Bill C-215 explained in plain English
An Act respecting Canada’s fulfillment of its greenhouse gas emissions reduction obligations
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
This bill establishes the Climate Change Accountability Act to create an action plan for Canada to meet its Paris Agreement obligations, including setting emission reduction targets and establishing accountability mechanisms.
Bill C-215, also known as the Climate Change Accountability Act, aims to ensure Canada meets its greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement. It requires the Minister to develop and implement an action plan with specific targets and measures for emission reductions, and mandates regular reporting and reviews of progress. The Act also establishes the role of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in reviewing these plans and reports. The government commits to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Enacts the Climate Change Accountability Act.
- Establishes a commitment for Canada to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050.
- Requires the Minister to develop and implement an action plan with interim greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and measures to achieve them.
- Mandates the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to review the action plan and subsequent annual reports.
- Requires annual reports on progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to be tabled in Parliament.
- Establishes a review of the Act's provisions every four years by a parliamentary committee.
- Requires the Minister to table a statement of reasons if recommendations from reports are not acted upon.
- The Minister responsible for the environment
- The Governor in Council
- The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
- Parliament (House of Commons and Senate)
- Parliamentary committees
- The Government of Canada
- All Canadians, through the impact on national greenhouse gas emissions and climate change obligations
- The Minister must develop and implement an action plan within nine months of the Act coming into force.
- The action plan must include interim targets, measures to achieve them, methods for calculating emissions, and tools for measuring progress and impact.
- The interim target for 2030 must be at least a 30% reduction below 2005 levels.
- The action plan must be tabled in Parliament.
- The Minister must send the action plan to the Commissioner for review.
- The Commissioner must report on the action plan's compliance and effectiveness.
- The Minister must prepare and table an annual report on emissions reduction progress.
- The Minister must send annual reports to the Commissioner for review.
- The Minister must consider reports from the Commissioner and table reasons if recommendations are not followed.
- The Minister must develop and implement an action plan within nine months after the Act comes into force.
- Interim targets for emission reductions are required for 2025, 2030, 2035, and 2040.
- The interim emissions reduction target for 2030 is set at a minimum of 30% below 2005 levels.
- The government commits to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
- The Minister must prepare an annual report starting the year the second anniversary of the Act's coming into force occurs.
- The Act's provisions must be reviewed every four years after the Act comes into force.
- The bill does not specify which member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada will be designated as the Minister.
- The bill does not detail the specific composition or designation process for the parliamentary committee that will review the Act.
- While the bill sets a commitment for net-zero emissions by 2050, the specific pathways and measures required to achieve this are to be detailed in the action plan, which is subject to development and implementation.
Allows the Governor in Council to designate a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada to act as the Minister for the purposes of this Act.
Source: Section 3
Requires the Minister to develop and implement an action plan within nine months after the Act comes into force.
Source: Section 6(1)
Requires a review of the Act's provisions every four years by a designated parliamentary committee.
Source: Section 10(1)
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
The House of Commons formally introduced Bill C-215, An Act respecting Canada’s fulfillment of its greenhouse gas emissions reduction obligations, at its first reading on February 24, 2020.
This record documents the first reading of Bill C-215, An Act respecting Canada’s fulfillment of its greenhouse gas emissions reduction obligations, in the House of Commons on February 24, 2020. The first reading is a procedural step where a bill is formally introduced and printed. This record also includes various debates and statements by members on other matters before the House, including discussions on the Citizenship Act (Bill C-6), public safety, the economy, and indigenous affairs.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced