Finance

The committee was continuing its clause-by-clause study of Bill C-30, the budget implementation act. After some procedural discussion, the committee granted unanimous consent for Green Party MP Elizabeth May to address the committee regarding her proposed amendments to division 8 of the bill, which deals with pesticides. No minister or departmental officials appeared at this meeting.

Elizabeth May argued that division 8 was beyond the scope of the spring economic statement, which only mentioned the government’s intention to amend pesticide legislation to consider food security and food costs. She stated that the division would place economic considerations above human health and environmental risks in pesticide regulation, and noted that no independent witnesses had been heard on the matter. She listed numerous health and environmental organizations that opposed the changes, and provided historical context on pesticide regulation, including the 1995 transfer of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency to Health Canada and a 2001 Supreme Court ruling on the precautionary principle.

Following Ms. May’s remarks, the committee returned to its clause-by-clause consideration. Conservative MP Jasraj Hallan withdrew the Conservative amendments. Bloc Québécois MP Jean-Denis Garon requested votes on certain clauses and asked that the results be applied to other parts of division 7. The committee agreed to group clauses 48 and 49 for a vote. No final decisions on the remaining clauses or amendments were recorded in this portion of the meeting.