Environment Committee on March 27th, 2023

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Thanks, Chair, and it's great to see all of the witnesses here today. Thank you for your expertise and your leadership in so many important parts of our environment and climate change strategy. The work you do every day is greatly appreciated.

I have concerns about Parks Canada, just given our commitments to land and water protection and the need for biodiversity and the focus on nature-based solutions. I'm concerned that Parks Canada is being impacted by climate change itself, that its assets and its infrastructure are being impacted.

I'm just wondering whether you could just give us a bit of an overview of that, and whether your budget currently reflects the degree of financing that you need to ensure that Parks Canada can continue to protect its natural assets.

[Catherine Blanchard, Vice-President, Finance Directorate, Parks Canada Agency]

I'm going to turn to David Millar, who is the vice-president of real property and assets, to respond to your question.

Thank you.

[David Millar, Acting Vice-President, Assets Directorate, Parks Canada Agency]

Certainly, climate change is an ever-present consideration in the management of our natural and built assets, our cultural heritage assets and natural heritage. It's something we're facing and trying to manage every day. It's particularly notable in our northern sites, where we're dealing with melting permafrost. It's very much noteworthy in our coastal sites, where we're dealing with erosion and storm surge and increasingly intense storms. We saw this, for example, in hurricane Fiona, where a number of our sites across the Atlantic were affected. I think we're using a number of strategies in trying to deal with that in terms of adaptation.

In terms of our physical infrastructure, we're not just building back like for like. We're trying to look at ways to make our infrastructure more resilient to the impacts of climate change, whether that's setbacks from the coast or a variety of other techniques. We were fortunate in the case of hurricane Fiona to receive supplementary funding that has helped us to do that building back and with increasing resilience. It's a factor that we consider in all of our planning now, whether it's our management planning for our parks and sites, or investment planning, so that we're considering climate resiliency and also how we can reduce our contribution to climate change by making our operations more efficient in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

That's great to hear. Thank you for that response.

I'll also note that I have a very strong youth council in my riding. Time and time again, the youth talk about the importance of the environment and climate change. The protection and conservation of our environment is something they rate very highly. It's probably number one on their list every single time we talk. It's that and mental health supports for youth. Climate seems to rank pretty highly.

I'm just wondering whether you can speak to what Parks Canada is doing to support the next generation of young leaders for climate resilience.

[Catherine Blanchard]

Parks Canada is a leader in the federal government for youth employment. Annually, we hire approximately 1,600 students to work across the country in rural and remote communities. The jobs that we provide range from science, conservation and protection to visitor experience. Really, it is an entryway for us to bring youth into conservation and protection.

It's also to expose youth to cultural heritage and heritage spaces across the country.

We're very proud to be partnering with ESDC in youth employment in this country.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

That's great to hear.

I'm interested in the benefits of the national program for ecological corridors. Would someone mind giving an overview of those?

I know that connecting the lands that are being preserved and having those ecological corridors will aid us in terms of protecting biodiversity. A whole bunch of natural systems are supported by having that.

I wonder if you could give an overview of that.

[Catherine Blanchard]

Absolutely. I'll turn to Jewel Cunningham, who is our vice-president of strategic policy, to touch on that.

As a brief introduction, Parks Canada is very active in the preservation of land and contributes dramatically to the targets for 25 by 2025 and 30 by 2030. It's in connecting them that we really get the true value of the conservation and protection activities.

I'll turn to Jewel to talk about the benefits of the corridors.

[Jewel Cunningham, Vice-President, Strategic Policy and Planning, Parks Canada Agency]

Thank you, Catherine.

Biodiversity is declining at unprecedented rates. Habitat loss and fragmentation are important contributors to the decline. As you have stated, climate change is also increasing the likelihood of extreme temperature and precipitation and increasing the frequency and intensity of wildfires, droughts and floods.

For that reason, many species need to be able to transit from one protected place to another. Ecological corridors make a means by which species can transverse from one protected area to another.

