The House proceeded to the consideration of Bill C-317, An Act to establish a national strategy respecting flood and drought forecasting, as reported (without amendment) from the committee.
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal
Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)
Second reading (Senate), as of Oct. 24, 2024
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This is from the published bill.
This enactment provides for the development of a national strategy to provide key stakeholders with the information they need to forecast floods and droughts.
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.
The House proceeded to the consideration of Bill C-317, An Act to establish a national strategy respecting flood and drought forecasting, as reported (without amendment) from the committee.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker Carol Hughes
There being no motions at report stage on this bill, the House will now proceed, without debate, to the putting of the question on the motion to concur in the bill at report stage.
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
moved that the bill be concurred in at report stage.
The Assistant Deputy Speaker Carol Hughes
If a member participating in person wishes that the motion be carried or carried on division, or if a member of a recognized party participating in person wishes to request a recorded division, I would invite them to rise and indicate it to the Chair.
Some hon. members
Agreed.
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
moved that the bill be read the third time and passed.
Madam Speaker, before I begin my speech, I would like to extend some thanks. I would like to thank all the members of the House, particularly those who serve on the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. As we know, the bill was endorsed by all the parties. It received unanimous support, and I am very pleased about that.
I also want to thank the scientists who helped me develop and draft this bill, including John Pomeroy, a world-renowned hydrologist. He is an expert in climate change and hydrology in nordic countries like Canada. He was instrumental in helping me draft this legislation. More importantly, he taught me a lot on the subject. I am not a scientist. I have a keen interest in freshwater, but I did not know a lot about flood and drought forecasting. Professor Pomeroy was extremely patient and really helped me learn about the subject, along with Alain Pietroniro, a former public servant at the Department of Environment in Ottawa who now works at the University of Calgary. The University of Calgary is in the process of setting up a faculty dedicated to water studies, which is very impressive. It has a whole team studying this area in depth, and it keeps me abreast of what is going on. The University of Saskatchewan, where Professor Pomeroy works, is recognized for its expertise in water issues and, most importantly, in the science behind flood and drought forecasting.
Earlier this week, I raised an issue when we were debating areas of jurisdiction within the Canadian federation. I said that the Canadian federation is more than a power game or a power relationship. Yes, we do politics here, in the House. Doing politics is part of building and maintaining relations between the federal and provincial governments. However, the Canadian federation is bigger than that. It encompasses the resources and expertise that we share. It also includes a technical component in that we share knowledge and ways of doing things. This is evident in a number of areas, like health, for instance. Each province is like a laboratory and tries to manage its health care system in a certain way. If things work out, other provinces may want to follow suit. I think we have seen this happen in Quebec, where a government agency, Santé Quebec, was just created. Apparently it is similar to what was created in Ontario, but I will spare you the details. It is a bit like the United Nations. Obviously, the United Nations engages in politics, especially the General Assembly and the Security Council.
However, the United Nations is much more than that. It is expertise and resources. Countries collaborate on technical issues, whether it is through the World Health Organization, the International Maritime Organization or the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. A lot of work is being done. It is a bit like what happens here: Often, question period is theatre, but in committee, we do good work. Theatre is not bad. It has its place in politics. I would like to say that the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development does good work.
Bill C-317 is a rather technical bill, designed to encourage technical collaboration with respect to forecasting droughts and floods and to better predict them. That is the purpose of this bill. As I said at the outset, I did not know much about this field, but I have learned a lot. This has enabled me to bring in this bill and move it forward.
This bill will encourage collaboration, but without incurring any expenses. This bill will not force an internal reorganization within the Department of Environment. This bill will require federal officials to collaborate with experts, many of whom work in a provincial government, as well as with indigenous peoples and the insurance industry. Everyone needs to work together to develop a plan for better collaboration on drought and flood forecasting. There is some collaboration now, but it is not very formal and it would be better if it were even more structured and streamlined. That is all this bill seeks to do.
It will be a major step forward if the bill is passed in the House of Commons and the Senate and if the departments in question are required to implement this strategy. Why am I interested in flooding? I have been interested in the freshwater policy since I was elected, and floods and droughts obviously impact the amount of water that is available. Either there is too much or too little.
