Food and Drugs Act  Madam Speaker, within the context of the bill, I would like to talk about the health care system. It is important that we get all sorts of drugs, herbs and any remedies to the people as soon as possible, including natural foods that are safe, that do not have to go through the same lengthy procedures as regular drugs, and that when the 20 year patent period is up, the generic drugs can start right away and get the drugs into the system at the best price for the health care.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I wish to present a petition for over 150 Yukoners who feel that because of the casualties of war, the humanitarian disaster it would create after and the destabilization of the region, that Canada should refuse to send any troops to Iraq and should pursue instead a policy of diplomacy, peacekeeping, human rights monitoring and disarmament.

Yukon  Mr. Speaker, today, April 1, is a history making day in Canada's nation building. Today most of the residual provincial type powers have been transferred from the federal government to Yukon. Another great part of our Confederation has come of age. Now Yukoners, like all other Canadians, can manage our own natural resources, our own minerals, our own forests, our own lands and our own waters.

Yukon  Mr. Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent of the House for just one minute to thank my colleagues for this great day.

Yukon  Mr. Speaker, this is a great day for all Yukoners. I would like to thank all my colleagues in all parties for their support. Today the budget regarding natural resource management has been transferred over to the Yukon government, and now our future, our destiny, is in our own hands.

Financial Institutions  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said that the government will soon be responding to the report on bank mergers. In the meantime, could the Secretary of State for International Financial Institutions let the House know if he expects some proposals from banks in the near future regarding mergers?

The Environment  Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Environment, myself, the Caribou Commons Project and the Gwich'in people have lobbied hard for years about not drilling in the 1002 lands of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There was an important vote in the United States senate yesterday.

Situation in Iraq  Mr. Speaker, the nations of the world are on the brink of choosing one of two sad roads. As I said in previous speeches, if the world goes to war, innocent people will die; if the world does not go to war, innocent people will die. The difficulty for each of us as politicians, and indeed for every citizen of the world in their own conscience, is which of these two sad roads we should take.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I will comment on two items that the member raised. First, on palliative care, I think we were all pretty excited when the finance bill was introduced. I will look at the items the member has talked about and the rationale, arguments and the details in that debate. Anything that can improve that situation would be good.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, when the Liberal government came in, it started the infrastructure programs. There was no such program in the recent past. In Yukon it was very successful. There was a one-third sharing arrangement so that the municipalities, the territorial government and the federal government each put in a third.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I am happy to rise today to talk further about the budget. To reiterate, I am quite happy that there are a number of references to the north in the budget and now perhaps I will go on to talk about the future to some extent, now that we have had feedback, and where we can go in the future to increase and improve the economy, especially as related to my constituency.

Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous Festival  Mr. Speaker, at this very moment the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous celebrations are occurring in Yukon's capital city. Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous is one of the top winter festivals in the nation. We will be celebrating Yukon's lively and colourful past, so whether people are into dog sledding, chainsaw chucking, sourdough sam's, flour packing, watching can-can dancers, taking in the hairy leg contest or simply enjoying a get together with friends and family, everyone is guaranteed a great time during the festival.

Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act  Mr. Speaker, in 1995 the Yukon first nations, the federal government and the Yukon government signed a great treaty. Many people in Canada probably do not know that one of the interesting results is it created the potential for 16 different governments in the Yukon at the federal, territorial and first nations level.

Fisheries  Mr. Chairman, I hope I have the last word on this issue. I have no idea how decisions are made inside the Department of Fisheries or by the minister. There is some semblance, though, of things I have heard subsequent to the time that this issue started. This is a different process.

Fisheries  Mr. Chairman, the point is that they do settle it in such a way that the mining can continue and the fish can continue to exist and to thrive as they do presently. Everyone likes to fish in Yukon. The Yukon is known for its beauty. I have letters from people who want to preserve that beauty.