This bill was last introduced in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session, which ended in August 2015.
Leona Aglukkaq Conservative
This bill has received Royal Assent and is now law.
This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.
This enactment establishes the Rouge National Urban Park, a new type of federal protected area, and provides for the protection and presentation of its natural and cultural resources and the encouragement of sustainable farming practices within the Park. The enactment confers a broad range of regulatory powers for the management and administration of the Park. It also makes consequential amendments to the Canada Lands Surveys Act, the Parks Canada Agency Act, the Species at Risk Act and the Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Act.
All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.
Arnold Chan Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Speaker, the member for York South—Weston talked in his excellent speech about the importance of connectivity between the Oak Ridges Moraine and through the Rouge national park. Some of the stakeholders, including, for example, the Friends of the Rouge, have suggested that we should have wider corridors, perhaps in the order of about 600-metre corridors.
Does the member have any particular comment with respect to the suggestion that is coming from the Friends of the Rouge Park?
Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON
Mr. Speaker, I will not get into specifics about the actual width of any particular corridor.
My comments were that if the park can be expanded to include lands to the north that connect the park to the moraine, which is the source of the water that flows down the Rouge River, then it would provide us with a better opportunity to protect what eventually flows down into the park. It would provide us with a better opportunity to study, to enhance and to hopefully preserve what is a wonderful ecological piece of the city of Toronto that requires a protection that is currently not provided.
Andrew Cash NDP Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to ask a question on this very important issue among many colleagues from Scarborough, which I think is an exciting thing because that is where I am from originally.
Given the government's environmental track record, given the government's laggard behaviour vis-a-vis climate change—in fact it was only a few years ago it was denying the existence of climate change—is the member for York South—Weston confident and comfortable that the protections in the bill would see the Rouge national urban park fulfill all of its possibilities and potential?
Mike Sullivan NDP York South—Weston, ON
Mr. Speaker, I am not confident that the current wording of the bill would provide the protections necessary so that this park could achieve its fullest potential. Although we are agreeing to support the bill at second reading, that is one of the reasons we will be presenting significant amendments to the bill, in order to reinforce the notion that the ecological integrity of the park is something that requires protection, not merely consideration.
The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton
Resuming debate. I have noted the other members who were not able to get up on this last round of questions and comments. We will do our best to work them into the next round or two.
The hon. member for Davenport.
Andrew Cash NDP Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise in this place on behalf of the good people of Davenport in the great city of Toronto to debate this bill on an urban park in Toronto. In fact, it is in Scarborough, which is a little dear to my heart, given that I grew up in Scarborough.
It is important to note that there are many people who grow up in Toronto and in greater Toronto area, and there are many people who live in Toronto, who are cut off from the natural endowments the city offers. There are many reasons that happens. I am dwelling on this because of the importance of having green space in an urban context. That is important, as long as people have access to it.
I have spoken to seniors, for example, in my community who came to Canada as immigrants and worked very hard their whole lives and never actually had the opportunity to experience the lake. In fact, they did not even realize that Toronto was right beside a lake. They have not had the opportunity to explore the green spaces.
Scarborough has acquired a reputation, which I have always felt was incredibly unfair, even though I grew up at Markham and Lawrence, as being a concrete jungle. In fact, it has some of the most beautiful southern Ontario landscapes one could imagine. I invite you down any time, Mr. Speaker.
The issue I am raising is the issue of access. We have so much to offer in the city of Toronto, but we have a growing gap between those who can access these wonders and those who cannot. That gap largely hinges on economics and the income gap between the rich and the poor.
We have communities in the north part of our city with young people who have never gone downtown or visited City Hall, although these days, I do not know if people would want to visit City Hall. These young people have never visited the museums in downtown Toronto. They have never swum in the lake that is right there, at the side of the Gardiner Expressway.
A project that is going to create an urban national park in the eastern part of the city is incredibly important, if we do it right. The NDP has a number of questions about whether we are doing it right.
The NDP is strongly in favour of protecting the ecological integrity of Canada through the creation of national parks. However, these parks must be protected by strong environmental legislation backed up by sound, scientifically based management plans. The Rouge Park is no exception.
