Thank you, Mr. Chair.
At this point, I would like to move that the motion on the floor is out of order at this time. With your permission, I'll give the reasons why.
Thank you.
Mr. Chair, this government has the mandate to deal with CEPA, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act of 1999. It is the cornerstone legislation on the environment, which as a committee we have agreed to deal with.
Mr. Chair, if we think back to the Speech from the Throne, this government committed to achieving tangible improvements in our environment, including reductions in pollution.
In the speech, the Governor General of Canada stated:
Recognizing the important role of parliamentarians, members of Parliament will be asked to conduct comprehensive reviews of key federal legislation, including the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
Mr. Chair, this committee did agree that this would be our number one priority, as we would then start to do the review of CEPA 1999. Mr. Chair, this is what the committee should be focusing on.
This motion from the NDP wastes committee time and is distracting the committee from the CEPA review. The motion also seeks to waste parliamentary time in the House.