Evidence of meeting #3 for Bill C-30 (39th Parliament, 1st Session) in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was air.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
John Godfrey Liberal Don Valley West, ON
But could most of what's in the notice of intent be achieved by using CEPA?
Acting Director General, Systems and Priorities, Department of the Environment
Yes.
Liberal
John Godfrey Liberal Don Valley West, ON
Right.
Could we deal with indoor air quality using CEPA if there were no Bill C-30? Do we have the authority to regulate indoor air quality now?
Acting Director General, Systems and Priorities, Department of the Environment
Yes.
Liberal
John Godfrey Liberal Don Valley West, ON
If there were no Bill C-30, could we regulate motor vehicle and engine emissions?
Acting Director General, Systems and Priorities, Department of the Environment
Emissions, but not fuel efficiency.
Liberal
John Godfrey Liberal Don Valley West, ON
I didn't ask about fuel efficiency, I asked about emissions.
If there were no Bill C-30, could we regulate large final emitters?
Acting Director General, Systems and Priorities, Department of the Environment
Do you mean, could we regulate GHG emissions from large final emitters?
Acting Director General, Systems and Priorities, Department of the Environment
Then yes.
Liberal
John Godfrey Liberal Don Valley West, ON
Didn't we in fact plan to have regulations under CEPA under way that would have put such regulations in by 2008?
Acting Director General, Systems and Priorities, Department of the Environment
Can I assume that's a rhetorical question?
Liberal
John Godfrey Liberal Don Valley West, ON
I just would like to have it on the record.
Are there any emission targets or timelines that CEPA wouldn't have the authority to help regulate?
Acting Director General, Systems and Priorities, Department of the Environment
No, I don't think there's any impediment that CEPA imposes to establishing a regulatory timeline.
Liberal
John Godfrey Liberal Don Valley West, ON
If there were no Bill C-30, and we only had CEPA, could we establish an emissions trading market?
Acting Director General, Systems and Priorities, Department of the Environment
Yes. Again, I'd like to come back to the qualification that I provided to the question from Monsieur Bigras, I think, that the current provisions aren't broad enough to enable us to establish an efficient emissions trading market when we look at the kinds of regimes that have been established effectively in other countries.
But the short answer is, yes, we could establish emissions trading under CEPA.
Liberal
John Godfrey Liberal Don Valley West, ON
Could there be penalties under CEPA for those who violated the provisions of an emissions trading market? Does it have the penalty powers?
Acting Director General, Systems and Priorities, Department of the Environment
The current penalty powers would be applicable.
Liberal
John Godfrey Liberal Don Valley West, ON
Well, one of the things that really comes through the deck is how great an act CEPA is, and what power it has, and, if Bill C-30 fails, how much we could do to achieve all of the ends that are being touted as the advantages of this new bill. Most of the language, I notice, deals with “improve”, “expand”, but it doesn't deal with the actual authority that exists, the broad authority to do most of what we talked about.
Is that a fair comment, that CEPA currently has the broad authority to do much of what would be part of any action plan on climate change?
Acting Director General, Systems and Priorities, Department of the Environment
Yes, and that's precisely why the bill modifies CEPA instead of creating another piece of legislation. It builds on the sound foundation that CEPA provides.
Liberal
John Godfrey Liberal Don Valley West, ON
If all else fails, there will always be CEPA.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'm actually curious about a few other realms, just to understand the rationale behind the department. I'm interested in indoor and outdoor air qualities.
I understand, Mr. Blagden, that you are the expert on air quality indexes. Can you tell me what the NARSTO group is?
