House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2015, with 36% of the vote.
The Environment November 24th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, this is the smiling face of cynicism.
This week I met with European representatives, who told me that because of the government's inaction on climate change, Europe is slamming the door on Canadian energy, which is the same reason that the Americans slammed the door on Keystone. With every door that closes, the minister is killing Canadian jobs.
When will the government clean up its act and actually support real job growth in the Canadian energy sector?
The Environment November 24th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, if being a grumpy old man makes one an expert on world--
The Environment November 24th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives can call us anything they want. If they put as much effort into creating a serious plan for sustainable development of the oil sands, the United States and Europe would not be slamming the door on Canada. While they refuse to act to protect our environment, our jobs are going up in smoke.
Will the minister finally listen to what Canadians want and come up with a sustainable plan for our resources?
Canada Water Preservation Act November 23rd, 2011
Mr. Speaker, I will keep it pretty short because other colleagues would like to speak to this bill.
The member for Lac-Saint-Louis should rest assured the NDP will support this bill to get it to committee because it is really important for us to discuss some key issues.
The NDP has been strong on water issues for quite a long time. In 1999 we had a fantastic motion banning bulk water exports, and it passed this House with debate. We have a long history when it comes to water issues.
I appreciated my colleague's explanation about NAFTA and proportionality and how it is linked to exportation. That cleared up a lot of questions I had.
At committee I would like to hear from some folks about a few issues.
First, one thing about the bill is it appears that bulk water removal is limited through diversion only and would not apply to removal by, say, pumping water into a ship or a truck. Therefore, I want to ask questions, explore that issue and hear from witnesses about that.
The other piece that is interesting, and is missing, is the fact that there is a specific exception for manufactured water products, including bottled water, so it would be great to explore that at committee. I would like to see what the implications would be of having that exception specifically written into the legislation.
A technical detail that I would like to explore with witnesses is the fact that the bill gives government very wide regulatory powers and it includes the ability to redefine the scope of exceptions through regulations and make regulations for other exceptions. I feel that is overly broad. That could allow the government to rewrite the act through regulatory powers. We would want to see if in fact this broad regulatory scope does not actually undermine the legislation. If we find that it does, perhaps we could introduce some amendments.
The final piece I would like to discuss at committee is the fact that there is actually no definition, or guidance given to the governor in council on what constitutes a major drainage basin. The effectiveness of the bill, or the power of the bill absolutely depends on what is the definition of a major drainage basin. In theory, the governor in council could write a definition such that none of our waterways or drainage basins constitute major drainage basins. I would like to hear what witnesses have to say about it.
Those are things we can deal with at committee. That is why we have committee. That is part of the exciting legislative process here in Parliament. I look forward to voting for this bill. I hope it does get to committee so we can explore those issues.
The Environment November 23rd, 2011
Mr. Speaker, the world is watching Canada's oil sands and it does not like what it is seeing. The European Union is considering penalizing Canadian oil and the U.S. just backed down on Keystone, in part because of our total lack of action on climate.
We live here. It is Canadian land, air and water at stake. Our major trading partners are speaking up, but our government remains silent.
Why is the government not worried about the health, safety and prosperity of all Canadians?
The Environment November 22nd, 2011
Mr. Speaker, there is a hole in the ozone above the Arctic that is twice the size of Ontario and the government's solution is to muzzle the scientists who found the hole and slash the budget of the people who monitor it. This hole is allowing harmful ultraviolet rays into our communities. Therefore, this is about protecting our children and our grandchildren.
When will the minister put down his talking points, listen to the scientific community and his own advisers and become the Minister of the Environment? It is never too late to learn.
The Environment November 22nd, 2011
Mr. Speaker, climate change talks start next week in Durban, and the government cannot seem to get its stories straight. First, it claims to be committed to the environment, but then it muzzles its scientists. Then it claims to target redundancies in the system, but we have a senior government official who says that there are no redundancies. Therefore, we know we will be a laughingstock at Durban because we cannot even get the job done at home.
When will the minister realize that he is the Minister of the Environment and actually take action on the government's appalling environmental record?
The Environment November 21st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, when will the government realize that science is real and it cannot actually be spun like a talking point? There is a hole in the ozone over the Arctic, twice the size of Ontario, and action on the ozone is fundamentally necessary right now.
Instead, we learn that senior government officials are signing memos verifying the importance of ozone protection programs in Canada one minute and then justifying Conservative cuts as streamlining and optimization.
When will the government get its act together and realize that streamlining the Department of the Environment hurts all of us?
The Environment November 21st, 2011
Mr. Speaker, this week in Bali there is a major conference to discuss protecting the ozone layer. Chances are that Canada will not be able to keep its commitments. Even though scientists have found a huge hole above Canada, cuts are being made to the ozone monitoring program and the minister is refusing to make his intentions clear.
When will the minister present a plan to protect the ozone layer and Canadians?
Natural Resources November 18th, 2011
Madam Speaker, it falls to MPs on this side of the House to speak up for Canadians who care about the environment because that side is too busy meeting with oil lobbyists.
While we are working toward a green economy for the future, it has its own meetings. We found out today that TransCanada lobbyists met with government officials a whopping 56 times since May. It is such a cozy relationship that it is not hard to believe that the government is big oil's number one cheerleader.
Why is the government so willing to listen to big oil but not Canadians? Just who does it work for?