Evidence of meeting #112 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 agency.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Green
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
I'm looking at paragraph (g). If you have your eyes on paragraph (g) on page 9 under proposed subsection 6(1), I want to change the language from “to ensure respect for the rights of the Indigenous peoples of Canada”. This is our mandate at the federal government level. We have a fiduciary responsible not to ensure respect but to protect the rights of the indigenous peoples of Canada.
I'm not going to belabour how many witnesses we heard this from, but I would be so gratified if this could carry. It should be where we all stand—not to ensure respect, but to protect the rights.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
We'll have a recorded vote.
(Amendment negatived: nays 7; yeas 1 [See Minutes of Proceedings])
We already voted on amendment PV-11.
Amendment NDP-19 needed to be split. We're on amendment NDP-19(a).
Linda.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
Just a minute. Hang on, Linda. I just want to bring everybody....
Amendment PV-11 was voted on.
I had grouped some together, and that was the only time I was able to do so until I agreed with Mr. Fast that we would go one by one.
Given that amendment NDP-19 is to be split, we are now at amendment NDP-19(a).
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Okay. The first part of that is line 33 on page 9, and again would add in the reference after “Constitution Act, 1982,” to “the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted on September 13, 2007”.
Liberal
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Do you want to discuss and vote or do you want to go through them all and then—
NDP
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
It will be a recorded vote.
(Amendment negatived: nays 8; yeas 1)
Because we are going line by line, now we are going to move to amendment LIB-5. We are still on lines 8 and 9 on page 10, which comes next. That's before we go to paragraph (b), which is on line 12.
On amendment LIB-5, Mr. Bossio.
Liberal
Mike Bossio Liberal Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON
Chair, once again, this goes to the discussion we had numerous times yesterday in the previous session around changing “traditional knowledge” to “Indigenous knowledge”, as it reflects a lot of testimony that we heard in this area.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
It will be a recorded vote.
(Amendment agreed to: yeas 8; nays 0 [See Minutes of Proceedings])
All right. That's passed.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Madam Chair, I just want to say that as before, I abstained because it doesn't seem to comply with what the indigenous witnesses called for, but I haven't had a chance to follow up with them.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
It's on page 10, at line 12. Right now, the provision simply speaks to taking “into account alternative means of carrying out” the “designated project”, and my amendment would add in “alternative means of serving an identified need or carrying out” the “designated project”.
The reason I say this is that my experience before tribunals is.... Let me use as an example the review of the Site C dam. Many people felt that it was giving short shrift to evidence that was given showing that the needed electricity of the future could be equally served by geothermal and solar through a private proponent and an indigenous proponent. That was not given serious weight. Of course, those kinds of hearings in the future presumably would be joint federal-provincial ones, and I think it's very important that there be consideration of alternative ways of meeting the need, in terms of why they're saying they need to have the project approved.
