Mr. Tim Hudak: My question is to the minister responsible for the Ontario Realty Corp. Minister, as you know, the Eramosa karst is a rare geological feature formed by water dissolving the limestone over 13,000 years on the Niagara escarpment. Its caves, valleys and sinking streams cannot be found anywhere else in our entire province, which is why previous governments have all worked to preserve the Eramosa Karst Conservation Area.

Minister, it is now time to take the next step. The 92 acres of feeder lands which support the karst and the wildlife that live within it are now under threat. You’ve given direction to the Ontario Realty Corp. to sell off that land for development to support Dalton McGuinty’s runaway spending. I ask you, Minister, will you do the right thing, put a stop to the sale and make it part of the conservation area?
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Hon. Brad Duguid: Indeed, I’ve welcomed and listened carefully to some of my colleagues on this particular matter-the member for Hamilton Mountain and the member for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale-who have spoken to me about this very matter.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. This particular part of the province is going through some environmental assessments. No decisions will be made with regard to the dispensation of this land until those environmental assessments are completed.

What I can say is, through the leadership of these members, the leadership of our Premier and our government, we’ve donated almost 200 acres of land to the Eramosa Karst Conservation Area, something your government did not do, and something we thought was a very, very important initiative. We are very, very proud to have gotten it done.
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The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?
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Mr. Tim Hudak: It is encouraging to hear the minister say that no decisions have been made. Minister, I’m asking you to make the right decision today and preserve the feeder lands in the Eramosa karst for generations to come. I think the minister knows that Hamilton city council, the Hamilton Conservation Authority and local conservation clubs were joined by the friends of the Eramosa karst here today, all standing-
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Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Order. Stop the clock, please. Start the clock.

Sorry. Leader, please continue.
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Mr. Tim Hudak: I’m pleased to say that my colleague and neighbour the MPP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, Paul Miller, and I are co-sponsoring a private member’s bill to preserve this for generations to come.

So, Minister, I ask you to do the right thing. Paul Miller and I are working together; three will make it happen. Will you do the right thing and preserve this for generations to come?
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Hon. Brad Duguid: What a scary coming together of those two parties on the issue of the environment.

I appreciate the member’s comments, and I appreciate his new-found interest in the environment. But I have to ask, if you’re concerned about the environment, why did you oppose the greenbelt?
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Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): That’s not helpful at all, member from Peterborough.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): The member from Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound.

Please continue.
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Hon. Brad Duguid: We appreciate the member’s new-found interest in the environment, but I have to ask him: If you’re so concerned about the environment, why did you oppose the greenbelt? I have to ask you, why are you opposing the Clean Water Act? I have to ask you, why did you oppose the ban on pesticides? I have to ask you, why did you oppose our toxic reduction laws? I have to ask you, why did you oppose our internationally recognized growth plan? Why would you support dirty coal over things like clean wind energy and green energy-
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The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Thank you.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Stop the clock. Order on both sides. If the member from Simcoe North and the Minister of Agriculture want to have a discussion, take it outside.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): I have a rumbly in my tumbly, but I can wait.
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Mr. Paul Miller: To the minister responsible for the Ontario Realty Corp.: The Eramosa karst feeder lands must be preserved. The Hamilton Conservation Authority has always understood the necessity of taking these lands into their portfolio to ensure the protection of the Eramosa karst. The Hamilton Conservation Authority, the Friends of the Eramosa Karst, the city of Hamilton and several others are calling for a bumped-up environmental assessment. Will the Minister of the Environment and the minister responsible for the Ontario Realty Corp. act today to bump up the feeder lands environmental assessment and help the people of Hamilton?
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Hon. Brad Duguid: I’m going to refer this to the Minister of the Environment.
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Hon. John Gerretsen: Let me first of all say that this is an important piece of land in the province of Ontario; there’s no question about it. That’s why we donated over 200 acres of it to the conservation authority.

Let me also say that, as I indicated in a letter that I sent to the Leader of the Opposition some time ago, the project is being planned under the MEI class environmental assessment process. That period ended, I believe, at the end of March. The ministry is currently looking at that to see whether or not it should be bumped up, and a recommendation will be coming in the near future.
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The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?
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Mr. Paul Miller: The public interest must triumph over private gain or misguided short-term increase in government coffers. This afternoon, my colleague the member from Niagara West-Glanbrook and I are introducing a bill to protect the Eramosa karst feeder lands. These unique and important ecological lands must be fully and permanently protected. To ensure that these fragile essential feeder lands containing the natural stream in the area are never destroyed, the government must turn them over to the Hamilton Conservation Authority today. Is this government finally going to protect the Eramosa karst by ensuring that the feeder lands are never developed, but are turned over to the Hamilton Conservation Authority for generations to come?
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Hon. John Gerretsen: As the member well knows, there is a process in place. It’s called an environmental assessment review. That’s exactly what we’re doing in this case. A class environmental assessment has been done. The matter is before the ministry. We will take a look at it and a decision will be made in due course.

I admire the member opposite, but I must admit that I’m somewhat surprised that he would go and co-sign a bill with a member who has been fighting the greenbelt right from day one in each and every respect. I know that this is not, technically speaking, part of the greenbelt, but it’s fairly close to that. So I would just say to the member, be careful with the partners that you choose in co-sponsoring bills.