Mr. Speaker, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, or CEPA, is Canada's main law designed to prevent pollution and regulate toxic substances in order to protect the environment and human health, but CEPA is out of date and badly in need of reform. This is why I am pleased to be presenting this petition, which garnered over 8,000 signatures.
In particular, I want to recognize two incredible young advocates, Franny and Rupert, from my riding of Victoria. They started their environmental advocacy at seven and 10 years old and have not stopped pushing for environmental justice. They created this e-petition urging the federal government to update CEPA, including amendments to recognize environmental rights in Canada, in particular the right to a healthy environment.
In 2017, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development reviewed CEPA and made 87 recommendations, but so far the government has failed to act. Therefore, I want to thank Rupert and Franny, organizations like the David Suzuki Foundation and the thousands of Canadians who have been pushing the government to do the right thing, which is to update the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and enshrine the right to a healthy environment in law.