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.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Whatever. They're going to vote it down anyway. It's a farce.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
I'm trying to be flexible to allow everybody a chance to talk to what they want to talk to.
My legislative clerk is willing to share. Go ahead, please.
Legislative Clerk, House of Commons
When the Chair says that a certain amendment cannot be moved if another one is adopted, it means it cannot be moved as we received it. Members are always free to move amendments from the floor, so in that case, part (c) of the original NDP-27 will be able to be moved after what is labelled “CPC-1.3”.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
Thank you. All right. Maybe people are listening when it comes from someone else.
Linda, if you would like, which I understand you would, you wanted to do (c). Let's do—
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Okay, I will move it from the floor, but you have it in front of you, so you can read it.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
It's replacing “lines 7 to 10 on page 20 with the following” and it's broadened it out.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Lines 7 to 10 on page 20 are to be replaced with “the extent to which the life cycle and lifespan—”
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
Everybody can see it. Everybody has it in front of them. I don't want to spend too much time on it. I just want to give the opportunity for us to consider it and then vote on it.
Shall paragraph (c) of NDP-27 carry?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
We'll have a recorded vote.
(Amendment negatived: nays 7; yeas 1 [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Now we have PV-25.
Ms. May.
Green
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
This is very straightforward. I'll present it as quickly as I can. This is based on testimony from the Assembly of First Nations.
My amendment changes the words “adverse impact” in the context of impacts on indigenous groups and peoples to “on any Indigenous group, including any impact that”. By removing the word “adverse”, I'm hoping it becomes implicit that it could be an indirect, direct, or cumulative impact that's being considered, not merely an adverse impact.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Madam Chair, this is exactly what this legislation wasn't intended to address. We're talking about adverse impacts. Whenever we look at a big project that requires an impact assessment, we're trying to determine if there are adverse impacts to the environment. If you remove the term adverse, you introduce more uncertainty, because the word impact isn't being qualified. Now Ms. May is proposing it be expanded to include many more considerations that actually don't have adverse impacts on the environment. That would be a huge step backwards again.
What we're trying to do is provide proponents with more certainty, knowing what the bar is they have to meet. If it now goes beyond addressing the environmental impacts, we have a real challenge in Canada economically.
Green
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
Very briefly, Madam Chair, this section doesn't relate to environmental impacts at all. This is an impact assessment bill now. This paragraph deals with impacts on the rights of indigenous peoples.
Now some of those can be enjoying the rights to hunt and fish, which involve an environment, but the paragraph I'm changing is to remove the word “adverse” in relation to impacts a project may have on the rights of the indigenous peoples of Canada within the Constitution Act.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
I just wanted to echo what Ms. May said. Isn't that supposed to be the whole point of this act? It's supposed to be based on sustainability, which has 17 factors.
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
We'll have a recorded vote.
(Amendment negatived: nays 7; yeas 1 [See Minutes of Proceedings])
We are now on LIB-16.
Liberal
Mike Bossio Liberal Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON
This is, once again, dealing with indigenous knowledge in just replacing “traditional knowledge” with “Indigenous knowledge”.
Liberal
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
We'll have a recorded vote.
(Amendment agreed to: yeas 5; nays 2 [See Minutes of Proceedings])
Thank you.
We dealt with CPC-1.3 before. Now it's PV-27.
Green
Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands, BC
This one is relating to the factors found on page 20. The current section that deals with Canada's ability to meet obligations is found in paragraph (i), and it reads, “the extent to which the effects of the designated project hinder or contribute to the Government of Canada's ability to meet its environmental obligations and its commitments in respect of climate change”.
We have other international obligations and commitments, so this amendment broadens that out to say, “in respect of the environment, climate change and biodiversity”.
