Evidence of meeting #10 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was health.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Peter Braid Conservative Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Thank you for ensuring fairness, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to our officials and departmental witnesses for their participation and testimony this morning.
I have some questions for Health Canada from previous conversations.
Could you describe specifically what aspects of health within first nations communities in Alberta are under the jurisdiction of Health Canada?
Director, Environmental Health Research Division, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
We supply health services to first nations on-reserve, which means the doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, etc. These are the services we provide.
In terms of the environment, we have environmental health officers who work for Health Canada, but work in close cooperation with the chief and band council. They look at issues like mould in housing. They do the drinking water quality monitoring. They will do food inspections for specific events that are held on-reserve. There's a number of activities that will be carried out by the environmental health officers.
Conservative
Peter Braid Conservative Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Specifically with respect to the monitoring of water quality, could you describe or explain the division of roles and responsibilities between Health Canada and authorities in a first nations community?
Director, Environmental Health Research Division, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
All the water quality monitoring done on Indian reserves is done by the environmental health officers of Health Canada. That information is shared with the chief and band council. The province is not involved.
If the source water is drawn off-reserve, then that source water, of course, would be monitored by the province and we would get that information from them. Once it's on-reserve, it is strictly a Health Canada area of monitoring.
Conservative
Peter Braid Conservative Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Treatment facilities are under the responsibility of the first nations community itself.
Director, Environmental Health Research Division, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
That's correct. The funding to build, etc., is from INAC, Indian and Northern Affairs, but the operations are part of the band council's responsibility. Health Canada then monitors the finished drinking water. So it's a cooperative arrangement.
Conservative
Peter Braid Conservative Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
That cooperation, that joint responsibility, works well from your perspective.
Director, Environmental Health Research Division, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
Yes, absolutely. As I said, the band council gets the information as soon as we do.
Conservative
Peter Braid Conservative Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
If I understand correctly, there were guidelines issued recently with respect to the water monitoring, within the last couple of years. Is that correct?
Director, Environmental Health Research Division, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
John, maybe you could talk about the actual Canadian drinking water guidelines.
Conservative
Director, Water, Air and Climate Change Bureau, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
Your question related to the guidelines for water monitoring, correct?
Director, Water, Air and Climate Change Bureau, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
I believe that was issued by the first nations branch.
Director, Environmental Health Research Division, First Nations and Inuit Health Branch, Department of Health
Yes, we monitor the guidelines on a regular basis to look at frequency and parameter lists, but the parameters we are measuring are the ones that show up in the federal-provincial-territorial guidelines, because we have to have the actual number. What we're looking at, of course, is the sampling, but we have to compare our value against the guideline that is issued.
Conservative
Peter Braid Conservative Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Guidelines have been issued by the federal government. When were those guidelines issued?
Director, Water, Air and Climate Change Bureau, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
This is an ongoing process. We have approximately 90 chemical guidelines, and microbiological and radiological guidelines on top of that. In general, we update guidelines every five to ten years and add new priority substances. On average, we're producing about five to seven guidelines per year, or revising them.
This is an ongoing process. We work with the provinces, which puts them into standards, and they're also used by first nations.
Conservative
Peter Braid Conservative Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Is there an opportunity for first nations communities to provide input on the development and ongoing revision of those guidelines?
Director, Water, Air and Climate Change Bureau, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
Actually, we post for consultation. Part of the process is to take comments from anybody—the public, first nations, or what have you—on any of our guidelines. There is a process.
Conservative
Peter Braid Conservative Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
What is your assessment of how well the guidelines are working, and are there any opportunities for improvement?
Director, Water, Air and Climate Change Bureau, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch, Department of Health
I think the guidelines are working. They're comparable to international guidelines and standards. They are designed to be protective of health, and we do certainly follow up on all the new science in terms of health impacts and levels of exposure across the country, and we work closely with the provinces to get that information.
Where we see the biggest challenge, as I mentioned during the presentation, is the small community water supplies where you actually don't necessarily have the treatment technology, the operators, the funding, or the source water protection you need to provide the same level of drinking water quality you would in a larger town. This is an area where Health Canada is trying to focus very strongly in terms of helping smaller communities improve their drinking water safety, and that would include working with first nations groups.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Bezan
Thank you. Your time has expired.
Mr. McGuinty, you have the floor.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
Thanks very much, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to address my first questions to Ms. Wright.
Ms. Wright, in your deck on pages 7 and 8 you talk about how you do quite a bit of work on cumulative environmental effects. You mention that you have been involved in 12 EA reviews for oil sands projects and five joint panel reviews. You also say that you collaborate with the Cumulative Environmental Management Association.
I want to ask two very quick questions. How much collaboration do you have with CEMA? For example, do you fund it, in part?
Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Environmental Stewardship Branch, Department of the Environment
At this point we're currently not giving a contribution, but we have extensive staff involvement, including chairing some committees and providing technical expertise for a number of working groups.
Liberal
David McGuinty Liberal Ottawa South, ON
I'm sure there's a lot of sharing of data going on between their research and your research and a lot of cooperation between your scientists and their scientists.