Yes, and it's a fair point. Thanks for pointing that out.
I don't want to steal Mr. Scarpaleggia's question, but I thought I might ask it because many of these questions were not put to me when I spoke to my bill. I want to give you the chance to clarify, and he can follow up additionally.
There seems to be a bit of confusion by some of the committee members and some of the witnesses on the difference between the rights to bring civil actions and private prosecutions, which of course are completely separate. The Attorney General has the power to intervene to stay a private prosecution. But this bill does not deal with private prosecutions, it deals with standing to file civil actions--environmental protection actions--and judicial review.
I'm wondering if you might clarify that a bit. Is it not also the case that the rules of standing to file civil actions are bound by common law and precedent, and in many cases statutes? The Canadian Environmental Protection Act actually specifies that you can have standing. In fact, it clarifies that so you don't have to fight in the courts about standings on cases.