Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Just for the record, I'd like to clarify that I think that Mr. Warawa is comparing apples and oranges. Clause 14 of Bill C-469 is not comparable to the Auditor General Act, it's comparable to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The timelines set forth in clause 15 of this bill before us now are identical to the timelines set forth in CEPA for reviewing and responding to investigations. So they are, in fact, completely consistent. There isn't duplication. In fact the two provisions can stand if they are consistent and don't conflict.
The purpose of the provision in this bill is to provide for consistency of rights and opportunities to Canadians across all environmental statutes. Why should Canadians only have the right to file a request for investigation of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to do with a toxin and not be able to file an investigation under, for example, the endangered species act, or the Fisheries Act, or any other environmental statute?
The discretion lies 100% with the government. Simply because somebody files information suggesting that a potential alleged violation should be looked into necessitates no specific response. The responses by the Government of Canada are set forth in their enforcement compliance policy with each of their statutes. This in no way interferes with that. This right to file a request for investigation in no way automatically leads to a prosecution. In many cases it may simply lead to a warning. It may lead to reassurance that in fact there is no violation. It may lead to a discussion with provincial authorities saying maybe they'll proceed with the matter; it's more relevant under their legislation. We don't know what the end result will be.
The whole purpose of setting forth these provisions in one bill is to make it a user-friendly opportunity for the public to know what their rights and opportunities are to participate in the environmental protection process.
My concern is that we don't have enforcement officers, inspectors, and investigators in every little community in Canada. We have the vast Arctic. The Auditor General of Canada reported that she was concerned that there wasn't sufficient monitoring going on in the Northwest Territories on compliance with federal laws. So what this provision does is it gives a very clearly prescribed process whereby members of communities can be watchdogs and can pass on the information in an orderly way to the enforcement officers.