Evidence of meeting #46 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.
Director General, Canadian Wildlife Service, Department of the Environment
We've been developing a series of targets on a variety of aspects around biodiversity, including protected areas, species at risk, but also the degree to which urban centres in Canada have been able to incorporate biodiversity into their planning and so on. We'll be hearing the results of the deliberation of the working group next week. Ultimately we'll be going forward for approval with this target as well as the other targets related to the Convention on Biological Diversity in the next number of months.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
All right.
In the course of that, one of the things that interests me is how we establish priorities in urban conservation. There was mention of the fact that 90% of the population lives within 100 miles of the southern border. That's where I come from. Does your department have any way of assisting me as a legislator in understanding where the most valuable unprotected ecosystems are likely to come into contact with the most expanding urban areas? Does that question make sense to you?
Director General, Canadian Wildlife Service, Department of the Environment
We do a variety of analyses. One program that I think is most beneficial is funded by the Government of Canada. The natural areas conservation program is with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, NCC, and with Ducks Unlimited. The NCC has done a very good job in what they call developing blueprints. Their focus for that program is south of the 60th parallel, so southern Canada.
They look at priority areas from a conservation perspective and they develop a plan to target specific areas and properties for acquisition, for conservation lands to be included within the program. It's done on a match basis, it's at least 2:1, but in some cases it's even more. To date through that program there've been 3,000 square kilometres, and again because it's focused quite a bit on southern Canada it does have an overlap close to the border, which is where most of our population is concentrated.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
I might ask them about how they target, I presume.
Director General, Canadian Wildlife Service, Department of the Environment
Yes, and we certainly provide information to that program.
Conservative
NDP
François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Sir, madam, thank you for joining us today.
I would like to briefly talk about my riding of Drummond and the City of Drummondville.
We have to make a lot of effort in terms of urban conservation. Despite the goodwill of municipal officials, we are facing significant challenges in this area. Given that the city is growing at an exponential rate, residential, industrial and commercial areas are expanding. Of course, that comes with a lot of consequences, the first being the disappearance of our forests and wetlands. For instance, efforts are being made to turn a forest, specifically the Boisé de la Marconi, into an urban natural area that people can visit.
However, as I said earlier, there are still some problems. As the city is growing, natural environments are dying off. That is why we are creating more and more artificial parks. As you probably know, conservation strategies are not as effective there. The biodiversity of urban parks is not as rich as that of natural parks.
My question is quite simple and has to do with the habitat stewardship program, of course.
The regional environment council of central Quebec is a non-profit organization that works very hard. Concretely, it seeks to conserve urban biodiversity and to increase access to information about endangered species or species at risk, such as a type of turtle in our region.
Could you tell me whether the habitat stewardship program is very effective?
Director General, Canadian Wildlife Service, Department of the Environment
Maybe I'll come at it from this way. The habitat stewardship program is a national program. It targets not just urban centres, although urban centres may have projects that meet the criteria. The purpose of that program is to support restoration, protection, and identification of important habitat for species at risk, with a priority for listed species under the Species at Risk Act, SARA, and within that those species that are endangered or threatened. That's the focus of the program. It's not designed specifically to support an urban conservation regime, but I think it does contribute to it.
If I might, I'll just talk about one very successful collaboration among NGOs, the City of Montreal, and the Province of Quebec. It's the 180 hectare site—my apologies for the French pronunciation—the Rivière à l'Orme Ecoforest Corridor. It involves 180 hectares that are along riverbanks. It provides for a variety of habitats for birds, birds of prey, even the map turtle, as I think you mentioned, beaver, and so on. There are agricultural sections. There are also wetlands, streams, and forests. It's right within the urban boundaries of Montreal.
NDP
François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC
I would like to know whether it is normal that the regional council has not received any news about the habitat stewardship program yet.
