Evidence of meeting #25 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was parks.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:05 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
There is research in many parts of the environment, but I think we should specify the monitoring piece. I think it would be useful to break that out. Do you agree with that?
5:05 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch, Department of the Environment
I do, and my sense is that there is a fair bit of research out there. There is publishing—the Ecosystem Status and Trends Report, etc.--that gives us a sense of things that are happening. Bringing that analysis into the discussion is a key part of fostering the good development of a national conservation plan.
5:05 p.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
We'll add research and monitoring to the framework then. I appreciate that.
The other issue I'm quite concerned about is the steep decline in the health of our oceans. We have communities that depend on healthy oceans for their long-term sustainability.
I am concerned when I hear it's 10% by 2020. I believe it's much higher. As we know, we're 1% of the way there. I've heard “aspirational” today. I would hope it's more than that.
Some people are asking for 12 marine protected areas by 2012. Are we going to make the 10% by 2020?
5:05 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch, Department of the Environment
It's difficult to tell you what the total of all future government decisions is going to be in terms of 2020, so it's difficult to say yes, no, or maybe. What might be useful, though, is a sense of some of the activities in marine protected areas.
Mike, you may wish to speak to that briefly.
5:10 p.m.
Executive Director, Ecological Integrity Branch, Parks Canada Agency
Thank you very much.
Certainly it is a challenging goal, not just for Canada. When we were in Japan, negotiating these various targets, all countries expressed the challenges within those aspirational goals.
5:10 p.m.
Liberal
5:10 p.m.
Executive Director, Ecological Integrity Branch, Parks Canada Agency
Yes, agreed. Australia is one example.
5:10 p.m.
Executive Director, Ecological Integrity Branch, Parks Canada Agency
For our part, we are placing quite an emphasis in terms of looking at our national marine conservation areas, working with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on the marine protected areas. Lancaster Sound is one example of the progress, and the Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation Area is the other one.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Robert Sopuck Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB
In terms of the national conservation plan, my strong recommendation will be that a much greater emphasis be placed on the working landscape. I have to reiterate that is where the greatest conservation gains can be made.
In terms of Ms. Duncan's point about oceans and fisheries, I consider actively managing harvested fisheries in the same category as a working landscape. That has to be the priority of the national conservation plan.
I don't want to minimize it, but putting lines around maps in remote areas.... You have to ask yourself about the conservation gain of a wetland program in prairie Canada that deals with the flood control issues, which my colleague was talking about, where one would see really serious and beneficial gains.
So just to throw it out to you, how would you see a wetland conservation program on the private land agricultural landscape in prairie Canada unfolding?
5:10 p.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch, Department of the Environment
It's a great question. I would agree with the proposition that getting a wetland program unfolding in the prairies would have immense value.
One specific example is the work we did on Lake Winnipeg. There was a significant challenge there in nutrient management for a whole bunch of reasons. Through getting that shoreline working and back to a natural habitat and getting some cattails back, there was a tremendous pullout of phosphorus. I know that's not flood control, but it's an example of a wetland that's helping tremendously to get an ecosystem back into shape.
On how to roll out a wetland program in the prairies, I don't have any insightful advice right now, other than the fact that if you're going to do that, given the nature of the prairies, you are into working the landscape and getting the farmers to till the land to preserve those potholes. They become temporary reservoirs of water that prevent the rush to the river systems, etc. In the context of the beneficial management practices and the agricultural management practices, there have been some gains there in recent years.
I used to work at Agriculture Canada in a previous life and talked to landowners on this. Some of them are very committed to finding ways to put some of the hedgerows back; putting some of the natural features back in the farms they're operating now for profit; and in doing so, providing habitat for waterfowl and better flood control. So there are opportunities there. On how to do it, we need advice.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
Robert Sopuck Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB
As Mr. McLean knows from another picture show, I'll probably have some advice as things roll out. That's a promise. I think we can design some incredibly positive programs, but throughout this process I'll focus like a laser on the working landscape, because that's quite frankly where the action is.
5:10 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Mark Warawa
Unfortunately, the time has expired.
I want to thank the witnesses for being here: Mr. McLean, Mr. Keenan, and Mr. Wong. What you have provided us in the way of testimony has been very helpful.
Colleagues, we will suspend for two minutes and then we will go in camera to talk about future business.
[Proceedings continue in camera]