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Minister of Indigenous Services Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario

Hon. Patty Hajdu

  • Member of Parliament
  • Minister of Indigenous Services Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario
  • Liberal
  • Thunder Bay—Superior North
  • Ontario
  • Voting Attendance: 66%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $142,376.94

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 197 - May/15/23
Hon. Patty Hajdu
  • May/15/23 12:23:26 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill S-5 
Madam Speaker, I am happy to hear the member opposite talk about the many different ways environments can be degraded. As I said, in a nutshell, this act would recognize a right to a healthy environment and strengthen the foundation for the management of chemicals and other substances. It would impose a duty on the government to protect that right and to uphold related principles. I will just say that many of these tragedies we are talking about are decades old, yet people are still living with the environmental impacts to this day. I was speaking with people in Grassy Narrows last week about the ongoing contamination of water and about the life that many of the residents have, in living with mercury poisoning. These are conversations that should alarm us all and compel us to act quickly, and that is what today is about.
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Context: House Hansard - 197 - May/15/23
Hon. Patty Hajdu
  • May/15/23 12:12:04 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill S-5 
Madam Speaker, first of all, let me say how happy I am to hear that the official opposition will support this bill. This is very important and should be celebrated, because this bill is about protecting the health of Canadians and it is about moving forward, as the member opposite mentioned, thoughtfully but also with a certain speed at which Canadians expect us to move. This bill was introduced in February 2022. Since that time, there have been extensive study, interventions, amendments proposed, amendments deliberated upon and amendments accepted. Canadians, of course, expect thoughtful debate, which all that I just mentioned demonstrates, I believe, but they also expect this place to act. They expect us to take that study and that debate and implement law that would protect the right to a healthy environment, an environment free from contamination.
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Context: House Hansard - 197 - May/15/23
Hon. Patty Hajdu
  • May/15/23 12:08:04 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill S-5 
Madam Speaker, I want to thank the member opposite and the NDP for their very thoughtful collaboration on this piece of legislation. It has been extremely important to hear the perspectives of all members, but we appreciate the thoughtfulness of the proposed amendments and the collaborative way in which the party opposite has worked with the government to strengthen the approach. When we pass this legislation, the outcomes we are all hoping for are better protections and a healthy environment for all Canadians. There are many stories across the country where Canadians' environmental protection has not been considered. In fact, as Minister of Indigenous Services, I have many examples I can and will share through this time period. There are examples of communities with drinking water that has been irreversibly damaged and contaminated. There are long-standing health conditions relating to environmental contamination; this not only results in ongoing suffering and premature death but also millions, if not billions, of dollars spent to try to ameliorate that contamination.
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