Environment committee  That is indeed the case. I was a legislative drafter for nearly 20 years. When you draft laws, you always have to be careful to avoid any encroachment, because this sends the wrong message to stakeholders who are targeted by an act. Lawsuits can ensue.

Environment committee  The brief we submitted sets out the areas we are concerned about. For example, the bill mentions "a group of individuals within the Canadian population who, due to greater susceptibility or greater exposure." The word "susceptibility" is not clearly defined. We do not know exactly what it is referring to.

Environment committee  As you know, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, or CEPA, passed in 1988, was challenged before the courts. It was examined by four courts and 14 judges. Nine of them found that the federal government overstepped its constitutional jurisdiction with this law. However, five Supreme Court justices against four found that the law was justified by federal jurisdiction over criminal law, as set out in subsection 91(27) of the Constitution Act, 1867.

Environment committee  Hello, ladies and gentlemen, members of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. To begin, I will give you some information about the Quebec Business Council on the Environment, or CPEQ. Founded in 1992 by representatives of Quebec's main business and industrial sectors, the CPEQ is the umbrella organization that represents and expresses the opinions of Quebec's private sector economic stakeholders on environmental and sustainable development issues.