I would also like to talk a little bit about my riding. It is located on the Island of Montreal, in the west end of the city. It is surrounded by water, namely the Lac des Deux‑Montagnes, Rivière-des-Prairies, Lac Saint‑Louis and the St. Lawrence River. Every once in a while, but more often these days because of climate change, there is overflow and flooding. When we see it with our own eyes, we realize just how much devastation and destruction that can cause. That is what prompted me to introduce this bill.
I would also like to take a moment to congratulate municipal councillors, who are really called upon to work together and do crisis management when there is flooding. They do it very well. That is one of the reasons this subject caught my attention. I would also like to thank my colleagues once again, especially those on the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.
I hope that this bill will be passed at third reading. Things are looking good, as I believe it was passed unanimously at second reading. If the bill passes in the House, I will have to wait and see what happens in the Senate. I have to admit that I am not as familiar with the workings of the Senate as I am with the House of Commons, but I will get there eventually.
Niki Ashton NDP Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB
Madam Speaker, while I appreciate the member's efforts on this critical issue, I am concerned about the fact that it reinforces a pattern we have seen from the Liberals and the Liberal government. That pattern is a lot of concern about the impacts of climate change but a lack of action.
Here, in our part of the country, we have seen a record wildfire season already, with much more aggressive fires and much earlier than normal, because of the drought conditions resulting from climate change.
Most recently we have heard very concerning statements from the military. They see the kind of support they provided as recently as last year as “wickedly wasteful”.
Does the member support the Liberal government not taking bold action on climate change? Does he believe that the federal government should be able to call on the military when needed, to keep communities such as mine and others across the country safe in the face of climate emergencies?
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Madam Speaker, I do not agree that the current government has not taken the environment in general, and climate change more specifically, seriously. Of all the governments in the history of Canada, ours is the one that has put forth the most ambitious and most multi-faceted environmental policies, including in the area of climate change. We fought all the way to the Supreme Court to protect an Environmental Assessment Act that we revamped in 2016 so that we could take into account emissions from projects when they are being evaluated. We went all the way to the Supreme Court so that we could gain jurisdiction and defend our policy of putting a price on carbon. Therefore we have really, I think, put our money where our mouth is.
As far as the military is concerned, over the last few years it has done a remarkable job helping us address domestic emergencies, whether it was the pandemic or helping with firefighting and so on. I am very proud of the members of our military, and I know they will be there when they are needed.
National Strategy on Flood and Drought Forecasting ActPrivate Members' Business
Conservative
Alex Ruff Conservative Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, ON
Madam Speaker, I have more of a comment to build on the last question from our NDP colleague, because I want to put it on the record.
I have huge belief in our Canadian Armed Forces members to move forward and be there for domestic operations, but that is not their primary role. They will be there to do those tasks that nobody else in the civil service can do, or if municipal or provincial capabilities do not exist. However, something I would encourage the government to look at is how we can restructure a federal force to be able to deal with those tasks, one that would not be part of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Madam Speaker, that is a very good point. I agree that the people who join the Armed Forces probably have their eye more on serving in conflict zones and so forth. However, yes, from time to time in all countries, the military is called upon to lend a helping hand in situations of emergency. I do believe that the government has stood up a humanitarian force to deal more specifically with domestic situations, which is, I guess, an outgrowth of the fact that, yes, we are facing a climate emergency and it is having impacts here in Canada.
Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné Bloc Terrebonne, QC
Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague, whom I hold in high esteem, for his speech.
My question is quite simple: How does he think this bill is going to improve coordination among the various stakeholders who manage weather forecasts? Is this bill really going to improve things for them?
Francis Scarpaleggia Liberal Lac-Saint-Louis, QC
Madam Speaker, as I said in other speeches, weather management is really a federal responsibility. The Canadian Meteorological Centre manages weather forecasts. I am talking about weather forecasting and how to make better predictions. That is already being done. Forecasters are already talking about it, but we need something a little more structured.
