"We are calling on our political leaders to rise above the gridlock of a minority government to embrace this transformative piece of legislation," stated Margot Venton, an Ecojustice lawyers who drafted the legislation.

Linda Duncan, NDP MP for Edmonton-Strathcona, introduced Bill C-469, An Act to establish a Canadian Environmental Bill of Rights for first reading October 29, 2009. "There have been many public calls for an environmental bill of rights," declared Duncan when she reintroduced the Bill for second reading in the Canadian House of Commons Thursday May 6, 2010.

The bill affirms a general right to a healthy environment, grants the public specific rights to access information, participate in lawmaking processes, review federal instruments, investigate alleged offences, and in specific cases seek recourse of the Federal Court against the Government of Canada for failing to live up to its duty to protect the environment.

"The right to live in a healthy environment enjoys legal recognition in the majority of the world's nations. Canada is behind the curve, but this Bill offers the hope that we might catch up," said Ecojustice lawyer Margot Venton.

The time for debate expired and the Bill dropped to the bottom of the order paper. It remains to be seen if Canada will ever enact an Environmental Bill of Rights. Both Quebec and Ontario have statutes that enshrine Environmental Rights into law.