Environment Committee on Dec. 1st, 2011

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

I assume that you would be required to obtain an import permit of some sort in order to bring in an alien plant species, and that CFIA would determine whether or not that permit is to be issued. Is that generally correct?

[Owen Vanstone]

Often you can't even apply for it if it's not on their list. We need to apply for import permits on a wide range of plants that have had some environmental impact in some local context, and they won't issue them in certain parts of the country.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Ms. Wallin, does your agency have any collaboration with CFIA in relation to these kinds of matters?

[Gail Wallin]

Our agency has no power or authority, but we do bring parties together. CFIA is on our board of directors. On things like imports, we're working with the horticulture industry on the right way to reduce the introduction of both plant and pest invasives.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Does your agency have any specific recommendations regarding the kinds of regulations you mentioned a few minutes ago for controlling the import and export of invasive alien species?

[Gail Wallin]

We're starting the collaboration input on that, but the big issues that come up are imports of seeds, often unintentional seeds because they're part of a filler product, and the other one is importing invasive plants that haven't yet been listed on a weed act or something. That is one we're working on with the horticulture industry in the province.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Listing of invasive alien species would be a plus, in your opinion.

[Gail Wallin]

It would be, but it has to be regionally specific. The plants that are listed for B.C. are totally different from the plants of threat to Alberta.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

It sounded from what Mr. Vanstone said that CFIA already has some kind of a list. Are you aware of it?

[Gail Wallin]

I'm aware of it, but it is not the kind of import list that meets the needs across Canada. It's too generic. They're working through it, but it varies so much for both seeds and plants. The horticulture industry in British Columbia is obviously shipping to Ontario and Newfoundland and vice versa. That information hasn't yet been established in a good working relationship. Not all companies, not all growers, traders, etc., understand what's listed as invasive in B.C. So there's nothing yet to protect B.C. from having accidental shipping of something that's invasive to our province.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Time has expired. Thank you so much.

Ms. Duncan, you have seven minutes.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all of you. We very much appreciate your expertise.

Like you, I'm interested in prevention. I'm surprised that one of the issues that has not come up today is climate change. The World Bank-funded global invasive species program reports that in a warmer world, more extreme weather and higher levels of carbon dioxide will give some species an edge, devastating ecosystems at sea and on land. We know that species that have already invaded North America may find new suitable habitats to invade, thereby expanding their range. Moreover, there may be a better match between suitable habitats in Canada and the source homelands. So you may get new exotic species invading and atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide may favour certain species separate from the warming.

Ms. Wallin, could you discuss the potential economic impacts of climate change on invasive species, recognizing of course that you don't know what will invade?

[Gail Wallin]

I can't give you the answers on the economic impacts of climate change. Where our council and province have been at is that the changing climate is allowing species.... Even on the horticulture side, they're regrouping the grow zones in the eastern states. The same thing is going to happen in natural ecosystems and to invasives. So the ability of invasives to spread more rapidly....

I come from an interior town. We get minus 30 in the winter. English ivy and giant hogweed don't grow there. But 20 years from now there will be a huge ability for it to grow there. So prevention becomes even more important, because what was invasive in the south of the province can now easily.... Predicting where climate warming could go, we could be expanding the ranges for the aggressive invasive plants to be aggressive in my area.

With cold winters, we rule out a lot of the species. You see that when we're working with the Yukon and the Northwest Territories: they've got 12 or 15 invasive species on their list. That's all they've got because their winters kill off their plants. With climate change, with warming climates, they're going to have the potential for more invasive species having an environmental impact, which then will trigger an economic impact back to the habitat issues for wildlife that you mentioned.

I'd like to add one other comment. The other work on invasive plant impacts is around carbon sequestration, which is a big issue in Canada and B.C. The research is taking a look at the fact that healthy ecosystems, healthy grasslands, sequester more carbon than areas where knapweed or whatever is rapidly growing. That information is also going to be really important as they finalize that. The States are also doing research around the same thing. Those ticket items from the impact of climate change and even carbon sequestration appear to be aggravated by invasive plants, which already have advantages. They're aggressive. they spread rapidly, and people move them. You add those factors, and they'll become a more rather than less serious issue.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Thank you, Ms. Wallin.

You looked after my second question.

[Gail Wallin]

Oh, sorry.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

No, it's good.

Do you know if integration of climate change impacts and adaptation was considered in the review of the national invasive alien species strategy, which I believe is up for review in 2009? That has been one of their recommendations.

[Gail Wallin]

I know from meeting with Environment Canada that is one of the factors. You're dealing with ecosystem resilience, actually. If you're dealing with ecosystem resilience, whether it's resilient at this zone for 2011 or that zone in 2020, the question still is the resiliency ability to have a broad diversity. That is a concept for which we can't plan exactly for climate change impact, but if resilient ecosystems were considered and dealt with in the development of the strategy, then we're setting up a healthier ecosystem for the future.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Okay.

Has climate change been incorporated into most invasive species risk assessment and risk management work being conducted within the federal government? Should it be?

[Gail Wallin]

I can't say exactly what CFIA has included in their risk assessments. I don't know that. I think it is a factor when they look worldwide because risk assessments do look at worldwide trends. I would assume that this has come up, but it's not a factual answer.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Would you like to see climate change in risk assessment and risk management?

[Gail Wallin]

I'm going to say that risk assessment is a science-based process.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Absolutely.

[Gail Wallin]

So they're going to have to use.... I come from the interior of B.C., and there is lots of debate around climate change, so it's going to have to look to the science-based impacts of climate change. When they take a look worldwide at risk assessments for invasive plants, they're looking at what has been its potential to infiltrate different kinds of ecosystems. Innately, it will pick it up. I don't know how they'll capture it scientifically, but it needs to capture the scientific potential range.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Ms. Wallin, if you could give your top three recommendations to this committee—this is your chance to give your wish list—to take steps to halt the spread of non-invasive species, what are they? Be as specific as you can be.

[Gail Wallin]

One is to close the borders to the intentional importation of invasive species. Two is to support collaborative efforts with provinces and councils for early detection.