Can We Get An Answer In The House

I was reading through the Federal Hansard to see if anything interesting had happened on Friday, nothing significant, however the answer to one question appears to bear even less relation to what was actually asked than usual – (as I’m sure I’ll be told) that assessment is probably just my personal bias kicking in…. so maybe someone who is a little more CPoC friendly can help me out and explain it to me.

Mr. Alex Atamanenko (British Columbia Southern Interior, NDP): Mr. Speaker, the Americans are spending millions of dollars on a feasibility study to build a hydroelectric dam at Shanker’s Bend on the Similkameen River. An 80 metre dam, if built, would flood 7,200 hectares in Canada.

The Okanagan Alliance of First Nations and the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen have stated their opposition as has the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

Will the minister notify the U.S. government that Canada is opposed to this project and will he insist that the government of British Columbia do the same?

Things like this are the reason I look at the Hansard.

One would assume that the government would be on top of something like this, their answer however leads me to believe this is the first they’ve heard of it.

Mr. Mark Warawa (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment, CPC): Mr. Speaker, as the member well knows, this government is committed to a cleaner environment. We have invested $1 billion in green infrastructure, $300 million for eco-energy retrofits, and $1 billion for clean energy projects and carbon capture and storage.

Wherever we look this government is taking action on the environment. I encourage the member to support the budget.

Huh? Just what does any of that have to do with the question that was asked?

Atamanenko asked about Canadian land being flooded by an American dam and Warawa replies with green infrastructure, energy retrofits, clean energy projects, and then winds the thing up with a ‘please vote for our budget when it appears in the House‘.

My thoughts are that the government side, up until that point on Friday morning, had absolutely no clue about this and had a Parliamentary Secretary threw up a stock bunch of rhetoric rather than admit that — I can only imaging the mad flurry of activity that immediately took place in the party research ranks even before Warawa’s arse had refound its’ seat.

My thoughts could, of course, be totally off the mark, maybe Warawa did in fact provide a valid answer the question and I’m simply too biased to see that — if that’s the case, and one of our Conservative blogging brethren can explain how the answer is related to the question, I’ll hand over a guest post spot on the topic of their choice.