Environment committee  I'll jump in again and say no. There would be no new legal obligation placed on the government of the day as a result of this amendment. This amendment would serve to signify to the public, to Parliament, that urgent early action and achievement of net zero is desired, but it wou

Environment committee  That's well said.

Environment committee  I can answer that, Mr. Chair.

Environment committee  In clause 2, the last definition is the definition of net-zero emissions, which is defined to mean that anthropogenic emissions of GHGs are balanced by anthropogenic removals over a specified period of time. The chair was correct in his interpretation of net zero, and Ms. May's m

Environment committee  That's my interpretation. The amendment would require 90% reductions—

Environment committee  Then, in order to achieve net-zero, there would be a remaining 10%, which could be either reduced or offset.

Environment committee  That's correct. Nothing in the bill as it is written currently precludes achieving the goal of net zero before 2050.

Environment committee  I think that's better addressed by your legislative counsel.

Environment committee  I can answer that. Statutes passed with preambles are published with their preambles. Preambles can be used in traditional interpretation, but they have less influence than a purpose provision, which in turn has less influence than a substantive provision that provides an explic

Environment committee  Clause 4 refers to international commitments. I won't speak for Ms. May, but I don't think the objective is to change those international commitments. It's simply to reinforce them. The way the bill is drafted, it refers to those commitments, which, as the preamble indicates, inc

Environment committee  Mr. Scarpaleggia, I was asked a question about exactly what the target of 40% to 45% would represent, and the answer is 438 to 401 megatonnes.

Environment committee  I think that's an excellent question and a really important issue. It's one where we need to distinguish between the specific legal obligations under the bill and the process that the government, and future governments, will follow in order to drive really effective action on cl

Environment committee  I think we anticipate that there would be an opportunity for judicial review if the minister of the day does not comply with one of the very specific obligations imposed on the minister.

Environment committee  I think many of the measures in the bill reflect actions that have been taken. What the bill does is consolidate those actions, including the obligations and steps we take under the UNFCCC. However, it adds a considerable amount of accountability with respect to the obligation

Environment committee  We did not engage in extensive formal consultation about the specific provisions in this bill.