February 9, 2012

Ottawa - The NDP will today introduce a motion in the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development to address serious gaps in its review of Canada’s key environmental assessment law, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA), and call important witnesses who have not been heard.
 
“We are extremely concerned,” said Laurin Liu, Deputy Environment Critic for the New Democrats.  “The government says it plans sweeping changes to the CEAA, and those changes should reflect the findings of a proper and thorough review by Parliament.  Having only eleven meetings with a very limited list of witnesses on such an important piece of legislation would not meet any reasonable definition of a thorough statutory review. The committee`s report will be forced to rely on limited information and will lack credibility.”  
 
To fix this, the NDP says it is necessary to hear from additional witnesses, including the National Energy Board, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, affected communities, labour, Inuit representatives, Métis and First Nations, and additional provincial and territorial governments.

 “It is especially important to hear from the NEB and CNSC, as the Conservatives have used budget bills to shift the burden of EAs onto these agencies, with no public consultation. The Committee – and the Conservative government, have no idea how those changes are working for those agencies,” said Megan Leslie, New Democrat Environment Critic.

 NDP committee members are hopeful that all members of the committee will support this motion, but are sceptical given that the government has already shown a lack of respect for parliamentary process by announcing changes to the legislation before the environment committee has even finished its legislative review.
 
“Without opening the process to further witnesses the Harper government will send a clear message it has no interest in hearing the opinions and advice of experts and stakeholders before making what appear to be extensive, long-term changes to the Act,” said Leslie.  “It would be another case of Conservative Neo-con ideology trumping reasoned, informed decision making.”

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