Evidence of meeting #14 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was minor.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Noon
Bloc
Mario Laframboise Bloc Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
As long as something floats in it, that is that.
Noon
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
Yes. They had to get permission under the Navigable Waters Protection Act to build the hockey stadium west of Ottawa.
Noon
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
They had to get permission because there was a little creek.
Noon
Bloc
Mario Laframboise Bloc Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
I understand. That is why it is high time to modernize the act. If we wanted to study this quite quickly, would you be able to provide us with recommendations? Let us suppose that we are in general agreement with what you have given us, and we asked the legislative drafter to write some provisions. Could you provide some reasonably speedy recommendations on the points that you have presented to us?
Noon
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
We have had discussions with the minister about the request he made to the committee in January. The minister asked the committee to hold public consultations on the act in general and to come up with precise recommendations on the amendments that should be made or on the wording of a new act. The committee wrote back to the minister saying that it did not think it wanted to do that because it first wanted to look at some specific aspects of the present act and to try to improve it.
If that is what the committee wants to do, we can provide the seven items that it should look at. As we understand the program, these are the items that would benefit employees most in terms of reducing their workload and eliminating the irritants that various stakeholders have mentioned most frequently in recent years.
We are not going to give you proposals right away. The committee must hold consultations here or elsewhere. The committee can decide that. The consultations would deal with those items or with others that the committee saw fit to look at. It would report to the minister, and then we...
Noon
Bloc
Mario Laframboise Bloc Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
Very good. You have looked at other acts. If I understand correctly, no one has gone any further.
Noon
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
It seems to be an international problem.
Noon
NDP
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, gentlemen, for coming back again.
I want to go through the table to make sure I got it right, clarifying that, because there was a lot of confusion about the numbers. I want to make sure I'm reading them right.
The number of applications you've received right now is the lowest since 1999. I just want to make sure. Thank you for averaging them over the years. It is helpful to see. This is 1,960.
Noon
Manager, Navigable Waters Protection Program, Department of Transport
That's correct.
Noon
NDP
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Okay. Then in 2007 you had the second-most approved, just under 2006, with 26. Then you have the best year of lowest amounts of carry-over, and that's correct as well, that 1,669?
Noon
Manager, Navigable Waters Protection Program, Department of Transport
That's correct.
Noon
NDP
Noon
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
In the a small one.
Noon
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
Yes. So if you look at--
Noon
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
--the next chart, “major, medium, minor”, these pamphlets only look at the minor one.
Noon
NDP
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
Okay, so it will just be the 484.... Our 622 average, then, will be reduced.
I was looking at that. Maybe you can describe what a major work would be. I looked at the minor works, and you had dredging, submarine cables, docks, pipeline crossings. To me, they seem like pretty big operations and considerations. What would be the difference between the minor works and the major work?
Noon
Manager, Navigable Waters Protection Program, Department of Transport
Major work is defined as something that would require an environmental assessment to be conducted by law. That law is both garnered out of CEAA, the act, and under our particular act. If substantial interference or a potential for substantial interference to navigation is foreseen, that would garner an environmental assessment requirement, triggering CEAA.
In addition, if it's an unlawful work that is now coming back for formal approval, then that too would automatically generate an environmental assessment. So, in short, environmental assessment is required.
12:05 p.m.
NDP
Brian Masse NDP Windsor West, ON
In a broad range, of course, of different types of projects.
Is that why the environmentalists would be concerned, that essentially there would be two camps? Is it because you would be eating into that number in terms of them moving down to minor works and there would be quite a lot of concern from environmental groups? I sense that from looking at the first day, that we're going to get two camps on this thing, but that would probably be the sticking point for those who have environmental concerns.
