Opinion
Modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act should be a public health priority
By Robin Edger, Ian Bruce, Elaine MacDonald, and Tim Gray November 23, 2020
Making good on this Throne Speech promise is a key component of a green and just recovery from COVID-19.
Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, pictured in the West Block on Feb. 24. As our federal government continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic, it must also place CEPA reform on top of its political agenda because of its role in keeping Canadians safe, write Robin Edger, Ian Bruce, Elaine MacDonald, and Tim Gray. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Following the 2019 federal election, the government made two distinct commitments on environmental legislation. First, it committed to introducing legislation to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Second, it promised to strengthen the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) to adequately protect Canadians from 21st-century toxic pollution and harmful chemicals.
Related Stories
Politics This Morning
Your email has been added. An email has been sent to your address, please click the link inside of it to confirm your subscription.
Liberals move to cut short debate on UNDRIP bill after one day
The government’s time allocation motion will cut off debate on Bill C-15 after just a few speeches.Federal support for Canada’s oil patch surged during pandemic, says new report
What is and isn’t considered a subsidy is politically charged. The government and industry are both likely to dispute or take issue with the inclusion of some, or many, of the programs to the group's tally. Feds target 90,000 temporary workers, international students for permanent residency this year
While gaining a change in immigration status can be ‘transformational,’ the new policy does not go far enough as it excludes those not proficient in English or French, says one expert.Feds say too early to talk opening Canada-U.S. border, but experts push for plan
There are a 'whole series of very complicated questions that nobody is talking about,' says border expert Edward Alden on the lack of planning for an eventual border reopening. Has the Hill changed for women in the workplace post-#MeToo?
New prescribed policies, procedures forced people to think about how they were acting, creating a 'profound' change in terms of staff understanding how they need to relate in the workplace, says the PMO's Marci Surkes.Syrian security situation used as guise for not having political will to repatriate detained Canadians, say experts
'I think [the Canadian government] needs to demonstrate a stronger case that there is a real security problem and it has never been able to do so,' says former diplomat Daniel Livermore. New Senator working group to explore diversity, inclusion training in Red Chamber
Ontario ISG Senator Rosemary Moodie says the new group shows the ‘significant investment’ the Senate is putting into pursuing ‘meaningful improvement.’Lone wolf MPs break down what it’s like to be a region’s solitary party voice
'It’s like you walk around and you have a target on your back … there is something a bit, not sadistic, but satisfying in getting rid of the last MP standing,' says McGill Prof. Daniel Béland.Senate eyes filling The Chambers as renovation plans progress
More interim office space will be needed to house Senators who are set to be displaced by future renovation projects in the Parliamentary Precinct. Trending Stories
