Bill C-69 is going to create quite a bit of uncertainty. It's not only with the pipeline. It's going to create uncertainty right across the energy-resource sector. It's going to create uncertainty at municipal levels for things as simple as municipal drainage projects.
Bill C-69 is supposed to be an environmental bill. While I applaud the intent of it, it misses the mark in a bunch of areas. I want to highlight five different areas where there's definitely going to be uncertainty.
It allows for uncertainty in the area of political interference. It allows room for the Minister of the Environment and also the Prime Minister and his cabinet to directly impact the consultation process. That kind of political interference is something I thought we as a government were moving away from. It seems as though this bill will actually move even more in a direction of political interference than what we currently have.
Another important aspect is that it removes the standing test for participation in public hearings. In other words, right now people actually have to prove that they have a legitimate reason to make a presentation at a hearing when a project like this is being considered. They have to show that they are going to be directly impacted or that they represent a group that will be directly impacted by the proposed expansion.
Removing that test from the public hearing process, which is what Bill C-69 does, allows groups that could be from Sweden—it could allow activists from Sweden—to come to these committee meetings and make presentations. I don't know why we would allow for that kind of situation. It should be the individuals who will be impacted. It should be Canadians who make presentations on projects.