The EDF is a specified purpose account. It was established for the management of court orders and awards or other financial compensation to Environment Canada for damages to the environment. The sources of the funds that go into the EDF are court orders, i.e. fines, which account for approximately 80% of what goes into the EDF. There are also out-of-court settlements, voluntary payments, and there is the possibility for awards provided under various international funds, but none of those have been done to date.
In the case of court awards, which are the primary concern here, currently the EDF receives money from the court award only if the judge specifies in the order that it should go to the EDF. The default is that it would go to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, unless it is specified. It also occurs in about 15% of cases that the court will order money to go to a specific individual, which means it goes neither to the EDF nor to the CRF. About 55% of the orders go to the EDF, about 30% default to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, and about 15% go to specified individuals or organizations.
Environment Canada administers the EDF by allocating money from court orders to organizations in the community in which the environmental damage occurred. This is done through contribution agreements for projects directed at environmental restoration, improvement, research and development, and education.
Environment Canada follows an open and transparent process to request proposals from local organizations and selects the best proposal based on its overall merit in achieving the purposes of the project.
The EDF is administered through Environment Canada regional offices. Officials in the regions develop management plans for the best use of the funds, in part through discussions with internal and external experts, including other government departments, local NGOs, academics, and such.