Yes.
The fundamental way in which Bill S-5 weakens environmental protection is in the elimination of a single schedule at the end of the act of a list of toxic substances. Most of my amendments for the rest of my time in this committee will be to try to defend the schedule of toxic substances as a single list. This is the largest weakening, because it undermines the constitutional foundations of the act as determined by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Hydro-Québec case.
In this case, virtual elimination allows for substances to be reduced to such a level that there's a “cessation of the intentional production, use, release, export, distribution”, and also a focus on how these products may be created as by-products. I agree that if you ban them altogether, you don't need a virtual elimination list, but the virtual elimination list has been a way in the past of ensuring that toxic chemicals are scheduled for their virtual elimination and are steadily reduced over time.
I hope that helps.