Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to begin by thanking the committee for inviting us to speak to Bill C-9.
As you know, CELA is a public interest law group that was founded in 1970. Our mandate is to use and improve environmental laws in order to protect the environment and to protect public health and safety. We basically represent citizens and public interest groups before the courts and tribunals in order to protect the environment and human health.
CELA has long advocated for effective and enforceable and equitable environmental assessment legislation at the federal level. For example, about 20 years ago I appeared before a parliamentary committee to speak to CEAA when it was first being debated. It seems like only yesterday, but I guess it was 20 years ago. I also participated in the five-year review that occurred from 2000 to 2003.
I should also note the fact that we have intervened in the Supreme Court of Canada in various cases involving federal EA requirements. For example, I was counsel for the six environmental groups that intervened in the MiningWatch case decided by the Supreme Court of Canada earlier this year.
Mr. Chair and members of the committee, based on our experience and our public interest perspective, we have very serious and fundamental concerns about the Bill C-9 proposals to amend CEAA. Our main concerns were outlined in a letter that I sent to Prime Minister Harper back in April, before the bill was referred to this committee. I have provided a copy of my letter to the committee clerk for distribution. My understanding is that it has been translated and distributed to the committee.
In essence, our letter raises three main concerns about the Bill C-9 proposals to amend CEAA. First, CELA objects to the process that's being used to enact these amendments. In our opinion, proposed changes to CEAA should not be buried in a budget bill. Instead, any proposed amendments to the act should be brought forward and proceeded with as stand-alone legislation that's subject to full parliamentary debate and meaningful public consultation, neither of which has occurred in this case to this point. That's our first objection.
The second objection is to the timing of the proposed amendments. As the committee is aware, these amendments have been introduced just as the mandatory seven-year review of CEAA is about to commence. In our opinion, the 2010 review is by far the preferable forum for discussing and debating and developing changes to Canada's national EA statute.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, we object to the content of the proposed amendments. In our opinion, Bill C-9 does not reflect sound public policy. To the contrary, it is our view that most of the amendments weaken or roll back existing EA requirements under CEAA and do not adequately address the various priorities or matters that really do need some legislative attention under CEAA.
Like the previous speaker, I am particularly concerned about the proposal in Bill C-9 to empower the environment minister basically to redefine the scope of projects as they go through the CEAA process. In our opinion, Mr. Chair, that proposal is likely to result in more delay, more uncertainty, and more litigation as the minister attempts on a case-by-case basis to scope out or screen out the most contentious or most environmentally significant components of a project. That's the very type of project-splitting that the Supreme Court of Canada disallowed in its MiningWatch decision. So why would we revisit it through this proposed amendment?
For those reasons, Mr. Chair, CELA does not support the proposed amendments to CEAA. We would respectfully request that this committee do everything in its power to delete or defer or defeat the proposed amendments to CEAA.
Thank you.