Thank you all for being here today.
Commissioner, as always, it's a real pleasure to have you in our room with that breath of fresh air that you bring every time you come. We appreciate it, and the exceptional job you do on the accountability front.
Our committee has been recognized. Monsieur Morin did a study on CEPA. One of the recommendations is “that CEPA be amended to require the federal government to develop legally binding and enforceable national standards for drinking water in consultation with the provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples, stakeholders and the public”. The government came back from that report with the response that it's supportive of strong drinking water standards nationally and that actions were being undertaken to strengthen the existing approach for the development of these guidelines.
I ask this question because there's one chemical in particular, 1,4 dioxane, which is found in landfills. It is the chemical that actually shows that leachate is leaking from a landfill, and it is indisputable. The concern I have is that in Canada the regulation today is 50 micrograms for 1,4 dioxane, but in all other jurisdictions—in the U.S., Europe, and other places—it's 0.75 to three in most other jurisdictions.
My concern is that we're falling behind on these drinking water standards. From what I understand, that standard is under review right now. I want to know where things stand on that. Do you take into account these other jurisdictions when you're looking at these standards?