Ralph Goodale

[Agriculture, October 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of the allegations made by the hon. member.

I am sure these are allegations the Minister of Justice would like to inquire into in terms of the integrity of the Canadian judiciary.

[Agriculture, October 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, there are rules, regulations and laws applicable in every jurisdiction in this country and in the world. It is incumbent on all of us who respect democracy and the rule of law to follow those rules and regulations.

It is the responsibility of government, no matter how difficult it may be in some circumstances, to make sure that those laws are applied impartially in all circumstances, and that is what is happening in this case. Obviously this government will not comment on any case before the courts.

[Lumber Industry, October 22nd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that Hansard will show that this issue was first raised in the House of Commons by Liberal members on the government side.

It is true there are number of organizations that over the course of the past period of time have misconstrued and misinterpreted Canadian forestry practices. This issue has been discussed at length among federal and provincial forestry ministers, including the minister in B.C. We are working on a comprehensive strategy to ensure that the world knows the true story.

[Greenpeace, October 21st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, this is an issue that involves a number of departments and agencies within the Government of Canada and obviously within the U.S. government.

Our thrust will be twofold: first of all to ensure that buyers around the world understand the true story about Canadian forestry practices so that they can understand that forestry in Canada is conducted in a sustainable manner; and second, we will insist that our trading partners, like the United States, live up to their obligations and allow Canadian ships to land when they are supposed to.

[Environment, October 21st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, it was a very positive, cordial and productive meeting.

Ministers reviewed the progress being made by 15 analytical groups that involve 450 Canadian experts representing every province and every sector of the Canadian economy. They are all working on every aspect of the climate change challenge.

We also worked on credits for early action, on international negotiations and on public outreach and engagement. We also announced the details of Canada's climate change action fund. That fund brings our federal investment toward climate change solutions to more than $200 million annually.

[The Environment, October 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada, prior to the last budget, was investing something in the order of $100 million a year in climate change related solutions.

In the last budget we also added the climate change action fund which is an additional $150 million over the next three years to accelerate the process, particularly in relation to new technology development and deployment.

The government is moving with the provinces and with the private sector in developing the implementation program which we hope to have completed by the end of 1999. What we want is a truly Team Canada effort.

[Forestry, October 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I have had the opportunity to review this issue in considerable depth with the responsible minister in the B.C. government. It was also a subject of discussion at the most recent meeting of Canadian forestry ministers.

Together with the industry, all levels of government are working on the appropriate strategy to make sure the world understands sustainable development practices in the Canadian forest industry and to explain to the world that when we manage our forests we do it properly and in a way that the world can rely on. We will continue to explain the Canadian case whenever we have that opportunity.

[The Environment, October 7th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the first ministers of this country met within 48 hours after Kyoto to put in place an inclusive process involving provinces, industry, environmental organizations and many others.

Energy and environment ministers met in April to launch that process. That process is now underway. Fifteen issue tables are examining all the dimensions of this issue. Four hundred and fifty Canadian experts are involved. This is an open, inclusive, transparent effort and Canada is going to do a job on climate change.

[Agriculture, September 21st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the allegations are not true. There has been no export subsidy with respect to Canadian grain since the western grain transportation act was repealed in 1995, and the volume flows are completely normal, in the range of 1.6 million tonnes or so which has been the long term average.

What is interesting and really intriguing in this cross-border controversy is that both the governor of North Dakota and that state's major farm organization have publicly applauded the Canadian Wheat Board and are looking for ways to join forces with the Canadian Wheat Board in tackling global markets.

[Natural Resources, June 11th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. gentleman knows that the major portion of forest management is within the jurisdiction of the province of British Columbia.

But within federal jurisdiction we have been taking a number of initiatives. For example, the Minister for International Trade continues to work on the issue of Canadian access into the U.S. market four our softwood lumber, including the most recent customs ruling by the United States.

We have also met with the Government of British Columbia to organize an effort to ensure that Canadian access to European markets for our lumber supplies will not be impaired by certain consumer action—