Evidence of meeting #35 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 justice.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
The amendment was defeated, but this relates to the preamble, Mr. Chair. It's an amendment from the floor in this respect.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Just a second.
Apparently because you're talking about the preamble and not the amendment, you can have the floor.
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
Thank you.
I apologize to Madam Pauzé for moving out of order, but it is in the same realm as what she proposed earlier.
I'll read the paragraph that we're talking about in the preamble. It says:
Whereas the Government of Canada recognizes that it is important to meaningfully involve all Canadians — and, in particular, marginalized communities — in the development of environmental policy and that racial discrimination in the development of environmental policy would constitute environmental racism;
Mr. Chair, I'm not sure this is true at all. I mean, when you look at the environmental policies that the government is moving forward with here, it is not substantively involving its partners in Confederation. There are two provinces in western Canada that are passing legislation to try to limit the intrusion of the federal government's—one-sided, arbitrary intrusion—use of lands, which I think is the nature of Madam Pauzé's motion here.
Substantively, my motion from the floor would be to remove that entire paragraph. It's not particularly true, in our experience.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Is that what you want to do? Do you want to propose an amendment to the preamble?
Conservative
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Could you read the paragraph again, so we know which one you're trying to remove, or at least the first part of the paragraph?
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
It's the fourth paragraph, where it says, “Whereas the Government of Canada recognizes that it is important to meaningfully involve all Canadians”.
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
I want to remove that because, as I stated very clearly, I don't think that is true.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
It's debatable.
Does anyone have anything to say?
Go ahead, Ms. Pauzé.
Bloc
Monique Pauzé Bloc Repentigny, QC
I have just one question, Mr. Chair, because I'm not sure I understand what's being discussed. Which paragraph is it?
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
That's the one, line 20 in the French. It's the paragraph that starts as follows: “Whereas the Government of Canada recognizes that it is important”.
November 4th, 2022 / 2:05 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Mr. McLean wants to remove it because, as I understand it, he doesn't think it rings true.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Indeed.
Does anyone wish to comment?
It doesn't look like it, so we'll proceed with the vote.
(Amendment negatived: nays 6; yeas 5)
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
I have another amendment I'd like to propose, because I have questions on this.
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
It's in the next paragraph, if I may.
The next paragraph, and you know I'm purely reading the bill here, reads:
Whereas the Government of Canada is committed to assessing and preventing environmental racism and to providing affected communities with the opportunity to participate in, among other things, finding solutions to address harm caused by environmental racism
Before this bill, was the Government of Canada committed to that, or is this part of what this bill is supposed to do?
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
Seeing how it's not true, I would suggest that if there's nothing that says the government is committed to this, we should delete it.
Liberal