AGRI Committee Meeting

Notices of Meeting include information about the subject matter to be examined by the committee and date, time and place of the meeting, as well as a list of any witnesses scheduled to appear. The Evidence is the edited and revised transcript of what is said before a committee. The Minutes of Proceedings are the official record of the business conducted by the committee at a sitting.

For an advanced search, use Publication Search tool.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

Previous day publication Next day publication

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

Meeting No. 17

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food met at 9:36 this day, in Room 307, West Block, the Chair, James Bezan, presiding.

Members of the Committee present: Alex Atamanenko, André Bellavance, James Bezan, Ken Boshcoff, Hon. Wayne Easter, Guy Lauzon, Larry Miller, Hon. Carol Skelton, Lloyd St. Amand, Paul Steckle, Brian Storseth and Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac.

Acting Members present: Hon. Roy Cullen for Lloyd St. Amand.

In attendance: Library of Parliament: Frédéric Forge, Analyst.

Witnesses: Department of the Environment: Rachel Baxter, Counsel, Legal Services. Canadian Petroleum Products Institute: Gene Carrignan, Chair, National Fuels Committee. Department of the Environment: Bruce McEwen, Chief, Fuels Section; John Moffet, Director General, Legislation and Regulatory Affairs. Canadian Petroleum Products Institute: Gilles Morel, Director, Eastern Canada Division and National Office. Rothsay: B. Todd Moser, Vice-President, Alternative Fuels. Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association: Mark A. Nantais, President. Resource Efficient Agricultural Production (REAP) Canada: Roger Samson, Executive Director.

Other Participants present: House of Commons: Marc Toupin, Legislative Clerk.

Pursuant to the Order of Reference of Friday, February 1, 2008, the Committee resumed consideration of Bill C-33, An Act to amend the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

Roger Samson, Todd Moser, Mark A. Nantais, Gilles Morel and Gene Carrignan made statements and answered questions.

At 10:38 a.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 10:50 a.m., the sitting resumed.

The Committee commenced its clause-by-clause study of the Bill.

The Chair called Clause 1.

Clause 1 carried.

On Clause 2,

André Bellavance moved, — That Bill C-33, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing lines 4 to 41 on page 2 with the following:

“2. (1) Subsection 140(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:

140. (1) The Governor in Council may not make a regulation under section 139 unless the Minister has first laid the proposed regulation before the House of Commons.

(1.1) A proposed regulation that is laid before the House of Commons is deemed to be automatically referred to the appropriate committee of the House, as determined by the rules of the House, and the committee may conduct inquiries or public hearings with respect to the proposed regulation and report its findings to the House.

(1.2) The Governor in Council may make a regulation under section 139 only if

(a) the House of Commons has not concurred in any report from a committee respecting the proposed regulation within the thirty sitting days following the day on which the proposed regulation was laid before the House, in which case the regulation may only be made in the form laid; or

(b) the House of Commons has concurred in a report from a committee approving the proposed regulation or an amended version of it, in which case the Governor in Council may only make the regulation in the form concurred in.

(1.3) For the purpose of this section, "sitting day" means a day on which the House of Commons sits.

(1.4) Subject to this section, the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations for carrying out the purposes of section 139, including regulations respecting

(a) the concentrations or quantities of an element, component or additive in a fuel;

(b) the physical or chemical properties of a fuel;

(d) the blending of fuels;

(e) the transfer and handling of a fuel;

(f) the keeping of books and records by persons who produce, sell or import fuel or blend fuels;

(g) the auditing of the books and records and the submission of audit reports and copies of the books and records;

(h) the submission by persons who produce, sell or import fuel or blend fuels of information regarding

(i) the fuel and any element, component or additive contained in the fuel,

(ii) any physical or chemical property of the fuel or any substance intended for use as an additive to the fuel,

(iii) the adverse effects from the use of the fuel, or any additive contained in the fuel, on the environment, on human life or health, on combustion technology and on emission control equipment, and

(iv) the techniques that may be used to detect and measure elements, components, additives and physical and chemical properties;

(i) the conduct of sampling, analyses, tests, measurements or monitoring of fuels and additives and the submission of the results;

(j) the submission of samples of fuels and additives;

(k) the conditions, test procedures and laboratory practices to be followed for conducting sampling, analyses, tests, measurements or monitoring; and

(l) the submission of reports on the quantity of fuel produced or sold for export.

(2) Subsection 140(3) of the Act is replaced”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of André Bellavance and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 2; NAYS: 9.

