The intention of this amendment, of course, is part and parcel of the government's overall approach. That was to create a separate clean air part, in order to allow for the scientific identification, assessment, monitoring, and regulation, ultimately and if necessary, of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. In so doing, the government has created two separate categories of substances—namely, air pollutants and greenhouses gases—whereas in the current CEPA we have one category of substances called “toxic” substances.
Mr. Cullen is correct, in the sense that the processes for identifying, assessing, labelling, and regulating toxic substances under part 5 of CEPA were upheld in the Supreme Court of Canada in the Hydro-Québec case.
Before it was amended, the clean air part in Bill C-30 was constructed so as to mirror those same processes as closely as possible—the sequence of steps in part 5 that the Supreme Court relied so strongly on in upholding part 5. In other words, it was our view that the same finding would apply to part 5.1 as has already applied to part 5.
More generally—and I'm here not providing a legal opinion, I'm here as a representative of the Department of the Environment—if there is any environmental issue that is within the federal government's jurisdiction as one that is of national or international concern and it is not constrained to a local issue, surely it is air pollution and greenhouse gases, which, by definition, cross political jurisdictions.
The final point I would make is that any bill brought forward by the government is thoroughly reviewed by the Department of Justice. We're not privy to release the opinions of Justice, but I can assure you that this question was carefully considered.