Evidence of meeting #131 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chair.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB
Yes it is, but he is talking about Jasper now. I didn't think he wanted to talk about Jasper.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Okay. I'm sorry, I missed part of what Mr. van Koeverden was saying.
Conservative
Liberal
Liberal
Adam van Koeverden Liberal Milton, ON
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
The point that I'm getting at is that Jasper's mayor encouraged us all to—
Conservative
Dan Mazier Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB
There you go. It's Jasper. It's not relevant.
Liberal
Adam van Koeverden Liberal Milton, ON
—tone down the political rhetoric on this and the Conservatives just spent 90 minutes filibustering on it and pointing fingers. It's shameful and disgusting, and you all ought to be ashamed of yourselves.
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Listen, I'm going to suspend the meeting if this continues. I'm going to suspend the meeting, and it may not work to everyone's advantage.
Do you have more to say on your motion?
NDP
Laurel Collins NDP Victoria, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank Mr. van Koeverden for pushing for a prestudy for Bill C-73, but I am very disappointed that the Liberals have approached it in a way that has resulted in us being here debating something for over an hour—for multiple hours if we include the last meeting—that we could have passed when we were dealing with committee business just a couple of weeks ago.
Mr. van Koeverden had already tabled the motion, but then he chose not to move it in our in camera committee business, where there is no benefit or incentive for Conservatives to filibuster and try to get clips on whatever they want to talk about.
It is also really disheartening to see the Conservatives filibustering a really important bill and a really important motion on an act respecting transparency and accountability for nature and biodiversity.
I am going to table an amendment to this. I really hold the strengthening of this piece of legislation dearly, because while I think it's really important that this legislation has been tabled in the House, it is a weak piece of legislation. Much like the climate accountability act, the biodiversity accountability act has been watered down. It has huge gaps. It needs to be amended and strengthened. It's why I support a prestudy of this bill. However, it shouldn't be used to displace other important work our committee is engaged in, in particular the study on the contamination that's happening in Fort Chipewyan and the fact that these nations have called on us—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Excuse me, could I interrupt?
As I read this motion, it's not displacing anything. The only date that is prescribed is November 27, and according to your motion, I think we couldn't begin the dock study until Minister Boissonnault appears. He's not appearing until December 4. Other than November 27, the motion doesn't prescribe any dates for future meetings, so it's not technically displacing....
NDP
Laurel Collins NDP Victoria, BC
As it reads currently, I think it would displace, so my amendment would be that the remaining meetings of this prestudy will not commence until the completion of the contaminated transport dock study. I noticed that I didn't actually mean to delete number three. Actually, I'm just not sure.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Can I see the amendment?
You didn't mean to strike out number three.
NDP
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Three would become four. Okay. You're not striking out three. You're just adding something in between.
NDP
Laurel Collins NDP Victoria, BC
Exactly. If I may speak to that amendment, the three first nations that have called on parliamentarians—
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
I don't mean to interrupt you, but what I have in front of me shows.... Okay. You have it there.
I'm sorry to interrupt you. Go ahead.
NDP
Laurel Collins NDP Victoria, BC
Okay, great.
The three first nations that have called on this committee and on parliamentarians to investigate what happened with the contamination give a really clear example of environmental racism, whereby the government has hidden information and, in many ways, has acted in the same way that Canada has acted for years. It didn't give communities the information and the knowledge they need to protect themselves and keep their health and their children safe.
I don't want to take too much time with this, but I am proposing this amendment in hopes that it might also get the Conservatives on board, because this would likely happen after the completion of the Jasper study. We have a number of things on the docket. It means that we would start a prestudy of Bill C-73 before we start some of the reports and the more granular work that is to come, hopefully, in the new year. However, it would ensure that we honour the requests of these first nations and that there is accountability for the government when it comes to environmental racism and the contamination happening in Fort Chipewyan. It would also mean that we could meaningfully engage in fixing the weak and inadequate piece of legislation the government has put forward on biodiversity accountability and that we could do the hard work of—
Liberal
Adam van Koeverden Liberal Milton, ON
Has the member been in touch with the transport committee with respect to any of its plans?
