Evidence of meeting #48 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 amendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
Thank you.
I'm gaining clarity from what you're saying, but I recognize that the bill we're amending here has.... We're on section 78, which we're amending. It's referring to section 92, which is new. In the two, we're talking about two different reporting mechanisms, which are the environmental registry and the Canada Gazette, so I can see why there's some confusion.
None of us questions how adept you are at getting through this process and that it does take time. The question is, at what time does it require the minister to actually present...? If the timeline is 24 months or 42 months, at what point does he have to come out and say that they've exceeded the timeline and need some extra time, and give the reason and present it to people appropriately?
What we're trying to arrive at here is not just having carte blanche at the end of the day and saying that it's just taking too much time, which seems to be the fallback position. The minister has this responsibility to Canadians through Parliament. We would like to see something in there so that if the timeline is wrong at 24 months because it usually takes 24 months plus 18 months of further process, then that should be the number we're putting in here.
We would like to see something requiring the minister to report to Parliament on any delay past what you think is the proper timeline.
Director General, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Protection Branch, Department of the Environment
I suppose the timelines would be set out in that statement when the first regulation is published. It would say, “These are the other instruments that we plan to publish on these timelines.” They would be in there.
Conservative
Director General, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Protection Branch, Department of the Environment
That's section—
Director General, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Protection Branch, Department of the Environment
Let me just see. I have to see if they're getting the....
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
As we say in operations, walk us through the whole process—
Director General, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Protection Branch, Department of the Environment
It's section 78—
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
—and how it would happen, and then we'll look at any excess that might have to be brought to Parliament in that respect.
Do you understand what I'm saying, an operational process?
Director General, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Protection Branch, Department of the Environment
Oh, it's not the act process.
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
It is the act process, but you're going through the process of assessing something. Walk us through how it enters and how it exits.
Director General, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Protection Branch, Department of the Environment
There's a draft risk assessment of the substance, and when the final risk assessment is published, which we've sort of established is two to three years later, then there's a statement saying whether there will be risk management instruments and which acts they plan to use. It might say, “We're going to do a regulation under CEPA”, “We're going to do a code of practice”, “We're going to do an environmental protection agreement” or “We're going to use the Food and Drugs Act for this part”. There might be a suite of them.
When the first regulation or instrument is published, it will say the timelines for those other instruments, and then there will be an annual report about the progress on those instruments.
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
What timeline do you suggest would be an appropriate one before the minister has to come and report to Parliament that there's a delay? What will be the process you've just explained to get to the first stage of regulation? You're saying that's going to be on a one-off basis every time?
Director General, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Protection Branch, Department of the Environment
We have timelines, 24 months and 18 months, for the first one, and for the subsequent ones, it's a question of prioritizing among all the other risk management instruments that have to get done.
I guess the other thing is that it's maybe worth remembering that we do have the plan of priorities as well that sets out the plan for how all the pieces fit together.
Conservative
Greg McLean Conservative Calgary Centre, AB
None of us is questioning that. The question is, at what point in time does the minister have to report to Parliament, saying, “We're behind on this because of this, this and this”? It might be a question of resources.
Director General, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Protection Branch, Department of the Environment
It's in the annual report.
Conservative
Liberal
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
No, no. I've had my hand up for several interventions now, but I was—
Liberal
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
Okay.
I thought it was good that Greg was exploring this. I think what I'm hearing is that because of the nature of each inquiry coming through having impacts from different acts, there could be different complexities or different standards of service coming in terms of departments reporting back on various complexities that are being explored.
The annual report would be the mechanism for seeing whether an inquiry is current or being worked on. To put this into the act would be triggering problems when problems don't exist, if we're following timelines that are already established. It might take 42 months, but that would be said at the first go as things go into the department.
Director General, Legislative and Regulatory Affairs, Environmental Protection Branch, Department of the Environment
At the time the assessment is done, it could be that not all the exposure sources are fully characterized, so there may be some time taken to understand if there are other risk management instruments. I know sometimes additional risk management instruments also come out of performance measurement reviews of other instruments.
I think you have some accountability there with a statement saying, “These are our planned risk management instruments, and here are the timelines in which we intend to get them done”, and then updating on the progress of that in the annual report.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
I have Ms. Collins now, and then we'll go back to Mr. McLean.
Go ahead, Ms. Collins.