Mr. Speaker, on Monday, September 25 of this year, I raised this concern. While the government claims it is seeking inclusion of strong environment and climate provisions in the modernized NAFTA, no such measures have been publicly revealed and no environment advisers have been appointed to the council advising the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is leading negotiations on NAFTA.
Only at the eleventh hour has the Minister of Environment and Climate Change announced she has now formed a NAFTA sub-group. None of the recommendations have been made public. Nor has it been revealed whether its proposals have even been tabled in the negotiations.
How can Canadians have faith that the Liberals are strengthening environment and trade deals without transparency? When will the minister reveal to Canadians what the Liberals are actually seeking for the environment at the negotiation table? The Americans, at the onset of the negotiations, publicly released their proposals for environmental provisions of a revised NAFTA. Therefore, where is the oft-touted Liberal government's openness, transparency, and accountability?
Here are some important questions requiring an answer.
Is Canada proposing to shut down the independent Commission for Environmental Cooperation, based in Montreal, created under the current NAFTA? Is Canada proposing to reduce senior level oversight over commitments for effective environmental enforcement and not to downgrade environmental laws by replacing authority vested in the council of ministers with instead junior level bureaucrats? Is the government recommending shutting down the secretariat, thereby ending any independent reviews and reports on allegations of failed enforcement? Finally, what is the baseline for Canadian environmental law? Is it the yet to be strengthened laws eviscerated by the Harper government?