Environment committee  I was referring to the fact that at the provincial level, some jurisdictions have recognized environmental human rights. In Manitoba, at the provincial level, we do not. That is what I was referring to.

Environment committee  Thank you very much. As I discussed in my presentation earlier, we have been working with lots of vulnerable community members in mature neighbourhoods in their city who have been facing exposures from toxic substances from nearby industrial activities over many decades. There have been many efforts at the community level to try to engage with government at all levels to collect data to help them evidence their concerns and also to engage in other legal processes that would help them advance the changes they'd like to see—and again, protect their health and surrounding environment.

Environment committee  Our community members were very excited about the notion of recognizing the right to a healthy environment, because they see this as a tool that's going to help them in the future to protect themselves and hopefully engage in some court processes and other things. What has stopped them from doing this so far, besides limited opportunity in Manitoba, is the fact that it's incredibly expensive to engage in these types of processes.

Environment committee  Thank you for the question. The main point of our engagement on this bill is to seek more protections for the vulnerable communities that are living near hot spots. I think some of the recommendations we've seen, both in our own submission and what I've spoken about today and from other organizations—such as to recognize the right to a healthy environment—and some of the other supports that have been discussed could help address some of these issues in a general way.

Environment committee  Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. The Manitoba Eco-Network's work with vulnerable community members in Winnipeg has indicated why it is so important for the federal government to play a strong and effective role in the regulation of toxic substances in industrial activities.