The Environment

During question period on the environment, members discussed a government bill (referred to as Bill C-39, the Building Canada Strong Act legislation) that would change how environmental assessments and project approvals work. Gabriel Ste-Marie of the Bloc Québécois urged the government to heed its own National Women’s Liberal Commission, which he said had called for limits on the Prime Minister’s powers to exempt or shorten environmental assessments and Indigenous consultations, for independent verification of any claimed urgency, and for reports to Parliament on skipped assessments. He said the Prime Minister was using a temporary tariff crisis to gain lasting powers to approve projects such as pipelines without full review. Responding for the government, Julie Dabrusin said environmental assessment standards had not been changed and that the government continues to protect the environment, while arguing that major projects, such as clean electricity and doubling the power grid, must be built to reach a net-zero economy.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

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2 statements

Gabriel Ste-Marie, Joliette—Manawan

Bloc Québécois
“Liberal women have called out the Prime Minister for taking too much power in this environmental bill. They want limits, independent reviews, and reports to Parliament on any skipped environmental assessments. They do not want projects approved before assessments are done. I want the government to listen to them.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, we have been asking the Liberals for weeks to condemn Bill C-39. It was the National Women’s Liberal Commission that had the courage to take the lead. These Liberal women submitted a brief condemning the Prime Minister’s overreach. They are demanding that all powers to exempt or abbreviate environmental assessments be reported to Parliament, be subject to independent review and be time-limited. They are also speaking out against the government’s intention to approve projects before the assessments are complete. Will the government finally listen to reason and listen to the voices of Liberal women?

Gabriel Ste-Marie, Joliette—Manawan

Bloc Québécois
“I want the government to listen to its own Liberal women's group and stop this bill. The Prime Minister is using a temporary tariff crisis to give himself permanent power to skip environmental reviews and Indigenous consultations so he can build pipelines.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal women also denounce the temptation to create “manufactured urgency”. Any claims of urgency should be independently verified before they justify an exemption. The National Women’s Liberal Commission is right on the money. It clearly sees that the Prime Minister is exploiting the tariff crisis, which is temporary, to give himself excessive permanent powers, powers that allow him to bypass environmental assessments and indigenous consultations in order to build pipelines. Women are always the first to suffer when there is authoritarian overreach. Will the government listen to them?

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