Environment committee  Yes.

Environment committee  I don't want to speak for my colleagues at Public Services and Procurement Canada with respect to how the current policy in place now, which is the policy on green procurement, would incorporate this dimension and any other policy procurement review that's going on right now with

Environment committee  I have no comment. Thank you.

Environment committee  Sorry, sir. Yes?

Environment committee  I can describe it in terms of what we do right now. During that four-month consultation period, we're commenting on the draft strategy, which includes the contribution of all of the entities under the act. It includes any of the goals and proposals put forward. It does include t

Environment committee  Maybe I could give the committee some context for how the process has run, and that may help you in your discussion and debate. Typically the strategy is tabled, and then departments have had that year. We have only once, in any of those cycles, taken that full year to do that.

Environment committee  Thank you very much. Section 12 of the current act has similar language, and the application of it for the last eight years has been related to performance-based contracts, which have been deemed to be contracts we sign for procuring services, buying goods, and those sorts of th

Environment committee  Yes. Maybe I could to draw to members' attention that this is an amendment in the bill. In the act, though, we are not changing anything that continues to require the ongoing consultations that do exist in the act. I would draw folks' attention to subsections 9(3) and 9(4) of t

Environment committee  I think the points have been echoed already, but I'll reinforce that the application of the principles in the whole act is to consider all of the principles that you will ultimately approve inside the act in the development of strategies. To the extent to which those pieces are a

Environment committee  I think we're still in clause 1.

Environment committee  As I mentioned, currently under the act, departments are required to make their plans. That's it. What we're proposing is that departments, one year after making their plan, will in fact report on their plan. They'll report on their plan to Parliament, and that report, as I ment

Environment committee  As we said earlier, in terms of what is in it, we looked at the range of principles that were offered through the committee's work. We looked at a number of sustainable development agreements to look at the principles that Canada has already signed on to, in terms of some of thos

Environment committee  I do want to echo the minister's comments with respect to the principles. I think they're an important part in giving guidance about what a strategy should consider, so those principles are very important. In terms of mechanics, over the course of putting together the last thre

Environment committee  I think we elaborated on the definition of sustainable development in the act, which has been consistent with the previous act—perhaps not verbatim with Brundtland but consistent with Brundtland. I think we've heard the minister and the Prime Minister talk about Canada's commitme

Environment committee  Just to clarify, the act calls for the creation of a sustainable development office. I play a role in that office, but Mr. Lucas is the official head of that office in terms of the department.