LMSeng's Blog Scribble Scratch

John Rafferty, MP – Thunder Bay – Rainy River – Debate on Bill C-9, Budget 2010

Today I rose in the House to talk about Bill C-9, the bill which will implement this years budget. Buried deep in the 904 pages of legal jargon that is C-9, there are also provisions that eliminate the need for environmental assessments for stimulus projects, enable the sale of Crown assets like Atomic Energy Canada Limited (AECL), and increases in the export tariff penalty for Canadian forestry producers. By eliminating the need for environmental assessments on large infrastructure projects, selling off profitable assets while running massive long term deficits, and taking money out of the pockets of our struggling forestry sector Bill C-9 will surely go down as one of the most short-sighted and misguided budget documents ever brought before the House of Commons. Should the Liberals and Conservative band together to pass this bill as they did with the HST, then both parties must share the blame for the substantial damage it is likely to cause to the long term economic and environmental interests of our region.

Environment Minister Karl Hampton today unveiled the next stage of the Henderson Government's plans to strengthen environmental protection in the Territory. Mr Hampton said the Territory Government was acting now to ensure Territorians and future generations continue to enjoy the Territory's unique natural assets. "We all rely on the Territory's environmental health for our fantastic lifestyle, for jobs and economic security and for the health and wellbeing of our community," Mr Hampton said. "This is why it's crucially important to ensure we have modern, consistent, transparent and efficient legislative and regulatory framework. "The Henderson Government will reform the Environmental Assessment Act and harmonise the regulation of environmental activity on and off mining sites. "The reforms will modernise the laws and processes that protect the Territory environment. "It was this Government that established a truly independent Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and we have significantly strengthened its role as an independent watchdog." Mr Hampton said the EPA recently released a comprehensive review of the Environment Assessment Act and recommended the act be reformed. The Government reforms will: Promote Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) in environmental assessments Clarify the objectives of environmental assessment Strengthen guidelines around the types or projects requiring environmental assessment Provide a stronger focus on assessing the environmental ...