There is conditional support. We support moving the bill to committee to strengthen it. Part of the reason is that we do not trust the Conservative government on the issue of environmental protection. It has a long record of doing everything in its power, which is considerable right now, unfortunately, to diminish, denigrate, and demolish environmental protection right across this country. We are very concerned about this.
The way the government has first made a promise then delivered a bill that is weaker than the promise gives New Democrats some real concerns.
From coast to coast to coast, Canadians recognize the importance of oversight and well-funded institutions that protect our environment and well-funded parks.
New Democrats have many concerns about this bill, which we want to address in committee.
We believe the national park legislation and management plan should adopt the longstanding Rouge Park vision, goal and objectives; strengthen and implement the existing environmental protection policy framework; protect a healthy and sustainable 100 km2 Rouge national park area; restore a sustainable and integrated natural heritage system; dedicate more of the park to nature and public enjoyment instead of private leases; transition towards smaller-scale farms that support healthy local food production; clearly prioritize ecological health and conservation of the Carolinian and mixed woodland plain forest; ensure that all activities that may affect the Rouge national urban park undergo staunch environmental assessments; and, finally, include a science-based management plan.
In other words, we have a long list of items we need to raise. We have a park, and the partner with the largest parcel of land is not in support of the direction the government is going right now. That also underlines a serious concern, and the concern is about leadership. The concern is about the seriousness with which we take our actions in this regard.
It is incumbent upon the government to work with all the stakeholders in a manner that moves this park forward in the way it was described initially. It is also important that we look at the natural value and work together to find a way to bring this forward in the manner in which it was initially planned.
On this side of the House, we look forward to working with our fellow parliamentarians to see this park finally realized with the strongest environmental and ecological protections it should have.
Michael Chong Conservative Wellington—Halton Hills, ON
Mr. Speaker, I want to compare and contrast the legislation in front of us with provincial legislation that governs provincial parks.
Yes, it is true that provincial legislation includes the words “ecological integrity”, but those words mean little if we look at the overall provincial legislation. Let us compare the two pieces of legislation, provincial and federal, with respect to two issues, logging and hunting.
The Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006, says, in respect of hunting, in subsection 15(2), “hunting is permitted on the public lands...added to Algonquin Park”. What does the federal statute say in section 18? It says, “it is prohibited to (b) hunt a wild animal in the park”.
I will do a second quick comparison. The Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, 2006, says, in subsection 17(1), “timber may be harvested for commercial purposes in Algonquin Provincial Park”. The federal statute says, in subsection 18(2), “It is prohibited to (f) harvest timber in the park”.
The federal legislation in front of us clearly is stronger in respect of the actual outcomes of protecting the park. The Rouge Park would be a better protected park than Algonquin Provincial Park, and that is why I am happy that the member opposite is supporting this legislation.
Andrew Cash NDP Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, I was listening for a question, but it was a comment.
I would simply like to say that words matter in legislation. Of course, we stand here day in and day out and in committee battling over words, because they actually mean a lot. That is why we are raising these concerns about the weakening of the protections that are in the bill right now.
Adam Vaughan Liberal Trinity—Spadina, ON
Mr. Speaker, putting aside the very strange comment we just heard from the opposite side, my question is not about whether the Conservatives do or do not support hunting and do or do not support logging. Apparently they do not anymore. That is news, I guess, to many of their party followers.
The issue that I think concerns us all is the environmental standards that have to do with the quality of water, the quality of soil, and the quality of the natural infrastructure.
Does the member share the concern of our party that the federal standards do not speak to water quality and the quality of the biosphere and to whether some of the runoff from local farms may in fact damage the quality of the natural environment we seek to protect with the park designation?
Andrew Cash NDP Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, the short answer is yes, we share those concerns. It is why we are calling for the legislation to include some of these issues, such as a transition toward smaller-scale farms that support healthy, local food production, which of course would mitigate some of the potential runoff.
We have concerns. The Conservatives have been weak on environmental protection in general. The issues with the bill before us underline the concerns that we and many Canadians have.
Paul Dewar NDP Ottawa Centre, ON
Mr. Speaker, my colleague from London has brought in a private member's motion on urban forests. Clearly one of the things that is important is having a national strategy, and that is part of her bill.
