Rona Ambrose

[The Environment, September 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, this is something that I am discussing with my counterparts in all the provinces, as I am with Mr. Béchard in Quebec. I am very pleased that the Government of Quebec has an environmental plan concerning climate change. I am discussing that with my colleague, Mr. Béchard.

However, the priority for our government is the health of all Quebeckers and of all Canadians. Therefore, our plan will deal with air quality.

[The Environment, September 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I can assure my colleague that our plan goes beyond Kyoto. Our government's priority is the health of all Quebeckers and all Canadians. Our plan also addresses atmospheric pollution as well as climate change.

[The Environment, September 21st, 2006]

In fact, Mr. Speaker, I take my international obligations very seriously.

I chaired the meeting in Switzerland, so the member has wrong information. I have also chaired four international Kyoto conferences in my role as chair, representing over 160 countries worldwide.

We are also participating in the G-8 talks on climate change, the Asia-Pacific partnership. We are also engaging eight United States on their RGGI climate change system. We are also in talks with California about its new legislation.

[The Environment, June 22nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I think the member is disconnected from his headset. If he had listened to the things that have been going on in the House for the last four months, he would know that the government has never rejected Kyoto. The Conservatives have never pulled out of Kyoto. We are working within the Kyoto protocol.

We are putting a reasonable, achievable, affordable domestic plan in place that will ensure that the mess the Liberals made out of Kyoto over the last 13 years will be addressed. We will make a success of our made in Canada plan.

[The Environment, June 22nd, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about something the member did yesterday in the environment committee. If the Bloc wants to go to an election and cause an election on the environment, I say bring it on. Our record in four months is miles better than the 13 year Liberal record and the non-record of the Bloc. It will never be in power. It will never be able to represent the interests of Quebeckers. It will never be able to what is right for Quebeckers on the environment.

Already in four months, the government has passed pollution laws to ensure that we address health issues like blindness, asthma and cancer. Those things are important to Canadians and to Quebeckers.

[Minister of the Environment, June 21st, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, we have made it clear that after 13 years of Liberal waste and mismanagement on all fronts, including the environment, this government is focused on accountability on all fronts, particularly on the environment because the environment is something that Canadians care deeply about.

This government is concerned about the health of Canadians. Canadians have asked us to protect their health. Those are the measures we are taking every single day in government.

[The Environment, June 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, as reflected in my earlier comments, protecting the health of Canadians is extremely important to this government and Environment Canada. I am not aware of this oversight but I will look into it and I will get back to the member. I can assure her that any exposure I have had to Environment Canada investigative processes is done with the full integrity and adherence to the process of the law.

[The Environment, June 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, speaking of harm, what I am most concerned about on the environment file are the health issues in relation to pollution.

What the government has done in the first four months is introduce a new pollution law for base smelters. We have introduced a new pollution law to reduce sulphur and diesel. We have banned 10 tonnes of mercury out of our environment.

This week the Minister of Health and I have taken a huge step to protect the health of Canadians by being the first country in the world to prohibit any new products which contain a node toxin, which causes cancer in Canadians.

Canadians want us to protect their health. That is what we are doing.

[The Environment, June 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said, for 13 years the Liberals focused on programs of waste with no results. Their solution to the corner they backed themselves into on Kyoto was spending billions of dollars on international credits overseas in places like China and Russia.

We are going to invest money right here at home. We are introducing new pollution laws. We are banning toxins that cause cancer in Canadians. That means cleaner air, cleaner water and clean health for Canadians.

[The Environment, June 20th, 2006]

Mr. Speaker, what I would like to talk about is what is important to Canadians, and that is the health of Canadians in regard to our environment. For 13 years the Liberals focused on voluntary action and were afraid to regulate, afraid to ban and afraid to create new pollution laws.

In just four months we have created two new pollution laws, and just this week, the health minister and I acted and Canada has become the first country in the world to ban a known toxin that causes cancer in Canadians. That is action to protect the health of Canadians.