Environment committee  It's not a problem. I probably will not need four minutes. I'm going to talk to the deck entitled “Environmental Stewardship Branch”. The environmental stewardship branch is essentially the regulatory and key program branch in the department. All the regulations and most of the

Government Operations committee  In your question, you captured the difference between a legislative initiative and a Treasury Board requirement. All government departments follow Treasury Board requirements very carefully, so we implement one just like we implement the other.

Government Operations committee  My understanding is that the legislation really codifies the existing one-for-one rule, so we're not expecting any significant change on how we operate. As I indicated, we take Treasury Board requirements very seriously.

Government Operations committee  There were no additional resources provided to deal with this. We found that there was a marginal, if any, impact on our existing resources. We already had, under Mr. Lindale, a group whose mandate was to ensure the integrity of our regulatory system. They provide that overall

Government Operations committee  I would just add that one of the initiatives the department has been moving forward over the last couple of years is what we call a world-class regulator initiative where Environment Canada is striving to be world class in everything it does in the regulatory area. We have a numb

Government Operations committee  Sure. I think our transparency is addressed to everybody who has a potential interest in our regulations. That includes regulatees, other sectors that might have an interest in the area, environmental organizations, and academic experts. In our pre-regulatory development we try h

Government Operations committee  I can take a shot at that. In response to this point, I think we have found that there have been some potential repeals that have quite clearly made sense. For example, in our forward regulatory plan, we're planning to remove the vinyl chloride release regulations. Those are re

Government Operations committee  Our forward regulatory plan sets out our proposals with respect to removing existing regulations. There are a couple of repeals that are outlined there and some consolidations that are mentioned.

Government Operations committee  Another example I could give is in our environmental emergency regulations. We had a requirement for all regulators to report annually on their contact information. We looked at that and we felt that some of these regulators are more, in a sense, at risk than others. We kept that

Government Operations committee  Well, our system works as a parliamentary democracy with the role of government and the role of ministers. As public servants, our role is to administer the laws and the regulations as set by government. That's the framework within which we operate.

Government Operations committee  I am not sure I understand your question. The bill goes through Parliament, and Parliament will decide on the exact content of the bill. After that, in terms of the regulatory process we will follow the regulatory process as already set out in the law. It indicates, for example,

Government Operations committee  Yes, absolutely. It encourages us to go back to look at our existing regulation bank, including how the regulations are structured and whether they could be better structured, as well as at the exact administrative costs that we impose on industry and Canadians in those regulatio

Government Operations committee  As I said, I don't have a personal opinion, and the department supports the bill as put forward by the President of the Treasury Board.

Government Operations committee  I would say that as part of the forward regulatory plan we indicate what our proposed regulatory initiatives are going to be for the next two years. In there we also indicate some of the repeals and adjustments that we expect in our existing stock of regulations. As we go forward

Government Operations committee  I guess I would repeat what my colleague Ms. Weber said. There are consultations around the forward regulatory plan. Any repeal goes to Canada Gazette, part I, and there's opportunity for public comment. So there are opportunities for Canadians to express their views on proposed