Human Resources committee  No, we're not funded by governments at all.

Human Resources committee  I think you're talking about a different presentation. You may be talking about Evan's presentation.

Human Resources committee  This might not be an area of expertise, but in terms of the model we're looking at, the one barrier that we see around it is that, right now, if you're a charity and you're registered as a corporation charity, you can't actually create any profits at all on a regular basis. It must be a very small piece of your revenue.

Human Resources committee  Thank you for pronouncing my name correctly, Mr. Chair. I'd like to thank members of the standing committee for inviting me to appear as a witness today. It's a pleasure to share the perspectives of CPAWS in these kinds of fora. I should say it's rather unusual for CPAWS to appear before this committee, but nevertheless, we have been involved in two projects, rather innovative projects, in recent months that I'd like to share with you, and that involvement might explain why I'm here today.

Environment committee  Well the IUCN, which is the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, is essentially the body that sets international standards for what is considered to be a protected area. The IUCN definition says that it's: a clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.

Environment committee  I think I laid it out a little bit in our presentation. Fundamentally we're looking at two key elements. One of them is, how do we define maximizing ecosystem health? I think there's a question of what that looks like. I think we all agree that we all want to do it, so the question is, what does that look like?

Environment committee  —the end line, if you will, where everyone wants to be, we see maximizing ecosystem health as the push towards that without necessarily saying that we have to be at the goal line at any particular point. It's incentive-based. It's trying to drive to that area without saying that it has to get to the end point of ecological integrity.

Environment committee  I think that's a very unfortunate framework for us to be in. I continue to say that farmers have done a very good job of protecting against the biggest threat, which has been urban sprawl. That has been a key part of how this park is able to be protected today.

Environment committee  In my view, that's a big piece. The legislation should not and does not speak to a change of land use. We're not suggesting by any stretch that farms be reduced or changed. What we're really looking for is an ability for farmers, and Parks Canada, and local players to be able to sit down and figure out how to manage the landscape in a way that's going to ensure that nature conservation and healthy farms are able to live and co-exist next to each other.

Environment committee  It tends to be a trigger word, because people think it means planting trees and renaturalizing farms, which we have said from the very beginning is not our view of that. Especially in a landscape that has so many pressures from all around it on infrastructure, as we've mentioned, the highway, the sewers, and everything else that this park is going to be in the middle of, we need to be able to make sure that the restoration from that perspective is what's going to keep nature healthy in the park.

Environment committee  By giving a mandate to make sure that we're not overcoming some of those challenges by simply saying that we'll ignore those concerns, we're actually asking for there to be a space at the table for that. The management plan, even as it's proposed today, has a very good clause around actually having a proper committee that will work to collaboratively find solutions to these things, but at no point are we suggesting a change of land use as it stands from a farming perspective.

Environment committee  You bring up a very valid point. I think we're in a situation where there is, for better or for worse, a general sense of anxiety about the possibility that farms would be further expropriated.

Environment committee  Yes.

Environment committee  Anything else in terms of...?

Environment committee  Yes. The greenbelt plan that references the management plan, in fact—yes, it does