Nature Canada helped host a people’s hearing on Canada’s environmental laws on May 29 in Ottawa to make sure that everyone impacted by development projects is being heard – not just big industry players.

On Wednesday, folks from communities impacted by development projects the opportunities to talk about their experiences with the impact assessments of those projects in the context of Bill C-69, legislation currently being debated in the unelected Senate.

Bill C-69 would reform Canada’s environmental impact assessment process and is currently being debated in the unelected Senate. Unfortunately, the Senate committee studying the bill chose to hear mainly from major industry players in its cross-country hearings in April 2019.

The people’s hearing was a chance for other voices to be heard.

The people’s hearing heard from a panel of members of civil society, First Nations and other impacted communities whose voices have been minimized or excluded from the Senate’s study of Bill C-69. Nature Canada’s Stephen Hazell moderated the event.

A few of the voices heard on Wednesday included:

• James Herbert, the Regulatory Affairs manager of the Gitxaala Nation in British Columbia, spoke about his Nation’s concerns about the Northern Gateway pipeline and tanker project and liquified natural gas projects.
• Ole Hendrickson, representing the Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area spoke about the need for environmental assessments of projects to dispose of radioactive waste from nuclear reactors at Chalk River and Rolphton, Ontario.
• Patricia Hennessey of the Vankleek Hill and District Nature Society spoke about a proposed cement plant to be sited near the Ottawa River that would emit one million tonnes of greenhouse gases annually as well as acid gas emissions that would contaminate downwind Montreal.
• Lindsay Telfer of the Freshwater Alliance spoke about proposed amendments to the Navigable Waters Act.

Several concerned citizens recorded their concerns on a video which was played at the hearing.

The Senate committee has proposed nearly 200 amendments to Bill C-69, many of which identical to oil and gas industry submissions. These amendments would remove or significantly weaken environmental protections in the Bill.

Nature Canada is calling on the full Senate to reject all 200 amendments and enact the version of Bill C-69 that was passed by the democratically-elected House of Commons. If the Senate fails to reject these amendments, Nature Canada is asking that the House of Commons do so.

If you would like to learn more about Nature Canada’s thoughts on Bill C-69 you can watch Stephen Hazell’s presentation on Facebook here.

The Senate needs to listen to Canadians, your voice can make a difference. Help protect future generations and reach out to your senators now by clicking here.