Environment committee  Sure. How about Norway, sir? Norway has had the right to a healthy environment in its constitution since 1992. It has not cost Norway billions of dollars. In fact, it's been a catalyst for Norway to become a global leader in environmental protection.

Environment committee  Sure. As you know, honourable member, the previous version of this bill, which was amended by the Senate, included specific references to balancing this right with social, cultural and economic factors. That provision was unprecedented in the world, actually, in terms of limiting

Environment committee  It simply provides a bit of additional clarity and a bit of additional breadth in terms of the right. As I've provided in my written brief, these words have clear and widely accepted definitions. All three of these adjectives—“clean”, “healthy” and “sustainable”—have been used by

Environment committee  That's a complicated question. In many ways it is less healthy, and in some ways it's more healthy. Between 1950 and now, we've encountered the climate emergency, which is something that didn't exist in 1950, so that's a huge problem that has developed over the last 72 years. I

Environment committee  Well, sir, “environment” is defined in the definitions section of CEPA. It's a comprehensive definition that I think has served Canada well since its inception close to four decades ago. There are no proposed amendments to the definition of “environment”, because it has been work

Environment committee  I wouldn't say it's opaque, sir. If you look at any type of human rights legislation, or if you look at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948, you won't find a single definition of any of those rights. If you look at the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, you

Environment committee  Generally, in the situations where human rights are being violated, there are opportunities for both judicial and non-judicial mechanisms. For example, many countries have national human rights institutions that field complaints from citizens about violations of their right to a

Environment committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, it's a great honour to be with you. There's a sense of déjà vu testifying again about CEPA reform. I'd like to begin by commending the Government of Canada for finally recognizing in law the right of every Canadian to live i