Environment committee  The bill, as presented, does not amend the Canada National Parks Act for those activities. From my perspective—and I can tell you we've had a lot of discussion within the agency—this does not create a precedent for other national parks across Canada.

Environment committee  Mr. Chair, permit me to address the amendments that Bill S-15 proposes for the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act. All petroleum-related activities of Nova Scotia's offshore, including in and around Sable Island, are administered under the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord Implementation Act.

Environment committee  Thank you. It will be faster. Clause 8 amends the federal accord act to restrict the number of current activities the board can authorize on Sable Island to four categories: access to existing wellheads on Sable Island for the purpose of safety and environmental protection; low-impact petroleum activities, including seismic, geological, and geophysical programs on the surface of Sable Island; emergency evacuation capacity for offshore workers; and maintenance of emergency facilities on Sable Island in case the island needs to be used to provide safe harbour to offshore workers in times of emergency.

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to appear before the committee to speak about Bill S-15, the expansion and conservation of Canada's national parks act. As you mentioned, I'm Alan Latourelle, chief executive officer. As we celebrate Public Service Week, I'd like to acknowledge the exceptional contribution to Canadians of my colleague, Kevin McNamee, who has led the most significant expansion in our national parks system.

Environment committee  Before responding to the committee's questions on Bill S-15, I would like to point out some of the ways in which Parks Canada is building on a tremendous legacy. We are beginning our second century of the administration of our national network of national parks, national marine conservation areas, and national historic sites for future generations.

Environment committee  I've been the CEO of Parks Canada for 10 years now. When I joined Parks Canada as the CEO, the budget was $395 million. Today the estimates before you are $600 million. So there has been quite a significant change. In terms of the future, I think we really have three priorities.

Environment committee  Yes.

Environment committee  They are not cuts of $51 million; I think the reductions we have implemented are $19.7 million. The other elements are basically funding that we had for specific projects in the past that have come to the end of their program; for example, the Trans-Canada—

Environment committee  In terms of our science program—for example, in the conservation program, to use a practical example—in 2006 we had 442 people involved in research conservation. We still have 656 people now, so we've seen an increase over the last few years. What we have done in Parks Canada is consolidate and streamline our science policy and professional and technical services.

Environment committee  Let me respond to this. It is important to understand the difference between changes to our investment in personnel versus what we can achieve with what we have, because we still have a very strong monitoring program across all of our national parks.

Environment committee  Yes, over the last five or six years there's been a significant expansion of our national parks system, for example, the Nahanni expansion, the Nááts’ihch’oh expansion. Those two brought Nahanni National Park watershed protection from 5,000 square kilometres to close to 35,000 square kilometres, as an example.

Environment committee  That is the case. I think we see the Rouge National Urban Park as a critical part of our strategy to engage young Canadians, new Canadians, and urban Canadians. For example, there are several universities also located very near, so we will be working and have already developed some partnerships with them to get students involved as we establish the park in terms of our operations, our science, all of our programs related to the Rouge National Urban Park.

Environment committee  From a total Parks Canada perspective, we embarked on a strategy about five years ago to change and put in place strategies to stop that decline. This summer was a great summer, with a 4% increase in visitation overall for Parks Canada. Also, I would like to note that our national historic sites have seen a 7% increase, which I'm quite proud of because we had seen close to a 15% reduction in visitation at those over the last decade.

Environment committee  Parks Canada plays an important role in connection with the new protected areas. We are currently working in several national parks. The Manitoba Lowlands National Park and the Bathurst Island National Park are two examples. We are currently working in approximately seven national parks, and there could be dividends in the years to come.

Environment committee  First, it is important to note that we are going to invest close to $600 million again this year for Canadians. So that is an important investment for Parks Canada. Secondly, with regard to the $600 million, we are placing the emphasis mostly on those periods where there are the most visitors.