André Bellavance moved, — That Bill C-33, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 33 on page 2 the following:

“(iii.1) the environmental and energy balance sheet,

(iii.2) the life-cycle analysis,

(iii.3) the social and environmental impact, and”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of André Bellavance and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 3; NAYS: 7.

Alex Atamanenko moved, — That Bill C-33, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 40 on page 2 the following:

“(6.1) Section 140 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (2):

(2.1) The Governor in Council may make regulations in respect of biofuel production in Canada and, in particular, shall, within six months after this subsection comes into force, make regulations

(a) prohibiting the use of genetically modified grains, oilseeds or trees for biofuel production, except for those genetically modified grains, oilseeds or trees that were used for biofuel production in Canada before 2008;

(b) prohibiting the use of lands protected by federal legislation and other sensitive biodiverse lands for biofuel production;

(d) prohibiting the importation of grains or oils for use in biofuel production;

(e) establishing criteria in relation to the environmental sustainability of biofuel production to ensure compliance with internationally recognized best practices that promote the biodiversity and sustainability of land, air and water; and

(f) establishing restrictions on the use of arable land in Canada for biofuel production to ensure that biofuel production does not have a detrimental impact on the food supply in Canada and in foreign countries.

(2.2) Any proposed regulations to be made under subsection (2.1) must, before they are made, be laid before each House of Parliament and approved by a majority vote of that House.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Alex Atamanenko and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 1; NAYS: 10.

The Chair ruled that the following amendment was consequential to a previous amendment and therefore it was also negatived:

That Bill C-33, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 6 on page 3 the following:

“(2.1) Subsection 143(b) of the Act is replaced by the following:

(b) the fuel conforms to the requirements for that fuel provided for by regulations made under section 145 and any requirements that are applicable to that fuel and that may be provided for by regulations made under subsection 93(1) or 140(1.4);”

Alex Atamanenko moved, — That Bill C-33, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 6 on page 3 the following:

“(8) Section 140 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5):

(6) Within six months after this subsection comes into force and every two years thereafter, a comprehensive review of the environmental and economic aspects of biofuel production in Canada shall be undertaken by such committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament as may be designated or established by the Senate or the House of Commons, or by both Houses of Parliament, as the case may be, for that purpose.

(7) The committee referred to in subsection (6) shall, within six months after a review is undertaken pursuant to that subsection, submit a report on the review to Parliament, including a statement of any recommendations that the committee makes in respect of biofuel production in Canada.”

At 12:05 p.m., the sitting was suspended.

At 1:30 p.m., the sitting resumed.

By unanimous consent, Clause 2 and the amendment of Alex Atamanenko were allowed to stand.

Clause 3 carried.

Clause 4 carried.

On Clause 5,

André Bellavance moved, — That Bill C-33, in Clause 5, be amended by adding after line 36 on page 3 the following:

“(j) the environmental and energy balance sheet;

(k) the life-cycle analysis; and

(l) the social and environmental impact.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of André Bellavance and it was negatived, by a show of hands: YEAS: 3; NAYS: 8.

Clause 5 carried.

Clause 6 carried.

The Committee reverted to Clause 2 previously stood.

By unanimous consent, the Committee reverted to the consideration of the amendment of Alex Atamanenko previously stood which read as follows: That Bill C-33, in Clause 2, be amended by adding after line 6 on page 3 the following:

“(8) Section 140 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (5):

Brian Storseth moved, — That the amendment be amended, in subsection (6), by replacing the words “six months” with the words “one year” and by replacing the word “shall“ by the word “should”;

That the amendment be amended, in subsection (7), by replacing the words “shall, within six months” by the words “should within one year”.

After debate, the question was put on the subamendment of Brian Storseth and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 7; NAYS: 4.

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Alex Atamanenko, as amended, and it was agreed to, by a show of hands: YEAS: 7; NAYS: 4.

Brian Storseth moved, — That Bill C-33, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing line 40 on page 2 with the following:

“of fuel produced, imported or sold for export.”

After debate, the question was put on the amendment of Brian Storseth and it was agreed to.

Clause 2, as amended, carried.

The Title carried.

The Bill, as amended, carried.

ORDERED, — That the Chair report the Bill, as amended, to the House.

ORDERED, — That Bill C-33, as amended, be reprinted for the use of the House at report stage.

At 1:56, the Committee adjourned to the call of the Chair.

Jean-François Lafleur
Clerk of the Committee

2008/02/28 2:14 p.m.