Thank you.
First, in response to Ms. Duncan, if she were to look at the provisions of the CEPA section 22, “Environmental Protection Action”, or at the Ontario Environmental Bill of Rights action, she would see, in fact, that it is a precondition for lawsuits that the relevant ministry be given an opportunity to investigate and respond reasonably to a complaint or a request for investigation and that those lawsuits cannot proceed unless that precondition has been satisfied.
With respect to Ms. Murray's comments about a straw man in the issue of hydro power, if it is, it is a straw man that was suggested to us by the Canadian Hydropower Association. It's not anything certainly that I've invented; it's in the evidence that we've heard.
The difficulty with this clause and with this bill is that there is no provision in the bill that exempts massive hydro-power situations. Therefore, it's going to be up to a judge somewhere to decide whether or not an undertaking of Hydro-Québec should be stopped or allowed to proceed.
Speaking on behalf of Hydro-Québec and other Canadian hydro-power developers, Mr. Irving of the Canadian Hydropower Association said the following, in reference to this bill:
It effectively takes decision-making authority out of the hands of the subject-matter experts in the agencies such as Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Natural Resources Canada, and transfers it to judges. The parameters of judicial review set out in the bill ignore the fact that such decision-making requires careful balancing of environmental, economic, and social considerations, which is the proper purview of parliamentarians and civil servants, not judges.
So that all of the future of Quebec, which may be engaged with the proper development of its hydro-power resources, is rightly concerned that these decisions will now be made by judges and that there is a very serious risk that jobs will be lost, development will be lost, even the environmental benefits of hydro power may be lost. So we can only hope and pray that when this bill comes to its final vote, the concerns that are relevant to the people of Quebec will be felt.
Thank you.