Bill C-28 was tabled this spring, and it seeks to reform our toxics legislation under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, or CEPA. This Act is long overdue for reform, and there are some improvements in the Bill, but there is a massive problem with its framing of environmental rights.
The Bill proposes that our right to a healthy environment be “balanced” with relevant factors, including…economic…factors” against economic considerations - which is how we got into our current climate, toxics and biodiversity mess in the first place.
This latest report from WHEN offers some recommendations on where we can improve our CEPA reform efforts post-election, and we hope you read it, share it and use it to hold candidates and elected officials accountable so that we can strengthen this Act, and gain environmental rights in the process.
Environmental Rights in Canada
Les droits environnementaux au Canada