Environment committee  All of the members should have received a binder. In the binder you will find the evaluation that includes the management response--the official position of Environment Canada to all of the elements that were outlined in the evaluation. You will also see all of the diagnostics that were done by Environment Canada prior to the consultations that took place--the ones that were referred to earlier in the discussions, which brought us to six cities.

Environment committee  I will answer the first part of the question and Mr. Moffet will answer the second part. As far as a comparative analysis is concerned, every time we propose creating measures, be they with regard to environmental intervention or regulations, it doesn't matter, we must systematically conduct a comparative analysis to see what other countries are doing.

Environment committee  It would be better, Minister...former Minister, I'm sorry. You see the lapses that happen. This gentleman was my minister a few months ago. So I apologize to all the members. When the minister comes in front of you, she will be able to answer those questions for you, with great pleasure, I'm sure.

Environment committee  If I can, Mr. Chair....

Environment committee  The information is also published in the CEPA register, which is accessible on the Environment Canada's website. However, these are fairly dry subjects, and unless people are personally affected by them, they don't raise a lot of interest.

Environment committee  If you look at the evaluation, you will see that an outside opinion was sought, which indicates that the process systematically respected legal obligations. I don't know whether these obligations were systematically applied across the board. However, if you look at the obligations as they were intended—

Environment committee  With regard to sewage, work has been underway with the provinces for the past three or four years with a view to implementing one of these famous Pan-Canadian standards. We are on the verge of signing an agreement with all the provinces. This is part of the recommendations that will be submitted shortly to all ministers.

Environment committee  Exactly.

Environment committee  Yes, for sewage that is disposed of in fresh water streams or in salt water.

Environment committee  There are already Pan-Canadian standards for certain atmospheric pollutants. Others are the topic of discussions. For many years now, there's been talk of taking them one by one and signing agreements throughout the country. The same approach was used both for air and for sewage.

Environment committee  The five-year expiry date is linked to the automatic review of the CEPA every five years. It is one of the elements of the review that does not have the scope it should have, because these agreements should last as long as the Act is not reviewed and amended. That is part of the things that the committee should consider and it comes under the prerogative of Parliament.

Environment committee  Currently, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act gives us powers that enable us to intervene regarding all atmospheric emissions in virtually all fields. Whether we're talking about so-called "toxic" substances or the emission of more common gases that are part of the elements that we all have to deal with, we feel that the current legislation gives us the powers necessary to take required action to improve the quality of the air that our fellow citizens breathe.

Environment committee  I will let my colleague from Health Canada respond regarding the quality of drinking water. Do you also want us to address sewage? If so, we will respond to the second part.

Environment committee  It's clearly one of the elements of the act that has probably had the most coverage in the consultation and comments we've had all over the place. The implementation of the act itself, for sure, uses the term “toxic”, as some of you will see in the act--it's used in part 5. We refer to the list of toxic substances, but everybody refers to the toxics.

Environment committee  With regard to improving the efficiency of the consultations, I'm sure the ministry will want to be able to have an open discussion with you about the path forward. As for the implementation of the act up to now, we have been respecting the obligation to have consultation regarding the act.