You know you've gone too far when...

It seems to have escaped much public notice, but an exchange from yesterday's Hansard hints at just how determined the Cons are to cut down on the scope of federal jurisdiction (or how eager they are to use jurisdiction as an excuse in the absence of any valid answer):

Mrs. Claude DeBellefeuille (Beauharnois—Salaberry, BQ):
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Natural Resources claims to be a strong supporter of nuclear power, which he says is “very clean”. No doubt the minister is not aware of the many warnings that have been issued concerning the potential danger of the intensive use of nuclear power to extract oil from the oil sands.

Can the Minister of Natural Resources explain why he has a plan that could lead to the construction of 10 or even 20 nuclear reactors even though we are not even close to solving the problem of nuclear waste disposal?

Mr. Jacques Gourde (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her interesting question.

This matter falls under provincial jurisdiction. The provinces are the ones to decide what kind of energy can be used to exploit the oil sands.

Mrs. Claude DeBellefeuille (Beauharnois—Salaberry, BQ):
Mr. Speaker, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources is clearly not aware that nuclear power falls under federal jurisdiction.

Is the minister aware that his position runs counter to the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Natural Resources, which stipulates that “no decision be made on using nuclear energy to extract oil ... until the repercussions of this process are fully known and understood.”

Will he put a stop to these plans?

Mr. Jacques Gourde (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, any increase in oil sands production falls under provincial jurisdiction. We are working with Alberta to make this decision.

That's right: the Cons are so eager to avoid action through fabricated jurisdictional issues that even the Bloc is being forced to call for a relative expansion of federal involvement. Which should say plenty both about just how implausible the Cons' excuses are already - and just how little role the Cons would see for the federal government given more latitude than they have in their current minority.