Details
- Full Title
- An Act to enact the Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights and to make related amendments to other Acts
- First Reading
- December 16, 2021, Parliament 44, Session 1
- Type
- Private Member’s Bill
- Full Content
- https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-219
Summary
Bill C-219, also known as the Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights, aims to give people in Canada more rights when it comes to the environment. It wants to make sure everyone has the right to a healthy environment, access to information about the environment, and the ability to participate in decisions that affect the environment. It also makes it easier for people to take environmental concerns to court and ask for reviews of environmental laws.
The bill says that everyone in Canada has the right to a healthy and balanced environment. It also says that the government is responsible for protecting the environment for current and future generations. To help with this, the bill lets people ask the government to investigate possible violations of environmental laws.
If someone believes that an environmental law has been broken, they can ask the responsible government official to look into it. If the official doesn't take action or doesn't do a good job, the person can take the matter to court. The bill also protects people who report environmental violations from being punished by their employers.
In addition, the bill makes changes to other laws. It lets people ask the Auditor General to review environmental laws and policies. It also makes it easier for people to take environmental issues to court, even if they are not directly affected by the issue. Finally, it adds the right to a healthy environment to the Canadian Bill of Rights.
Issues
Environment
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Environmental Protection
This bill is all about environmental protection. It creates a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights. This bill gives everyone in Canada the right to a healthy environment, the right to get information about the environment, and the right to be involved in decisions about the environment. It also lets people take environmental problems to court and ask for reviews of environmental laws. The bill also says that the government is responsible for protecting the environment for current and future generations.
Social Justice
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Reconciliation
The bill includes a section to ensure that the rights of Indigenous peoples of Canada, as recognized and affirmed in the Constitution Act, 1982, are not negatively impacted by this Act.