed and the local people are the ones to do that.
I want to mention one other little matter to my friend from Sackville--Musquodoboit Valley--Eastern Shore. He mentioned bush pilots. My nephew, who was in effect a bush pilot, lives within a stone's throw of my friend. He learned to fly equipment to the Edmonton oil fields. He now lives half a block from my colleague.