Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. Before I begin my own comments today, I want to flag for you that I understand the committee will be receiving a letter from former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada Gérard La Forest, in which Justice La Forest expresses hi

Environment committee  It can take years. It can take many years. As you know, for an appeal to make its way up to the Supreme Court of Canada can take years, up to six to ten years in the worst cases, but certainly a few years at a minimum. Then you get that court's decision. That decision is then im

Environment committee  You should also recall, then, the worst case scenario. There is a risk of losing the whole part, because remember, Hydro-Québec was won by one vote; it was a five-four decision. So the act could have fallen. That section of the act could have fallen.

Environment committee  I think you've understood my opinion quite well. It is indeed my opinion that it would be a very significant weakening of the act, in the sense that it's like painting a target on this act; you are really inviting potentially protracted and costly litigation. Again, as I said, in

Environment committee  Regarding your first point, I think I did make the point that Hydro-Québec was a five-four decision. I think that's actually a very important point for us to keep in mind because we all need to be aware of the fact that the act nearly fell. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear about that.

Environment committee  No. I don't think this opens the door to the federal government's imposing of building codes as a constitutional issue. It's not what I actually heard Dr. Bramley saying. What I heard was that it might be a good idea for the federal government to take some action if there are lag