Liberals Kill Bill C-269, Vote Against Ban on Sewage Dumping
On June 23rd, Liberals and NDP leaders did not back up their promises on environmental sustainability actions. Members of the Liberal, NDP, Bloc QC and Green parties killed Bill C-269.
Bill C-269 was initially introduced by Andrew Scheer, MP for the conservative party, and would ban the dumping of raw sewage and untreated wastewater in Canadian waters, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Currently, the law still stands, allowing the federal minister to grant permission for raw sewage dumping in Canadian municipalities’ waterways. The bill would have put an end to this harmful loophole.
In contrast to the collective agreement against the bill, conservative MP Hon. Candice Bergen voted in favour of Bill C-269. Bergen wrote via social media, “How can they say they care about the environment and then vote against this common sense Bill to keep our water clean?! #hypocrites”
Scheer wrote, “Once again, Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh are all talk when it comes to the environment. The Liberals and the NDP voted AGAINST Bill C-269, my common-sense solution to stop dumping raw sewage into Canada’s waterways. By defeating this bill, Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh are giving the green light to cities across the country to continue polluting vital fish habitats.”
According to Scheer, the collective stomping of actionable steps towards a greener nation should come without surprise. Despite calls for change, when given a chance, nothing is done. In 2015, Environment Minister, Catherine McKenna, allowed the dumping of 8 billion litres of raw sewage into the St Lawrence River near Montreal, Quebec.
Scheer states: “The Liberals would rather continue this practice [of sewage dumping] than take action to end it. It’s shameful. It is time we stop the dumping of raw sewage once and for all. If Canadians are happy that municipalities are allowed to pollute rivers, lakes and oceans, you have three parties to choose from. If you want to stop raw sewage from being dumped, you have one choice: Canada’s Conservatives.”
