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May 2023
Back to search results
Backgrounder

Moving the needle on CEPA modernization: Key provisions in Bill S-5

Published by: David Suzuki Foundation and partners
Authored by: Lisa Gue, Elaine MacDonald, Cassie Barker, Jennifer Beeman, Jane E. McArthur
Partners: EcoJustice, Environmental Defence, Breast Cancer Action Quebec, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

Environmental rights right to a healthy environment, climate change, human health and wellbeing

142 KB

Bill S-5 is an important step toward modernizing CEPA. It was introduced in the Senate in February 2022, and then in the House in September 2022. Senate and House committees studied the bill and passed amendments that improve its core provisions, addressing some, though not all, of our recommendations.

While Bill S-5 does not address all aspects of CEPA in need of modernization, it makes important progress in relation to recognizing the right to a healthy environment, and updating Canada’s legislative framework for assessing and managing toxic substances.

Moving-the-needle-on-CEPA-modernization-Key-provisions-in-Bill-S-5-thumbnail

Other resources

Environmental rights
November 2022

Re: Bill S-5, Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act

Lisa Gue, Jane E. McArthur, Elaine MacDonald, Jennifer Beeman, Cassie Barker

This brief outlines comments from five organizations, including the David Suzuki Foundation, on key features of Bill S-5 and provides recommendations for improvements.

Read More
Environmental rights
November 2020

Strengthening CEPA to support a substantive right to a healthy environment

Lisa Gue

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, a cornerstone pollution-prevention law, is out of date. Government has committed to modernizing it to better protect people and the environment. Complementing and reinforcing other important CEPA reforms, applying a human rights lens to the process for regulating toxic chemicals represents an essential paradigm shift that will modernize and strengthen Canada’s approach to environmental protection.

Read More
Environmental rights
June 2021

Recommendations for strengthening Bill C-28, updating the Canadian Environmental Protection Act

On April 13, 2021, the federal government introduced Bill C-28, proposed updates to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. CEPA provides the legislative framework for federal action to protect human health and the environment from pollution and toxics, but the law has not been significantly amended for more than two decades.

Read More

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© 2025 David Suzuki Foundation. Website by Briteweb