Madam Chair, you are going to tell me that it's always the people who are not there that get the blame, but before I talk about the amendment to clause 3, I would just like to say that after reading last week's testimony, I still have a number of questions about the scope of the bill. I'm quite surprised to see us move today to the clause-by-clause study phase and to learn that the government has quite simply decided not to propose any substantive amendments to the bill that would alleviate some of the concerns that were expressed. I'm surprised that the government did not take a step back and review the bill in light of the comments we received and the comments we are likely to hear in the coming days and weeks.
That said, Madam Chair, a vote was taken and I accept that it is time for the committee to move to the clause-by-clause study phase. That is what we will do. Of course, I will be proposing a number of amendments, as several of my colleagues will be doing as well, in an effort to address some of the witnesses' concerns. The proposed amendments to clause 3—in fact, the three amendments— are similar in that they call for the exclusion of the micro-organisms listed in schedule 2 from the definition of “human pathogen“, given that several witnesses have stated that risk group 2 pathogens should not be subject to the same rules as risk group 3 or risk group 4 pathogens. You will tell me that the government has attempted to put in place a number of safeguards further on in the bill to limit the scope of the bill in terms of criminal implications.
However, strictly from the standpoint of risk, because I do think BillC-11 has far more to do with evaluating risk and the implications and consequences of imposing this legislative framework and especially the upcoming regulatory framework the scope of which is still unknown, it is important the any reference to risk group 2 pathogens be removed from the definition, given that— and we heard this from the witnesses—there are costs associated with this reference. There are implications for education, the evolution of knowledge, the exchange of scientific information and the development of research. I did not hear any evidence convincing me that all micro-organisms that are or that could be present or could be present should be included in the definition of “human pathogen“. Further on in the bill, we see that the minister has certain regulatory authority to add certain types of micro-organisms to the list of substances in the schedules.
In my opinion, Madam Chair. . .