Devils Lake Diversion Project  Mr. Speaker, there has been some concern over some of the comments that were made earlier tonight. The House has to understand that this is an issue that I am quite passionate about. It is an issue that is going to have a detrimental effect on the people living in my riding. More importantly, their concerns are being expressed by me tonight here in this House.

Devils Lake Diversion Project  Mr. Speaker, we are not here to argue about the science or the importance of the Boundary Waters Treaty. We all understand that. On our side of the House and I think everybody in my riding who is going to be detrimentally affected by this decision in North Dakota if it unilaterally decides to turn on the switch and start pumping water, we want to know what plan is there in place?

Devils Lake Diversion Project  Actually, Mr. Speaker, the source of my information is largely from the province of Manitoba. It is not coming out of North Dakota at all. I meant to say this during my speech but unfortunately ran out of time. The province of Manitoba is of a different political stripe than I am, but it has been fighting this battle by itself.

Devils Lake Diversion Project  Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette makes a good point. The reality is that Governor Hoeven of North Dakota holds the switch and he is about to pull that lever. We had the opportunity to go back and have that referral. The government has dropped the ball too many times on this file.

Devils Lake Diversion Project  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to again speak in the House to the Devils Lake diversion project and the impact it will have. I thank my colleague from Kildonan--St. Paul for her leadership on this and in bringing it forward on behalf of the Manitoba Conservative caucus. I also want to thank Senator Janis Johnson and Senator Terry Stratton for the work they have put into the boundary waters issue for the past 20 years, going right back to the Garrison diversion out of North Dakota and getting that one derailed.

Devils Lake Diversion Project  Mr. Speaker, are there questions and comments?

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, I think the minister will want to rethink his answer. Marc Grossman of the U.S. Department of State sent a letter on May 20, 2002 to the Canadian embassy inviting Canada to join the U.S. in making a reference to the IJC on the then proposed Devils Lake project. Ambassador Kergin replied in writing: In the view of the Government of Canada, it is inappropriate to refer to the IJC a proposal, such as the potential Devils Lake project-- Why did the government blow such a great opportunity to make a joint referral to the IJC?

An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to Make Certain Payments  Mr. Speaker, the $4.6 billion that was promised in the original budget and taken out of Bill C-43 was going to be targeted toward corporate tax relief to make our industry more competitive, to create more opportunity for reinvestment and job creation. We like to throw out rhetoric as to what is meaningful, but any dollar that we can put back in the pocket of Canadians is meaningful.

An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to Make Certain Payments  Mr. Speaker, the first time I voted in a federal election was in 1984 and I was more than happy to vote Conservative and replace the Liberal government of the day. I took out my first loan in 1983 to buy some cows and the interest rate was over 22%. My father was feeling the same burden in his farming situation.

An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to Make Certain Payments  At 20% interest, it was almost impossible. If the interest rates were at the same level as they were during the last 12 years, there would have been a surplus posted the last three or four years of the Conservative government back in 1984-85 when it came into power. The other thing to take into consideration is that spending has gone through the roof over the last few years.

An Act to Authorize the Minister of Finance to Make Certain Payments  Mr. Speaker, I am glad to speak at report stage of Bill C-48 to address a lot of the concerns that the constituents of Selkirk--Interlake and I have with this bill. The big thing is we are talking about $4.6 billion that is contained in a document that is only six pages long. The last three pages make really good reading as they are all blank.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, the sun is shining in Manitoba and North Dakota and it is starting to dry up. We are only a matter of days away from the opening of the Devils Lake diversion. This weekend North Dakota Governor Hoeven challenged Canada and said that if we want a sand filter as recommended by the U.S.

Message from the Senate  Mr. Speaker, I thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance for staying up so late to debate this issue. He must have drawn the short straw tonight and had to stay for adjournment proceedings. He mentioned the report from Justice Gomery and I really hope that we do see that report.

Message from the Senate  Mr. Speaker, rather than calling this the late show, we should call it the early show. For those that are watching in eastern Canada, I would say good morning and for those in western Canada, I think it is time to go to bed. I rise to address a question that I originally raised on May 6 regarding the sponsorship program.

Natural Resources  Mr. Speaker, news reports confirm today what I stated yesterday. The only reason the governor of North Dakota is delaying the opening of the Devils Lake diversion is wet weather and the high level of the Red River. When things dry up, he fully intends to open up the diversion. The three amigos, the environment minister, the foreign affairs minister and the Treasury Board president, stated that an agreement for delay had been reached.