Environment Committee on Feb. 8th, 2024

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Very good.

You talked about clean tech and picking priorities. Like my colleagues around the table, I'm kind of taken aback. Of course, we have so many priorities. Today, we're talking about water, and tomorrow we'll be talking about CO2. When it comes to the environment, if we could pick the priorities, I think it is really important to make sure that we are killing one bird with two stones, or one stone with two birds—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

—or whatever...however it goes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

We understand.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Anyway, it's about doing it as efficiently as possible.

Yes, and we don't want to kill birds either.

Thank you. I'm done.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Ms. Taylor Roy.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Me?

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Yes.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

It's time to clean up.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Very briefly, then, we're focused really on the establishment of the Canada water agency and perhaps revisions to the Canada Water Act. We've been talking about technology, but really, for this study, what would you say are the main things we could do in the Canada water agency that would help your efforts on the ground?

[Maja Vodanovic]

I see how it works at the City of Montreal.

Sometimes they have to apply and fill out forms for 10 different ministries—fisheries and infrastructure and this and that—and then, by the time they're finished, the law changes and they have to redo the whole thing. It's taking us years and years to get approvals for something. On the fish habitat, we're doing beneficial municipal projects and we're caught in this net of regulations.

I think we need to streamline. If the agency can become something where we just apply to the agency and that's it, where we don't apply to these 10 things and the agency.... That will be the death of us. It has to simplify the regulations.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

That's a great idea.

Go ahead, Mathieu.

[Mathieu Laneuville]

I know we don't want to kill birds, but if we want a good bang for the buck, it's especially for PFAS. There was good leadership for the harmful and non-standard contaminant called organofluorine, but there was also.... When you look at the periodic table, there's fluorine, chlorine, and bromine, as well. These are now taken into account molecule by molecule. Fluorine was taken as a family. When it's taken as a family, it helps us a lot, because if manufacturers change a process they cannot do it to another molecule in the same family. That's not so for bromine and chlorine. They can do it there, so if we can change that, it will be a good bang for the buck.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

That's great. PFAS are a great concern to many people I know, namely for our health and environment, so thank you for that.

[Soula Chronopoulos]

I'm going to add one more thing. We have no leadership in Canada for water. There are so many different departments we go to for everything, but we have no department for water. We live for three days without water. It's so important to everything, for example, climate, health, etc.

We need leadership. We need the Canada water agency to really align with ISED. ISED has a lot of power that the Canada water agency needs to adopt, as well, to support us at this level, so we can have access to everything we need to make sure we execute.

[Leah Taylor Roy, Liberal, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

That's fantastic. Thank you all.

If you could all send in an even more detailed wish list, or some more details on what you've said, that would be great.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Along those lines, Mr. Mazier also asked for any comments, insights, or ideas about commercialization and the barriers that should be removed, etc. Please send those in, in writing, as well.

Thank you so much for a great meeting today. I think it was fantastic.

Have a safe return home.

The meeting is adjourned.