Could my colleague share with me the importance of protecting parks and urban forests and the importance of the national strategy the NDP has put forward?
Andrew Cash NDP Davenport, ON
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague for Beaches—East York never wastes an opportunity to underline in this place, Canada is increasingly an urban country, and we are facing a climate change crisis. We are facing increasing difficulty in our urban areas with extreme heat and various other issues related to climate change.
What is important is the precedent it sets and the signal it sends to other levels of government that we take these issues seriously in our urban areas.
The Acting Speaker Conservative Bruce Stanton
Before resuming debate, it is my duty, pursuant to Standing Order 38, to inform the House that the questions to be raised tonight at the time of adjournment are as follows: the hon. member for Acadie—Bathurst, Rail Transportation; and the hon. member for Vancouver Quadra, National Defence.
Arnold Chan Liberal Scarborough—Agincourt, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to join the debate on Bill C-40, an act respecting the Rouge national urban park.
This legislation would create the first national urban park in Canada, which is a positive step forward for our national park system. Having an area of pristine wildlife so close to 20% of Canada's population will offer a great value to the entire nation.
While the proposed Rouge national urban park is not within my riding of Scarborough--Agincourt, I grew up only a few short kilometres away, and I can tell the House that the Rouge lands are truly a national treasure. I remember attending my first day camp near the metropolitan zoo in Toronto when I was about 8 or 9 years old, and in many ways this was my first exposure to the splendours of the Rouge Valley system. Because I came from an immigrant family without significant means, this was in many ways my first exposure to the outdoors.
More recently, over the past number of years I have had the pleasure of going back to the Rouge Valley as a cub pack leader and as a scout troop leader, participating in programs such as the 10,000 trees for the Rouge program and planting trees in the Rouge park to add to the wonderful biodiversity found there.
My family has taken significant advantage of the Glen Rouge campground that is run by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
It is a fabulous opportunity. We have heard from colleagues on all sides of the House about the tremendous accessibility that this potential national urban park would afford to many residents within the greater Golden Horseshoe. It represents one of the last great unspoiled wildernesses and also happens to be coupled with some of the most outstanding farmland in the country. For example, my family has also had the privilege of going on a number of occasions to Whittamore's Farm. Those were opportunities to expose my family to farming culture, particularly as we enter into the fall harvest season.
Let me simply join my colleagues on all sides of the House in expressing my excitement at the potential opportunity that the creation of this new national urban park would afford to our community and to all residents within Toronto.
I am also particularly pleased to see that the government is building upon the tremendous work that has been done by the provincial government with the establishment of the Greenbelt in 2005. The Greenbelt is one of the largest and most successful areas of preserved green space in the world and serves as a showcase for what an urban green space can offer on a large and significant scale. I had the privilege of being in the legislature as a staffer at the time, and I watched this wonderful legacy unfold.
Unfortunately, at that time the Ontario Conservatives wanted to allow continued development on this precious piece of land, as we may hear from certain members in this House, so it is heartening to see support from the government in the House today and to recognize that it is indeed time to establish a national urban park. I do want to recognize the tremendous work that has been done on all sides of the House and by many stakeholders over the last 20 years, work that has led to where things sit today.
The Rouge national park would provide important connectivity with, for example, the sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine leading to the shoreline of Lake Ontario. Earlier the member for York South—Weston highlighted the importance of creating linkages and connectivities between these various important spaces.
We support this particular bill, and it appears that essentially all parties across this House will likely be supporting the bill as it moves forward at second reading. However, like most things that the government does, its efforts to create this new national urban park, at least from our perspective, fall short in some key aspects.
This park is to be created using lands currently held by the Government of Ontario. In fact, lands being held by the Government of Ontario would represent approximately two-thirds of the total park lands if and when they were transferred to federal control. However, despite the fact that intergovernmental talks have been going on for a number of years and should be a shining example of intergovernmental co-operation, sadly, we have sometimes seen strife taking place between the two orders of government.
For example, when the government was supposed to have engaged in a positive announcement last summer when it was signing the memorandum of agreement to create this national park, it unfortunately turned out to be a bit of a public relations nightmare.
