Evidence of meeting #19 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was clause.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Justin Trudeau Liberal Papineau, QC
One of them must be satisfied, but it's not.... One of the last two and the first two automatically. It's that one of the four must be satisfied.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Mr. Chair, it is possible then that you can have a review body of five. You could have five review officers, all of whom know about administrative law as it relates to environmental regulations, but none of the above. Or you could have five individuals appointed who know about traditional aboriginal ecological...right? That's the way it could be interpreted.
Liberal
Executive Director, Legislative Governance, Department of the Environment
Mr. Chairman, no, I don't think so.
The intention is to be able to have a roster with the expertise needed, given the caseload the chief review officer is facing. So it would be implemented in keeping with what the needs are.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
How do you explain the fact that this is not what it says?
Executive Director, Legislative Governance, Department of the Environment
Mr. Chairman, the law is absolutely...it's enabling, so it allows for the provision to be.... My understanding is that human health is becoming increasingly an issue for the chief review officer, so it allows for a flexibility to have an increased number of review officers appointed under environmental and human health when necessary. But these things may change over time, and therefore it is enabling and has some flexibility built into it.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Okay.
Does that answer your question, Ms. Duncan?
I think someone else wanted to speak.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
I don't think it satisfies.... I'm not going to pursue it. We can just vote, if you want, and vote it down. I'm not satisfied that--
Liberal
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
I think the law should be clear, and it simply is not clear. Let's just proceed, and we can vote down the amendment.
Liberal
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
I'm hearing Madame Caron and I'm assuming that she can.... What did you call the position?
Executive Director, Legislative Governance, Department of the Environment
The chief review officer.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
The chief review officer then can go out and hire any person based on any of these individual sets of criteria and capacity. Is that right?
Executive Director, Legislative Governance, Department of the Environment
Go ahead.
Manager, Legislative Advice Section, Department of the Environment
The roster created over time may have individuals with these various types of expertise, but all appointments are made by the Minister of the Environment under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
Currently there is a chief review officer appointed and one additional review officer. It would depend on volume as to what number may be appointed in the future.
Conservative
Mark Warawa Conservative Langley, BC
Mr. Chair, the clock is approaching 11 o'clock. I would propose a 15-minute health break and then we reconvene at 11:15 a.m. and continue as long as necessary.
Liberal
The Vice-Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
It seems like we're on the verge. Is there consensus here that we're on the verge of adopting NDP-12? There's no consensus around NDP-12.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
I think NDP-12 was withdrawn on the basis that I have proposed a comma after the word “regulation”. The motion I've put before you is to add that comma to proposed section 247 in clause 68.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
That's what I understood Ms. Duncan's original comments to be.
Liberal