– Bill C-73 First Reading
On www.parl.ca (Parliament of Canada). An Act respecting transparency and accountability in relation to certain commitments Canada has made under the Convention on Biological Diversity. First Reading, June 13, 2024. Sponsor: Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
– To view Progress on the Bill, see LegisInfo page: bill/44-1/c-73
– Backgrounder
Environment and Climate Change Canada document released June 13, 2024. Concise overview of what Bill C-73 is about. An extract:
“The Nature Accountability Bill was introduced in Parliament today to enshrine certain nature and biodiversity commitments that Canada has made internationally.
The effective stewardship of our natural environment requires all levels of government and all Canadians to take action. The bill, if passed into law, would create a transparency and accountability framework—with meaningful checkpoints—for the federal government to play its role in advancing implementation of the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework and related Convention on Biological Diversity commitments at the federal level.
The bill would provide concrete steps to 2050 to advance implementation of those commitments, including requirements to develop national biodiversity strategies and action plans—like the 2030 Nature Strategy—and to report on their implementation. Reporting requirements would allow for an assessment of implementation progress and, where necessary, provide information on course corrections to stay on track with commitments.
– Re. Bill C-73, Nature Accountability Act
Oct 29, 2024 letter Letter from EcoJustice, and nine other groups to Hon. Karina Gould Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, and House Leaders of the official opposition, the Bloc Québécoism the NDP, and to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, cc. Hon. Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. It begins “We are deeply concerned that Bill C-73, An Act respecting transparency and accountability in relation to certain commitments Canada has made under the Convention on Biological Diversity, has not progressed since its introduction in the House of Commons on June 13, 2024. We appeal to you to allow the second reading debate on Bill C-73 to proceed at the earliest opportunity, and to refer the bill to committee for study this fall.” (The letter coincided with and cites the Sixteenth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16) in Cali, Colombia.)
*David Suzuki Foundation, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), The ChariTree Foundation, East Coast Environmental Law, Environmental Defence, Greenpeace Canada, Nature Canada, SeaBlue Canada, WWF-Canada.
– Time is running out to get the strong Nature law we need!
Nature Canada: Send the letter. Form provided. “Time is running out to get the strong Nature law we need!
We need to know who is holding out on Bill C-73: the Nature Accountability Act.