May 26, 2025
Coon calls on MLAs to move right to a healthy environment bill forward
FREDERICTON – Green Party Leader David Coon’s Bill 19: An Act Respecting the Right to a Healthy Environment will be debated at 2nd reading in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday afternoon.
With the Premier and Leader of the Official Opposition committing to a free vote for their caucuses, Coon is calling on all MLAs to vote to move the bill ahead and take the next step towards providing New Brunswickers with the right to a healthy environment.
“This bill is the first substantive update to our environmental protection legislation since the Clean Water Act almost thirty years ago,” said Coon. “In the spirit of collaboration, I am asking my fellow MLAs to move Bill 19 forward to the next step by voting to send it to the Law Amendments Committee for public engagement and input from First Nations.”
Bill 19 proposes to create a substantive right to a healthy environment to complement the regulatory approach provided by the Clean Environment Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Clean Air Act. It combines human rights law with environmental law to empower citizens with procedural tools they can use to defend their right to a healthy environment. It would also create an Environmental Rights Commissioner as a new Legislative officer to help citizens enforce their environmental rights.
“Our history has demonstrated, repeatedly, that traditional environmental laws are just not sufficient to protect the health and well-being of New Brunswickers from environmental threats,” said Coon. “The evidence is clear. New Brunswickers need the right to a healthy environment enshrined in law, so they have healthy air to breathe, safe water to drink, and an environment that is ecologically balanced.”
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