Environment Committee on Oct. 24th, 2012

[Mark Cullen]

First of all, with regard to the education piece, I am really glad that came up. I'm happy about it because I recently read a book about Edmund Zavitz.

I'm not sure whether you have heard of him, but Edmund Zavitz was responsible for planting over two billion trees in Ontario. I went to school in Ontario and I don't recall learning anything about tripling the Ontario forest cover in southern Ontario between 1904 and 1949. I think that kids need to learn this stuff. By learning about some great Canadian heroes, like Mr. Zavitz, they'll gain a greater appreciation for the value of trees generally and, one hopes, for the urban tree canopy. That would be my response.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

You talked about doubling the tree canopy. Would you like to make some specific recommendations to this committee?

[Mark Cullen]

Do you mean beyond helping us plant more trees?

I don't simply throw that out, and I don't use the expression "double the tree canopy" lightly. There is a strategy. For instance--

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

That's what I want to hear. Tell us about that.

[Mark Cullen]

Okay. It's difficult to answer this question without being fairly specific.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Be as specific as you can.

[Mark Cullen]

You represent Etobicoke, so perhaps you would know something about the strategy in Toronto. The strategy in Toronto has been very well articulated. I believe it's called “Every Tree Counts”. It calls for a doubling of the tree canopy by the year 2050. It's not the only city that's done that. Mayor Rob Burton of Oakville has the very same goal, to double the tree canopy by the year 2057, because that will be the 200th anniversary of his town. There are many other municipalities that have given this some thought and have committed some resources to developing a plan. I think the federal government could provide a great deal of incentive to the municipalities that haven't done it.

Michael referred to something really interesting. He said something about how the guy who cleans the local ice rink is also responsible for the trees in many municipalities. That's because their resources are so thin; it's the only way it works. What can the federal government do to help municipalities like that develop a plan that really has some teeth, that is meaningful? It would be something which 20 or 30 years from now, our grandchildren would look back and say that their forefathers were smart, that they did the right thing.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Thank you.

[Michael Rosen]

Can I add one thing?

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Please, Mr. Rosen. In detail.

[Michael Rosen]

This is going to be as specific as I can make it. There's one thing this committee could do that would help the urban forest. It would be to give firm direction to the Canadian Forest Service to allocate one position in each of their forestry centres—they have one in Edmonton, one in Sault St Marie, one in Sainte Foy, one in Fredericton—to work on the problems in the urban forest. It's a simple as that.

Currently, lots of resources are there but nothing is going on. Everybody has to go to the United States to get their technical information. Why can't the Canadian Forest Service direct some of those resources to the urban forest?

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

I really appreciate that. I know Ms. Charlton wants in, but I've got a minute and twenty seconds left.

You talked about biodiversity and what you've done. Are there recommendations to this committee that you would make? If we're going to do urban conservation, what should be the goals for biodiversity? Any of you, please jump in.

[Chris Manderson]

Simply put, within a minute and a few seconds, the goal would be to consider cities to have vital ecological needs as well. You need to think about viable, sustainable, healthy ecosystems within the context of growing cities.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Should the management principle be ecological integrity?

[Chris Manderson]

I like that phrase. I would say so.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

Would anyone else care to comment?

[Anne Charlton]

I have one comment on the prairie city, which loves trees but has a hard time growing them.

We have just enacted—it's not quite through council yet, but it has passed through committee—the amount of soil volume that has to be at the bottom of a tree in streets. It's extremely important. The expensive part of an urban canopy is at the beginning of its life and at the end of its life. What we're finding is that our trees are dying a third of the way through what could be a longer life because they have insufficient soil. The technical framework that needs to be attached to the trees must be very robust.

[Kirsty Duncan, Liberal, Etobicoke North, ON]

What would your recommendation be to the committee?

[Anne Charlton]

It would be to look at parts of Canada. You have to look at it regionally. You have to look at soil profiles, but make sure that the tree can live its whole life.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Thank you so much.

We begin our five-minute round.

Madam Quach, you have five minutes.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you all for being here. You are going to need your earphones.

I would like to thank Tree Canada for visiting Beauharnois—Salaberry two weeks ago. You made the headlines. The local people were very proud.

My question is for Ms. Andreeff. I hope I am pronouncing your name right. You spoke very highly of Banff and the Jasper National Park and their benefits. In fact, a study by the Canadian Parks Council showed that for $800 million invested in parks, $4 billion is generated in economic benefits. We are in agreement that our national heritage and its protection have a significant impact on tourism and the economy. You spoke about this.

There have been cutbacks of $29 million in national parks and historic sites. You yourself commented on the 41 job losses in Jasper. You said this concerns you because the cutbacks will have an impact on tourism.

What must the federal government do to ensure that parks play a major role in urban conservation and the economy?

[Monica Andreeff]

Specifically, with respect to your question about the budget cutbacks, it is of concern in terms of balancing ecological integrity with tourism and visitor experience. We need to keep investing in the infrastructure of parks, particularly in the mountain parks. We consider them sometimes the entry level parks where people can come for their first taste of wilderness. Our campgrounds, trails, and infrastructure need to be maintained to a standard of excellence that currently doesn't exist.

There are opportunities, however, in national parks for the private sector to partner with Parks Canada to deliver high-quality visitor experiences. We draw most of our visitors from urban areas and through high-quality recreational activities and increased visitation to national parks. Those messages of urban conservation will become second nature to visitors and Canadians.

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

Thank you.

You spoke about promoting cultural and educational activities. You also spoke about aboriginal cultures. Such activities exist in a number of parks. You talked about enhancing nature interpretation. These activities require guides or people to make it an enriching experience.

[Monica Andreeff]

I'm sorry, I'm not getting the translation. Could you repeat that, please?

[Anne Minh-Thu Quach, NDP, Beauharnois—Salaberry, QC]

You spoke a lot about the importance of awareness-raising and of promoting educational and interpretation activities. These activities require guides, real life experience, material and human resources. The purpose of these activities is to give visitors or residents a wonderful experience when they visit Parks Canada sites.

What could the federal government do to enhance these activities?