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12 - The Canadlian Champion, Friday, january %, 1998 MP touches on Quebec, chopperse environment and more Ifromn FEDERAL on page 7 their province benefits from the system of equalization payments instituted witls confederation, Mr. Reed said. "Separauion as an issue will wax and wane. Xenophobic state- ments attributed to that movement have burt it. Quebeckers, lke ail Canadians, dont like attempts to generate prejudice," he said. He said one of the suggestions for a Canadian millennium pro- ject is a comprehensive history of Canada. Since provinces con- trol education, history in Canada tends to have a narrow regional focus. Canada's impact was felt in Kyoto during the recent summit on greenhouse gases, Mr. Reed said, adding that Canada lead on pro- ducing the Multilateral Investment Agreement (MAI) which could be a precursor to a world-wide trade agreement. Mr. Reed conceded free trade, which bis party fougbî vigorous-j ly, bas been positive for Canada. However, be insisted that the dispute resolution mechaniaro is largely responsible, giving Canada many more wins tban basses on points of contention. Trade issues brought the discussion around to a potential heli- copter purchase. Soon alter reaching office in 1993, the Liberal govemment can- celled a contract signed by the Brian Mulroney Conservatives to build EHIOI helicopters. Buying Canada out of the contract cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Now the government has identjfjed a need for helicopters, largely in a search and rescue mIle. Mr. Reed said the EH 10OI pro- gramo had Canada footing the bill for substantial research and development as the chopper was not yet on the production line. "At the time of the EHIOI contract we had a $42 billion deficit so the idea of spending bundreda of millions wss rather imprudent," Mr. Reed pointed out. The Halton MP also spoke of is pet environmental projects, reporting substantial progress on the ethanol and hemp programs. "Haîf a billion has been spent by the pnivate sector (o build a 200 million liter ethanol plant in Chatham, Ont.," he said. Mr. Reed explained that there can be as much as 17 per cent ethanol in gasoline without the need to change anything in the present inter- nai combustion engine. He said the early goal is to supplement gasoline with 10 percent ethanol. With ethanol in gasoline, carh<>n monoxide (,>missions are reduced 30 per cent and carbon dioxide is reduced 15 per cent, according to Mr. Reed. "This is a direct attack on greenhouse gases and relates directly to Kyoto. We need 10 planta the size of Chatham." The Chatham plant will use com as its feed stock. Ethanol can be produced by any starch feed which is convertible to fer- mentable sugar, he explained. The long terni feed will be wood waste. In fact some pulp roIs in the north have ethanol plants built into their process. he said. "Canada produces cellulose in abundance," Mr. Reed said. "One plant produced 30 million litcrs t'rom wbat used to be waste." In addition there is a plan to produce a hio-diesel fuel in Saskatchewan trom was!e dgflcultural productîs JOIN HANDS IN A GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP. r IVE To USC PROGRAMS IN ^FRIC^ AND ASIA. Plosttmoke ysur pledgetot USC bycali ng:1i BO 5656-USC - 1-I P11