Evidence of meeting #111 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was definition.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
Okay, if you look at the bill, there's a preamble that's for the bill, and then there's a different preamble.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
The preamble that I was talking about is the one at the very front of the bill, not the one in part 1 of the impact assessment act.
11:10 a.m.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Correct, and I've always been told at committee that the preamble gets discussed at the end to see if you need to make any changes after having made changes within the bill. I'm happy to discuss it if we've changed how we're doing this, but just for clarification....
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
For clarification, it is part of clause 1, and we're going to go line by line as long as.... Let's make it clear, we're going to do pretty much all of the impact assessment act, starting with clause 1, so I am quite prepared to go back, as long as—
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
Now you understand. Okay, so here's the issue. The only time we're not going to be able to go back is if we make a change to a line. That then is adopted, and we would need unanimous consent to open that line up again. Otherwise, I'm open.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
11:10 a.m.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Our first amendment is a simple one, and it is to clause 1, which is the preamble to part 1 of the bill. I want to change it to “ensuring”.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
If you've got (a), if you look, you've got, “(a) by replacing line 11 on page 2 with the following: ensuring sustainability;”
11:10 a.m.
NDP
11:10 a.m.
NDP
11:10 a.m.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
There were a number of people who recommended that. The reason they thought it was important is that Canada has signed on to the 2030 sustainable development goals. Canada is committed to ensuring sustainability, so it was recommended that should say that it will “ensure sustainability”. In the way this act is put together, when we do the impact assessment, it will ensure sustainability.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
Thank you very much for that.
Are there any questions?
(Amendment negatived)
Next we have NDP-1b.
11:10 a.m.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
This would add not just impact assessments but also “regional and strategic assessments”. A number of witnesses and briefs felt that it was important to be clear right at the start and to reference in the preamble all of the aspects of impact assessment within the bill. It's not just the impact assessment process; it's also for regional and strategic assessments.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
11:15 a.m.
Conservative
11:15 a.m.
Conservative
Joël Godin Conservative Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC
I am trying to go by the electronic version as much as I can. In the document I received, I have amendment NDP-1, but not amendment NDP-1b.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
It's NDP-1, and you will see that within it, there are paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) within the amendment. They wanted to split it up and go at these it separately.