I do not necessarily want to diminish the long-standing efforts of the many people who have been the driving force behind this park or on the long consultative process that has occurred, but if the government was truly committed to building a first-class national urban park, we have to ask why so many environmental groups are applauding the recent actions of the Ontario government.
In this debate I have heard the accusation that the Government of Ontario is playing politics with the formation of the Rouge national park, but the question is who is playing politics with whom. For example, it was this government that blindsided the provincial government when the announcement was made last year about the ongoing development of the Pickering airport at the same press conference, and the Government of Ontario was not given a heads-up that it would be happening.
Let us be frank: it is not as though the government has a reputation for sound environmental bona fides. Members could just read, for example, the Commissioner of the Environment's report that was issued yesterday, which was damning in its conclusion that we would not meet the Copenhagen greenhouse gas emission targets by 2020.
This is the same government that has also seen substantial reductions in Parks Canada staff, despite the fact, as I will acknowledge, that the government has set aside a significant amount of funds, in the order of over $140 million, for the creation of this new national urban park.
It is no wonder that the Government of Ontario and leading environmental groups just do not trust the government when it comes to acting in the best interests of the environment.
After a decade of environmental management of the Greenbelt, which the Rouge park will become an integral part of, the Government of Ontario requested some assurances from the federal government that it would continue to protect this land, as was befitting a national park.
Sadly, this is where the bill fails the people of Scarborough, the people of Toronto, and, frankly, all the people of Canada. In our view, this bill is missing some key details. For example, it is missing details about how endangered species will be protected, plans showing how heritage areas will be treated, details about how the park will be zoned for different uses, such as farming, hiking, and protection of natural habitats.
I stand with the provincial government in asking the government to honour the memorandum of agreement that it signed with the Province of Ontario. I do so because it is important that in establishing a first national urban park, we ultimately get it right.
Despite the fact that the Liberal Party will be supporting this piece of legislation on second reading, we strongly urge the members on the government side, particularly when it goes to committee, to support efforts on this side of the House. These efforts will be undertaken by the member for Halifax and the member for Scarborough—Guildwood, our party's environmental critic, who will attempt to work with members on the other side to fix this particular bill and strengthen the legislation that is required when it returns to this House on third reading.
While the Liberal Party supports the creation of this park and especially the significant expansion of a park system that the residents in this particular area already enjoy, it is critical that we get this right the first time. I ask the government to continue to work with the Province of Ontario and with key stakeholders to build the best possible legislation before this House. I ask the Conservatives to honour the agreement that they signed and to work with the requests that have been advanced by key environmental groups. I also ask them to simply be open to changes in order to build a bill that will have a lasting legacy for all of our children.
A national urban park in a major urban centre like Toronto can ignite the imagination of Canadians and bring joy and knowledge about the importance of the outdoors, just as it did for me when I was a young lad. However, it can only be done if we get it right, and it can only be done if we make the necessary changes to this bill.
Let me conclude by asking the members opposite to work with all sides of the House so that we can fix this bill.
Paul Calandra ConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister and for Intergovernmental Affairs
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member might have his timelines a bit mixed up. In fact, this government was prepared to announce the signed memorandum of agreement that we had with the Liberal Ontario government back in May, but a provincial election was called. The election terminated the announcement, because we cannot make those types of announcements during provincial elections.
The member is asking us to live up to the signed agreement; we are quite prepared to do that. We will do that tomorrow. We are prepared to live up to the signed agreement that we have with the Province of Ontario. If the member would like to call the provincial minister here, or we could go there, we will actually sign that agreement that we have in place. We have had it in place since May.
The member talked about the provincial government and its desire for ecological integrity. In 2012, it was not ecological integrity it wanted; it was a $120 million cheque that it wanted for the land. Forget ecological integrity; give them $120 million, and we could have the land, no problem. That was what was said then by the Province of Ontario.
What this comes down to now and what the Liberals have to account for is this.The Friends of the Rouge Watershed, as he mentioned, want a 600-metre ecological corridor. The result would be that 1,700 acres of class 1 farmland through the northern part of this riding would have to be taken out of production. Is it the Liberal Party's position that it supports the removal of 1,700 acres of class 1 farmland from production and the eviction of farmers from that area?