Liberal MP accuses government of stalling release of oilsands report
By Laura Stone, Canwest News Service
June 15, 2010
OTTAWA — A Liberal MP has accused the Conservative government of blocking the release of an environmental report that highlights the negative impact of the oilsands on Canada's freshwater supply, even as meetings to discuss the report are supposed to remain closed to the public.
Francis Scarpaleggia, Liberal MP for the Quebec riding of Lac-Saint-Louis, said the Conservative members of the all-party environment and sustainable development committee are "pursuing a strategy of obstruction" intended to stall the release of a report that could be potentially damaging to Environment Minister Jim Prentice and the Conservative government.
Scarpaleggia said the report contains research that suggests the oilsands are contaminating Canada's freshwater resources, such as the Athabasca River watershed, with toxic substances. It also makes several recommendations to the government on how to improve water protection.
"It's quite obvious that (the Conservatives are) trying to avoid having the committee report on water and oilsands see the light of day," said Scarpaleggia.
"It's potentially controversial, and it's something they don't want to talk about in public."
Scarpaleggia argued the Conservative committee members are using procedural manoeuvres, such as tabling other motions and addressing new policies, to sidestep the completion of the report, which has been in production for more than a year and is in the final stages of revision.
"We want to get all this out in the open now and produce a report and table a report, but I think the government strategy is to say: 'Let's not let this go forward, because we're going to have a summer recess soon, and that will scuttle it until the fall, and then who knows? Maybe there'll be an election in the fall and we won't have to worry about this,' " said Scarpaleggia.
"The problem is people will be kept in the dark. It just won't get on the public's radar if we don't issue a report."
Conservative MP Mark Warawa, a committee member and parliamentary secretary to Prentice, said Scarpaleggia's comments are "not truthful."
"There is no obstruction," said Warawa. "I can tell you of all the parties, the Conservative members have not stopped the report and, in fact, we want to get the report out."
He said he couldn't talk about the proceedings at the committee meeting because they are "in camera," meaning they are not open to the public. He further suggested Scarpaleggia could be "breaching parliamentary privilege" by talking about the specifics of the report.
"There may be a consequence of that," said Warawa.
"I'm not going to make the same mistake that (Scarpaleggia) did by making public what's happening in camera. It's not appropriate."
The accusation over the allegedly stalled report comes two months after a pair of environmental groups, including Environmental Defence Canada, launched a complaint under the North American Free Trade Agreement about whether the government is adequately addressing the issue of water pollution from oilsands operations.
NDP MP Linda Duncan, who also sits on the environment committee, echoed Scarpaleggia's concerns about timeliness.
"I'm equally fed up. It's really critical that this oilsands report get out. It's my jurisdiction in Alberta, and we need some strong recommendations on federal intervention," she said.
"So yes, it is very discouraging. We're getting nowhere fast."
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