The Environment
Friday March 15, 2002
Mr. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg--Transcona, NDP): Mr.
Speaker, my question is for the Minister of the Environment. There is a report
in the Globe and Mail today that the government does have a report on
the real costs of ratifying Kyoto, as opposed to the costs alleged by the oil
industry, et cetera.
I wonder if the Minister of the Environment could
tell us when this report will be available so that people who do support the
accord could have the benefit of sharing it with our constituents, et cetera.
Will he, while he is on his feet, also clear up the
confusion that seems to exist now among the positions of the Minister of the Environment,
the Minister of Natural Resources and the Prime Minister? There seem to be
three different messages coming from the government as to whether--
The Speaker: The hon. Minister of the
Environment.
Hon. David Anderson (Minister of the Environment,
Lib.): Mr. Speaker, on the first question, there are a number of
international studies that are available publicly and have been over the years.
These have been put together in a listing. Just as soon as it is translated, I
will make it available next week to the hon. member and other interested hon.
members.
With respect to the second part of his question,
there is no contradiction. The government's position is clear on this. We intend
to have full consultation with the provinces, with interested Canadians and
with industry prior to any decision on ratification and of course to have a
plan that would make sure there is--
The Speaker: The hon. member for
Winnipeg--Transcona.
Mr. Bill Blaikie (Winnipeg--Transcona, NDP): Excuse
me, Mr. Speaker, but that sounds to me like a backing down on the part of the
government, because now he is talking about prior to any decision on
ratification. It seems to me that I remember spokespersons for the government
saying they were going to ratify the accord by June or by the end of this year.
Now we are talking about studies having to be done prior to ratification.
I ask the minister, is the government going to
ratify the Kyoto accord and provide the information, the Canadian studies that
would enable those of us on this side of the House who want to help the
government ratify the accord? When is it going to ratify the accord and make
the commitment to do so?
Hon. David Anderson (Minister of the Environment,
Lib.): Mr. Speaker, we appreciate the hon. member's offer of help and we
will certainly be taking advantage of it. It is our intention to ratify. We
wish to ratify. However the decision on ratification will depend upon
consultation with the provinces, territories, industry and general public. That
is one requirement. The second is to have a plan in place that prevents any
unfair or uneven burden on the regions of the country.
That is our intention and the decision will be taken
after the consultations in question and after the development of such a plan.
