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OTTAWA – The federal government is pushing legislation that would enshrine a healthy environment right into law. However, it will take two more years for the definition of what that means.
The amendment to Canada’s Environmental Protection Act was one of 87 recommendations made to the government five years ago by the House of Commons environmental committee. This mandatory review of the act was completed in 2005.
The government took until April 2021 to make the change, but the bill was defeated without debate when the election was called. In February, a new bill was introduced in the Senate.
The legislation provides that the government has up to two years to decide how to implement this right when it comes to enforcing it.
Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson said that it is absurd to enshrine a legal right without providing context.
Steven Guilbeault, Environment Minister, says that lawmakers know that you can’t define a legal component in regulation until it exists.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press April 28, 2022.