Director General, Canadian Wildlife Service, Department of the Environment
I will be clear. At times we have been slow at getting notification back to our project proponents. We are trying to speed up the process by which we can get the notification out to project proponents.
Director General, Canadian Wildlife Service, Department of the Environment
Yes, I believe so, but I'm not sure which ones have not heard yet. I'm a bit concerned that somebody hasn't heard yet.
NDP
François Choquette NDP Drummond, QC
Thirty seconds is not a lot.
I would like to thank you for being here. I would also like to reiterate the importance of research for urban or national biodiversity. We need research and we need to support people like those from the regional environment council of central Quebec, who do the work on the ground. They know which places we have to protect. I can't think of anything better than supporting groups like that, non-profit groups that do an outstanding job and that are familiar with the various regions and places that we have to protect.
Let me say this again. Quebec is faced with a serious problem. The same thing is probably true for the rest of Canada. I am talking about deforestation and the loss of wetlands. It really is a very serious problem. Earlier you mentioned the problem of fragmentation, which is a serious problem that we have to address. I hope that we will find solutions to that because, in Drummondville, that is a very serious issue.
Director General, Canadian Wildlife Service, Department of the Environment
If I may, we do have one partnership that is the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. We have joint ventures. Quebec is part of the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture. That's a collaboration where there's federal, provincial, and NGO funds, and money coming up from the United States to acquire wetlands, because they are so important for waterfowl and also for people and for conservation.
Conservative
Conservative
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thanks to the witnesses for their contributions to the beginning of our study here.
I want to pick up on the work of Parks Canada. You mentioned something interesting regarding the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge youth ambassadors engaging youth and reaching out to other youth, which is a very interesting concept.
In my riding of Nanaimo—Alberni we have Pacific Rim National Park, which is a great park. We have an interpretive centre there, the Kwisitis interpretive centre. I want to say how great the programs are that are going on there day by day. I had a chance a few months ago to participate in one.
You mentioned in your remarks about removing invasive species from Pacific Rim National Park. We joined a group from Vancouver Island University on one of their outings and helped to remove some invasive grass species from the sand dunes that are on recovery out there. It's a fascinating program, with young people being very much engaged. They were studying an ecological program there.
The interactive displays at the Kwisitis centre do not require personnel. They're automated. People can learn all kinds of stuff. On rainy days on the coast, where we get 10 feet of rainfall annually, it's great to have the kinds of events that keep families busy, and they're learning.
Down the road from the park we have another program that has just started in Ucluelet, with the opening of an aquarium. They use a lot of local students to engage people's interest in the intertidal animals. They learn about all kinds of life that's below the surface in the intertidal zone, as by and large, landlubbers will drive by and miss it all.
Many of these young people are going on to study science at university, which is certainly what we're hoping to accomplish. It's the same thing across Barkley Sound at the Bamfield Marine Science Centre. They engage the local students to come in to the science programs. We want to see more of this.
Coming back to Parks Canada, you mentioned in your presentation the grade 8 My Parks Pass. Can you tell us something about that program, the number of students who participate, where the uptake is across the country, about its success and how many years it has been running, and so on?
Vice-President, External Relations and Visitor Experience, Parks Canada
It's a program that came out of the previous minister's round table, so under Minister Prentice, and was launched, in fact, by the Prime Minister a little over two years ago. It's a joint venture between Parks Canada, Nature Canada, The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and the Historica-Dominion Institute.
Together we reach 400,000 students a year through that program. We invite them to come to our places. We give the teachers contacts through which to come to our places. The students, in fact, have it when they're in grade 8, and it continues when they are in grade 9 as well. It's one of those programs where we're seeing youth who want to come back a number of times, hopefully once with their class and several times with their families. It's really starting to pay dividends in terms of the number of people who are able to come and enjoy national parks and national historic sites through that pass program.
Conservative
James Lunney Conservative Nanaimo—Alberni, BC
Are there lessons to be learned from where the uptake is and how this program might be expanded?
