Yes, of course, Mr. Chair. As you can see, we were trying to juggle. With so many committees meeting at the same time this week, all having passed those identical motions that require the Green Party to show up for clause-by-clause in all of them, we weren't sure whether it would be Mr. Hyer or me. I apologize for the fact that there are duplicates in the package.
On amendment PV-5, what we're attempting to do is similar to what amendment NDP-2 did, but rather than delete it, we recognize the same difficulty with this section. The brief from the Council of Yukon First Nations has been very clear in finding these sections to be deficient, as these were made at the last-minute and without meaningful consultation with Yukon first nations. The clause as written would automatically exempt projects from being subject to any new assessment if the authorization was renewed or amended. This is viewed with real concern, in that the approach could mean that there would be a wide-scale exemption of many projects.
What I'm attempting to do with this amendment—what the Green Party is attempting to do—is to create a reverse onus, so that in cases where there is an authorization that's renewed or amended there would be an automatic requirement for a review, except when, in the opinion of the board, there is no significant change to the original project. The effect of the bill as drafted could remain the same, but it creates a far greater likelihood that projects that should be reviewed if they are being renewed or amended will receive proper review, unless the board is of the view that they should not.
I recommend to the committee that this is a prudent amendment and would meet at least some of the concerns. Obviously I don't speak for Yukon first nations—I imagine that at this point they are considering constitutional challenges to Bill S-6—but this would be a practical and I think prudent amendment, meeting the spirit of the law.
Thank you.