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Larry Brock

Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
Conservative

Brantford—Brant
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 64%
Expenses Last Quarter: $129,861.80

Government Page

Context: House Hansard - 184 - Apr/25/23

Apr/25/23 5:17:48 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-47

Mr. Speaker, we will continue to push the government for solutions on many issues, including the environment. We have never shied away from that. I would encourage the member from the NDP to stand by her values and her principles the next time she is blindly supporting the government on these issues.

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Context: House Hansard - 121 - Oct/31/22

Mr. Larry Brock (Brantford—Brant, CPC)

Oct/31/22 6:37:45 p.m.
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Re: Bill S-5

Mr. Speaker, I understand I have five minutes, so I will pick and choose my talking points. I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to this bill on behalf of the good residents of Brantford—Brant. By way of background, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, has not been significantly updated since it was passed in 1999. Bill S-5 is the first major update since that time. The Liberals have had five years to bring this forward, and they failed to do so in a timely manner. The bill recognizes that every Canadian has the right to a healthy environment and requires the government to protect this right. However, the right is not defined in the act, and may be balanced with social, economic, health, scientific or other relevant factors. Bill S-5 also puts in language to highlight the government's commitment to implementing UNDRIP and recognizing the importance of considering vulnerable populations when assessing the toxicity of a substance, as well as the importance of minimizing risks posed by exposure to toxic substances. I want to highlight that this is an environmental bill. I would like to take the opportunity with the time I have remaining to highlight the government's failures on the environment. The first is that the Liberal government has never met a single carbon emissions reduction target in all of its years in government. The second is that carbon emissions have gone up under the Liberal government. The third is that the carbon tax is an absolute failure. It has not reduced emissions, and the Parliamentary Budget Officer has made it clear that the majority of Canadians pay more in carbon taxes than they get back in rebates. That is a fact, but what we routinely hear on that side of the House is that the Liberals like to rewrite that narrative. In 2022, the commissioner of the environment released 10 reports on the performance of the Liberal government in terms of protecting the environment. More than half of the reports show that the government was failing to meet its targets. To echo the comments of several of my colleagues today and on other days, the Liberal government has never had an environmental plan; it has a tax plan. With respect to Bill S-5, we Conservatives have some concerns about the amendments passed in the Senate. The Senate passed 24 amendments, 11 of which made the bill significantly worse. I want to go over some key points: Canada's chemical management plan is a leader in the world. Bill S-5 modernizes the CEPA and will ensure that a risk-based approach to chemical management is preserved in Canada. Canada has completed more risk assessments and introduced more risk-management instruments than any other jurisdiction. The bill recognizes a right to a healthy environment, which we fully support. Ultimately, the Conservatives will support this bill, but we will be seeking amendments. The bill talks about a healthy environment, but it says nothing about healthy water. I want to point out, as another failure of the government, that when we look at the long- and short-term water advisories across this country, we still have 29 long-term drinking water advisories. I will end there, as my time is up.

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Member of Parliament

Larry Brock