Thank you.
I'm really glad that we actually got to have Madam Pauzé speak in regard to clause 13. Clause 13 is very important to me simply because it does talk about public participation. I think that many members here may anticipate what I'm going to say based on other things, but there is a slightly different element to my commentary.
As you know, Mr. Chair, Conservatives have repeatedly said that we believe that climate change is a huge challenge and a collective action issue that needs the Government of Canada to have all hands on deck. That is for sure.
We also know that different parts of the country will be affected differently, which is why we put forward a number of different amendments that allow for greater nuance and clarity on some of the impacts of government policy. We expect that this part of the bill will be very important for two parts.
Number one is that, obviously, public participation is important. Being such a large and diverse country, it's important that there be a flexible instrument to make sure that the government, through the minister in this case, can consult widely and from a great deal of voices, including indigenous, which I think is incredibly important. Many first nations in the Prairies, as well as in the real west—as I refer to British Columbia—have struck revenue deals for their natural resource development and should be able to say through their member of Parliament—and that's where I give credence to Madam Pauzé for acknowledging that members of Parliament also should be considered by the minister—but also hear directly from them or from different communities.
Obviously, each community is slightly different, has different needs and concerns and will be struck differently by different government policies, both provincially and federally. I think it's very important to have.
I'll go to my amendment exactly, Mr. Chair, because I know that's something you would like to know. Perhaps Madam Pauzé might want to support this motion because, again, we're trying to make clause 13 better.
Everyone knows I've been talking about all hands on deck and let's have the Governor in Council rather than an individual minister. That is true, but right in here, I would say at (b), replace, in the English version, line 27 on page 5 with the following:
“and interested persons including any expert the Governor in Council”
Why that's important right now is that we do know that the designated minister on this act by default is Minister Wilkinson as the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. He's already struck an advisory panel of experts, but do you know what, Mr. Chair? We don't believe that the experts that are cited by one minister offer the balance and diversity that this great country offers.
We want to ensure that the Governor in Council can actually draw upon experts as well, because there may be a case where one minister has certain information and another minister brings forward other information that is contrary to what maybe the Minister of the Environment presents to cabinet. There needs to be some independence where they can bring in an expert of their own to cite concerns or to verify the expert testimony that the Minister of the Environment has heard.
Conservatives do believe in public participation. We also do believe, though, that no one minister is going to have the Rolodex of expertise to be able to reliably answer every question that might be raised by the Governor in Council as they execute their duties in order to meet the challenge of climate change. The Governor in Council may have access to expertise that perhaps the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change did not envisage in his—or maybe in the future, her—original memorandum of understanding to cabinet.
Conservatives believe that there needs to be a wider opening for other ministers to bring forward their own thoughts and to have the Governor in Council then seek expert opinion beyond just that Rolodex of one individual minister.
With that, I hope I can get the support. I'm also looking at Mr. Saini, because I know he's a reasonable person and he's constantly asking for data.
That's an important component here. There may be data that a particular expert is unaware of, and that's where having other ministers being able to bring that data, bring that expertise, to the Governor in Council is better for decision-making. That's where I'm hoping I will be able to edge him closer to supporting this position.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.