In addition to that, it's also a tremendous opportunity to work in partnership with municipalities, stakeholders and indigenous partners, as well as to increase opportunities for indigenous people to connect to the land, be stewards and maintain that connection. It's also for communities and people to promote human and wildlife coexistence in ways that are positive, both for communities and youth—as you've mentioned previously—and for the protection of species.

Finally, it's to mitigate the effects of climate change and to foster collaborations to make that same effort.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Thank you.

Do I have any time left, or is that my time? I think that's close to my time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

You're just five seconds over.

Those are good questions. I hope you'll come see us again.

Ms. Pauzé, the floor is yours for six minutes.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

I'm going to come back to the Trans Mountain network.

The supplementary estimates contain $2.54 million for the expansion project for that network. What will that money be used for?

I'm talking about subsidies, of course.

[Chris Forbes]

Thank you for the question.

It is allocated to our efforts to have Indigenous communities participate in the project.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Okay.

My first question is about subsidies associated with fossil fuels. Obviously, you know that the committee is studying a report.

Canada and Argentina have been twinned on this issue for five years.

Can you give us an update on the peer review?

Where are we in terms of the analysis? Has the report been published or submitted?

These agreements were made under the aegis of the G7 and the G20.

[Chris Forbes]

I will have to get you an answer about this later. I don't know the answer.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Okay.

My next question is about the main estimates.

We hear that more and more money will have to be invested in adapting to climate change. As we know, Canada contributes to funding the causes of climate change, if we think of the companies that are responsible for the climate crisis.

Do the main estimates make specific provision for money for adaptation measures? For example, we were talking earlier about restoring shorelines that need to be protected.

Is there a lot of money allocated to that?

[Chris Forbes]

I'm going to refer to Ms. Drainville, who might be able to answer your question.

[Linda Drainville, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Services and Finance Branch, Department of the Environment]

Thank you, Minister.

Thank you for your question, Ms. Pauzé.

You will remember that an announcement was made in the fall concerning Canada's National Adaptation Strategy.

We are working on the process for including funds in the budget. At present, you don't see those funds in the main estimates. However, over the next year, when we come back to discuss the Supplementary Estimates (A), (B) or (C), the money will be there to encourage Canadians to adapt to the new ways of doing things in order to support adaptation measures.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

I'm having trouble understanding. If it is not provided in the overall budget, are you going to propose other methods afterward?

In the budget speech, it seems to me that what it presents is the broad policy lines. Legislation will then follow to implement the budget.

So does that mean that there is no provision in the main estimates?

[Linda Drainville]

Nothing is provided in the 2023‑24 budget that has been tabled today.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Okay.

I would like to ask a question about the meetings with the fossil fuel lobby groups.

The Minister wasn't the only person present at the numerous meetings held. In fact, there is an organization that records this. For example, the famous Pathways Alliance—that is generally acknowledged to be full-time greenwashing—had 16 meetings in September alone. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers had 14 meetings, and the Pembina Pipeline Corporation had 14 meetings.

The Minister of the Environment and Climate Change met with those lobby groups nine times, and in December there were again a lot of meetings, the equivalent of five times a day. People from the department were present at those meetings. Note that no one is obliged to meet with these lobbyists.

Of course, we will never know what happens at these meetings, but does it not influence the policies proposed by the government?

[Chris Forbes]

Thank you for the question.

I would answer no to your last question.

We have a responsibility to create regulations and put them into effect. We keep this responsibility in mind when we talk to representatives of the companies and industries in question. That is what we did in that case.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

I understand, but when we're talking about five meetings a day, as in December, that's huge.

Representatives of environmental advocacy groups, which include lawyers, biologists and experts, have trouble getting access to these meetings, and it is never the equivalent of five meetings a day.

How can you justify that?

[Chris Forbes]

I can't answer your question about meetings that took place five times a day.

[Monique Pauzé, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

It's the equivalent of five times a day.

[Chris Forbes]

Those are your figures. I don't have other figures to give you to contradict that.

We believe it is important to meet with people who want to talk to us, and we are open to the idea of discussing these key issues with all of the organizations.