House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2019, with 55% of the vote.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2012
Mr. Chair, again, I will correct the hon. member's perception. There is a significant increase to the amount of funding provided for aboriginal consultation, an increase of $1.5 million. As I said earlier, the bulk of that will go to the consultation. A very small amount will be used for administrative purposes.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2012
Mr. Chair, the bulk of the money, and I will see if I can put my hands on the specific dollar amount, will go to aboriginal consultation with a very small amount will go to administration costs.
Through Bill C-38, through the responsible resource development legislation, we have ensured that we not only do what has been done so well in the past with regard to aboriginal consultation, but that we engage earlier and that we fulfill our statutory obligations to support and assist their interventions.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2012
Madam Chair, my colleague trivializes this entire process. However, I am here tonight to say that with regard to the environmental emergencies office or any of the other offices, departments and agencies within Environment Canada, we are dedicated to making Canada a cleaner, safer and more environmentally sustainable country now and for generations into the future.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2012
Madam Chair, again my colleague cannot seem to grasp this.
Environment Canada personnel or not first responders. The responsibility lies with the municipal, provincial or the federal department or agency that is in charge of the cleanup and actually accomplishes the containment and the cleanup with advice generally from a distance and scientific data provided through a variety of technologies.
However, Environment Canada personnel are not emergency first responders in any instance.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2012
Madam Chair, I can tell my colleague that in the consolidation of the six offices to two, which will not in any way compromise the efficiency or the services provided by the environmental emergencies office, the reduction is from 59 jobs to 36, which leaves a net job loss of 23.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2012
Madam Chair, again, I do not have those numbers at hand but I can certainly find them for my colleague. However, as I said in my earlier response, very seldom do Environment Canada personnel attend spill sites. They provide support and essential data but on very few occasions would they attend the site.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2012
Madam Chair, of the roughly between 1,500 and 2,000 spills that occur across Canada every year, Environment Canada personnel very rarely attend the scene. They do, and there have been instances in recent months, where they have been requested by a lead agency, be it a province or a federal ministry, such as the Department of Transport, for example, with two recent rail accidents. However, for the most part, they support telephonically with advice and scientific data to assist whatever lead agency is in charge with the cleanup.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2012
Madam Chair, I would be glad to answer my hon. colleague, but I would remind him again that the environmental emergency offices are not first responders. Environment Canada personnel very rarely attend the sites of pollutant spills, oil spills or gaseous emissions. They support the lead agencies in any of these cleanup situations, be they municipal organizations, fire departments, police departments, provincial organizations, or in the case of federal departments, where a seaborne spill is involved, the Coast Guard under Transport Canada, and for rail accidents, Transport Canada, or the appropriate federal lead agency.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2012
Madam Chair, my colleague obviously needs to pay some attention to the detail of Bill C-38.
The responsible resource development legislation has four very simple, very clear and environmentally logical provisions and principles. They are: to strengthen environmental protection first and foremost from my perspective as the Minister of the Environment; to make reviews of resource projects more predictable and timely; to reduce duplication and regulatory burden; and to enhance consultations with aboriginal Canadians. That is what Bill C-38 would do.
Business of Supply May 15th, 2012
Madam Chair, no, but I will explain why the Canadian Environmental Network is not considered to be one of those sources.
Times change, relevant contributions to the body of science change, and modalities change. In that sense, the CEM, like the national round table, NRT, represents quality services, but services of the past.