Bob Bromley

Thank you, committee. Mrs. Groenewegen.

Thank you, Mrs. Groenewegen. Committee would like to deal with Bill 9 and Committee Report 7-16(6). We have Minister Miltenberger.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank my colleagues for their efforts to bring this motion forward. I did indicate to them during the early discussions some of the difficulties I did have with the motion. Unfortunately, I don’t see changes to reflect that.

I do want to refer to my statement today and my record of speaking out clearly, loudly, consistently, often lonely, on the absolute need to get our Aboriginal partners to the table participating in our Devolution Agreement-in-Principle. This is not a time, really, to be creating new structures. I think of a couple of reasons for that. One...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank the Minister for the most recent remarks and follow up on his advice and ask the Premier if indeed this issue will be brought forcefully to the Prime Minister’s attention when he has the opportunity to meet with him this week.

I appreciate the Minister’s remarks. The recent Hill Times I think was the 8th of August item quotes a federal spokesman as saying that the department will ensure the department is spending its resources on priorities like improving air quality and cleaner water. Those are nice words. Our Minister of Environment, though modest in stature, clearly throws a big shadow. Will the Minister be holding the federal government to task if their gutting of the department doesn’t live up to this dialogue?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The recent news has been replete with stories detailing federal plans to cut 776 Environment Canada jobs and slash the department’s budget from $1.1 billion to $883 million by 2014. This was preceded by years of declining support for Environment Canada, and Minister Flaherty assures us this is just the beginning of the cuts. I’d like to ask the Minister of the Environment how these cuts will affect Environment Canada’s operations in the Northwest Territories.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We should not be downloading an inadequate regulatory regime under the proposed Devolution Agreement-in-Principle. An April 13th Canadian Press Report indicates a loophole in environmental rules is allowing a growing number of unregulated waste incinerators to release extremely toxic chemicals into the land and water. Citing a federal report, CP says levels of highly carcinogenic dioxins and furans up to 10 times higher than those from an uncontaminated lake were detected near the Ekati mine. The reason? Air emissions from incinerators aren’t controlled due to...

Mr. Speaker, your committee has been considering Bill 9, Wildlife Act, and Committee Report 7-16(6), Report on the Review of Bill 9, Wildlife Act, and would like to report progress. Mr. Speaker, I move that the report of the Committee of the Whole be concurred with.

Thank you, Mr. Miltenberger. Does committee agree we not proceed with Bill 9?

So just for my clarity here, there are no partnerships between jurisdictions like provincial and/or federal in the actions that are underway.