Hello, ladies and gentlemen, members of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.
To begin, I will give you some information about the Quebec Business Council on the Environment, or CPEQ.
Founded in 1992 by representatives of Quebec's main business and industrial sectors, the CPEQ is the umbrella organization that represents and expresses the opinions of Quebec's private sector economic stakeholders on environmental and sustainable development issues.
The CPEQ is made up of more than 300 of the largest companies and associations in Quebec, which generate more than 300,000 direct jobs and report combined annual revenues of more than $45 billion.
Generally speaking, we welcome Bill S‑5. We believe it will allow the key objectives in the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, or CEPA, to be met more effectively, namely, protecting the environment and human health in this country based on risk assessment of toxic substances. However, we believe that some elements could be further clarified or specified.
First, the bill appears to broaden the scope of control of the toxic substances defined in CEPA by using new terms such as "products," "activities" and "pollution" in new situations. We believe Parliament should be careful and avoid broadening CEPA's scope so as not to infringe on provincial areas of jurisdiction.
Further, CPEQ does support including the right to a healthy environment in CEPA. In this regard, let us recall that Quebec law already establishes the right to a clean environment and the right to a healthy environment. These rights are protected by Quebec's environment quality act and the Quebec charter of human rights and freedoms.
CPEQ maintains that consultations on developing the implementation framework for the right to a healthy environment must include all civil society stakeholders, including businesses. CPEQ also notes that the bill refers to concepts such as vulnerable populations, susceptibility and cumulative effects. We believe these concepts should be clarified so that the scope of these legislative amendments can be properly understood.
Finally, CPEQ reiterates its support for Bill S‑5.
We thank the committee for giving us the time and the opportunity to state our views.