Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to move this motion, which would effectively reverse the Senate's additions to section 332.
While I appreciate the work the Senate did to try to increase public participation and transparency, their amendments actually risk duplicating and confusing other requirements that already exist under the act. They may also lead to implementation of challenges for the bill.
For example, subsection 332(1) of the act also requires that the minister publish draft orders and regulations for a 60-day public comment period. Subsection 13(1) of the act also requires that the environmental registry contain notices other than documents published or made publicly available by the minister. Those would include notices of any approvals granted under the act. Notably, the environmental registry itself already includes a section dedicated to public consultations, both active and completed.
There are also now links to a search engine that contains all the Government of Canada's open, closed and planned consultations and there's also a new online commenting feature available for all stakeholders wishing to send comments on proposed regulations published in the Canada Gazette, so I would make the amendment to take out of section 332 the “notice made public” portion of what's in front of us.