ENSU Committee Meeting
Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.
For an advanced search, use Publication Search tool.
If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS
Meeting No. 86
Thursday, November 26, 1998
The Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development met at 9:22 a.m. this day, in Room 308, West Block, the Chair, Charles Caccia, presiding.
Members of the Committee present: Charles Caccia, Aileen Carroll, Rick Casson, Bill Gilmour, Jocelyne Girard-Bujold, John Herron, Joe Jordan, Karen Kraft Sloan, Rick Laliberté, David Pratt, Paddy Torsney.
Acting Members present: Clifford Lincoln for Sarkis Assadourian, John Finlay for Yvon Charbonneau, Gar Knutson for Roger Gallaway, Wayne Easter for Yvon Charbonneau, Bernard Patry for Roger Gallaway, Yves Rocheleau for Gérard Asselin.
In attendance: From the Committees and Legislative Services Directorate : Marc Toupin and Paulette Nadeau. From the Library of Parliament: Monique Hébert, Research Officer. From Resources Futures International: John Moffet, consultant.
Witnesses: From Environment Canada: Harvey Lerer, Director General, Canadian Environmental Protection Act Office; Karen Lloyd, Manager, CEPA Office; Duncan Cameron, Legal Counsel, Legal Services, CEPA Office; Steve Mongrain, CEPA Office.
The Committee resumed consideration of Bill C-32, An Act respecting pollution prevention and the protection of the environment and human health in order to contribute to sustainable development. (See Minutes of Proceedings, dated May 14, 1998, Meeting No. 53)
Bill Gilmour moved, - That, with regard to clause by clause study of Bill C-32, as of 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 1, 1998, no additional amendments be accepted by the Clerk on behalf of the Committee, unless deemed appropriate by unanimous consent.
Debate arose theron.
The question was put on the motion and it was negatived.
At 9:38 a.m., The Committee resumed Clause-by-Clause consideration of the Bill.
Clause 65, as amended, carried.
Clause 66 carried.
On Clause 67.
Rick Laliberté moved, - That Clause 67 be amended
(a) striking out line 42 on page 38 and substituting the following therefore:
"67. The Governor in Council may, on the"
(b) by striking out lines 11 to 16 on page 39.
After debate, the question was put on the amendment and it was negatived.
At 10:18 a.m., the sitting was suspended.
At 10:32 a.m., the sitting resumed.
John Herron moved, - That Clause 67 be amended by striking out lines 47 and 48 on page 38 and substituting the following therefore:
"generality of the foregoing persistence, bioaccumulation, hormone disrupting ability and other chronic effects;"
After debate, the question was put on the amendment and it was negatived.
Karen Kraft Sloan moved, - That Clause 67 be amended by inserting between the words "unless" and the words "the natural", on line 13 on page 39, the following:
"in the opinion of the Ministers"
After debate, the question was put on the amendment and it was agreed to.
Clause 67, as amended, carried.
On Clause 68.
Karen Kraft Sloan moved, - That Clause 68 be amended by striking out lines 23 to 46 on page 39 and lines 1 to 18 on page 40 and substituting the following therefore:
"one of the Ministers may
- collect or generate data and conduct investigations respecting any matter in relation to a substance including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
(i) the capacity of short-term exposure to the substance to cause significant effects,
(ii) the potential of the substance to undergo widespread involuntary exposure to organisms in the environment,
(iii) whether the substance exhibits multiple pathways of exposure to organisms,
(iv) whether exposure to the substance is inevitable due to ongoing human activity,
(v) whether the substance causes a reduction in metabolic and defensive functions of an organism,
(vi) the probability of the substance causing delayed or latent effects over the lifetime of an organism,
(vii) whether the substance has the potential to cause the reproductive or survival impairment of an organism,
(viii) whether the presence of a substance has the potential to contribute to population failure of a species of organisms,
(ix) whether the substance could have transgenerational effects,
(x) the potential of the substance to cause disproportionate cascading effects in an organism,
(xi) whether the substance has the potential to cause false signals of viability in an organism,
(xii) quantities, uses and disposal of the substance,
(xiii) the manner in which the substance is released into the environment,
(xiv) the extent to which the substance can become dispersed and will persist in the environment, and,
(xv) the development and use of alternatives to the substance;
- provide information and make recommendations respecting any matter in relation to a substance.
68.1 The Minister shall outline annually the research needs for section 68.
By unanimous consent, the amendment was allowed to stand.
Clause 68 was allowed to stand.
On Clause 69.
Rick Laliberté moved, That Clause 69 be amended by striking out line 20 on page 40 and substituting the following therefore:
"the case may be, shall issue guidelines for the"
After debate, the question was put on the amendment and it was negatived.
At 11:02 a.m., the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.
Stephen Knowles
Clerk of the Committee