The federal government is now moving to protect the right to a healthy and sustainable environment, more than five years after it was told to do so.
It will take another two years to find out what that means in practice.
The amendment to Canada’s Environmental Protection Act was one of 87 recommendations made to the government by the House of Commons environment committee in 2017. This was after a mandatory review of that act.
Catherine McKenna, the then-environment minister at the time, stated that the government would not bring forward legislation until after the 2019 election and would instead spend the months consulting on how to proceed.
The government took until April 2021 for the change to be introduced, but the bill was dead without any debate when the August 2021 election was called. In February, a nearly identical bill was reintroduced to the Senate.
CEPA (pronounced SEEPA) is the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. It’s the legislation that defines what chemicals can and cannot be used in Canada, and how toxic chemicals must be disposed off.
It is the act that protects people from things like asbestos and mercury. It is what allowed Canada ban bisphenol A in baby bottle in 2010 and has helped reduce mercury emission in the air and water by over 60% since 2007.
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Recently, the government has added plastic garbage to its list of toxic substances. They claim it poses a threat to human and animal safety. This allows Ottawa to ban single-use plastics such as straws, cutlery, and takeout containers.
It is also meant to guide companies producing chemicals to determine how they will receive approvals and be assessed.
The new bill updates how toxic substances are evaluated. It includes a requirement for safer alternatives and data on cumulative effects if they are combined with other substances.
Feds declare right to a healthy environment, but don’t know what it means. #CDNPoli #EnvironmentRights #CEPA
The new bill also includes a sentence that guarantees that every Canadian has the right to a healthy environment. This makes it a duty to the government to protect that right.
Steven Guilbeault, Environment Minister of Canada, said Thursday at the Senate environment committee that “this is the first time this right has ever been included in a Federal Statute in Canada.”
The legislation states that the government will have a period of two years from the date the bill becomes effective to determine how this right will be applied when it comes time to enforce the act.
Guilbeault stated that the principles of environmental justice and the right to a healthy climate will be used to address unfair exposure to harmful substances by those living in marginalized communities.
Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson said that it was bizarre for the government to pass a law without knowing what it will do.
“Shouldn’t we understand the rights that this would confer upon Canadians and how to implement it?” He asked. “Alternatively, I think we’re needlessly injecting uncertainty in every process that relies upon CEPA for clarity or certainty.”
Guilbeault stated that any lawmaker knows that a regulation can’t be defined unless the element is there.
David Boyd (Canadian environmental lawyer) is the United Nations special raporteur on human right and the environment. He stated that more than 100 countries already have the legal right to a healthy and safe environment. This is not hard to define.
“It means that people have a legal right to breathe clean, they have a legal right to water, to safe and sufficient water supply, to healthy and sustainably grown food, and to non-toxic environments in which people can live, work and study, and a safe climate.”
He added that it should also allow people to have access to information about their environment, make decisions about their environment, as well as legal recourse if they feel the right is being violated.
Boyd stated that the law would be stronger if it clarified what recourse they have if the government fails to uphold its duty to protect their right of a healthy environment.
He also wishes Canada would do the same as other countries and make it an inherent right of the Constitution, although he admits that it is a toxic can.
Guilbeault stated that the government does not intend to open up that door for this.
This report by The Canadian Press first appeared April 28, 2022.
