Environment Committee on May 13th, 2010

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here with us today.

To use the language of one of my colleagues from across the way earlier, I am “shocked” at how much good news we get reported from reports such as this, good news that is often overlooked by some of my colleagues across the way.

I know and I understand that, like any good management tool, an audit of this sort suggests areas for improvement, but I find your reporting to be balanced and fair and pointing out the good news. I just find that there is a disconnect when I listen to some members, and I want to make sure I'm reading some of this good news correctly.

For example, I see this statement: “In virtually every part of the Northwest Territories...land claims and self-government agreements have either been settled or are being negotiated”. I regard that as good news.

Do you regard it as good news, Ms. Fraser?

[Sheila Fraser]

I do, Chair. We indicate that progress is being made in the Northwest Territories and that the department seems quite committed to doing this.

We did raise the question, though, as you mentioned earlier, about giving funding to the first nations to be able to actually continue the negotiations.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Correct: it was mentioned as an area for improvement. I understand that there are suggestions for improvement. I just want to make sure we're not missing the good news.

I see that the Government of Canada has negotiated or finalized land claims agreements “in the Inuvialuit, Gwich'in, Sahtu, and Tlicho regions” of the Northwest Territories and “has made progress toward finalizing the four comprehensive land claim settlements and ten self-government agreements still being negotiated...”.

That's good news, correct?

[Sheila Fraser]

That's correct.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Your report also states:

An environmental regulatory system is mostly in place in regions with settled land claims—co-management boards have been established, development decisions are being made, and land use plans are being developed. INAC has improved its support to co-management boards since 2005....

That's good news, correct?

[Sheila Fraser]

That's right.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

I also notice that there's reference in your report to this fact: “In August 2009, during our audit, the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) was created”.

My own view is that will give some focus to the government's efforts in the Northwest Territories. Would you see it the same way?

[Sheila Fraser]

Yes.

Obviously, what they will accomplish remains to be seen.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

It remains to be seen, but it is a hopeful sign.

Then, on page 14 of the report, in reference to the co-management boards, your report states:

We found that INAC has met its commitments and addressed many of the weaknesses identified, which included a lack of support for developing the capacity of board members....

And so on, and then it continues:

The Department's support through this forum over the last five years has resulted in strategic plans, shared best practices, orientation manuals, and training initiatives.

That's all good news, correct?

[Sheila Fraser]

Yes. We did see actually quite a significant improvement in the co-management boards and the support that the department was providing to them.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

I notice as well that you said that the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development recently made a proposal for regulatory reform, including the appointment of a chief federal negotiator and $8 million to support cumulative impact monitoring.

Those are steps in the right direction, would you say?

[Sheila Fraser]

Yes.

I'm sure that the office will at some point do a follow-up audit to see if progress has been made.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Exactly so, and I'm expecting that you will find good things.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

I just wanted to put on the record that in fact the government has been moving and responding and that there has been a lot of good work going on.

I do have a question for the representatives of INAC, because the one thing that stands out in your report is that there hasn't been a program to monitor cumulative impact of land and water use and waste deposits, even though it has been some time since INAC got that mandate.

I guess I'd like to hear from the INAC representative. What are the reasons behind that, what are the challenges, and what's being done to address them?

[Patrick Borbey]

I've already spoken a fair bit about CIMP. We are certainly very pleased that there are going to be additional resources to help us bolster that program.

There is a program that was established in the past, and there has been funding provided to a large number of projects. There is a governance structure in place, which includes participation from the federal government and the territorial government, as well as the aboriginal groups. As I've offered, I'm prepared to share a list of projects that have been funded over the last number of years.

That being said, there's a lot more that we can do. We can perhaps also improve our communication about the program, and the sharing of the results, perhaps also linking to some of the other work that's going on in the Arctic in terms of research—the recent international polar year research that we've conducted--and also feeding into what we're planning for the High Arctic research station, which will also be able to improve monitoring across the High Arctic.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Do I have time, Mr. Chair, to--

[The Chair, Conservative, James Bezan]

That's all the time you have. It goes by fast when you're having fun.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

I'd ask for a copy of the list, please.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Bezan]

Yes. I was just going to follow up on that, Mr. Woodworth. It's the second time that Mr. Borbey has offered that list, and I do ask that he forward it to committee within the next couple of days. We'd appreciate that.

We're going to continue.

Mr. Martin, it's your turn.

[Keith Martin, Liberal, Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, BC]

I'm giving my time to Mr. McGuinty.

[The Chair, Conservative, James Bezan]

Mr. McGuinty, for five minutes.

[David McGuinty, Liberal, Ottawa South, ON]

Thank you very much, Chair.

Ms. Fraser, what is the annual budget of CanNor?

[An hon. member]

Good question.

[Sheila Fraser]

I don't have that information. Departmental officials might have it.