Environment Committee on Nov. 26th, 2012

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

You are talking about a plan that really worked well.

[François Pilon, NDP, Laval—Les Îles, QC]

Yes or, if you prefer, a plan that did not work at all.

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

Can I talk about the urban forest?

I am going to speak in English, if you don't mind. I can get by in French, but that's about it.

Just to let you know, I am a city councillor and I am on the board of directors of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. I think I forgot to say that when I began.

What I'd like to talk about is environmental issues within municipalities. I'll focus on the urban forest. It is extremely important for the kinds of benefits that trees have within an urban environment. They're green spaces. They're forests. They provide economic, environmental, social and health benefits to cities. Trees within a city are hugely important.

I will use the example of my city, the population of which is less than 100,000, about 95,000. We have a tree canopy that has fallen to below 20%. Our tree canopy now is probably about 15%. This is devastating for us as a city, as I said, because of the environment, the cooling and all the other benefits that trees bring. The emerald ash borer began to hit us about two or three years ago. We're now at the point that we're beginning to lose trees. In our city, where we have a canopy of about 15%, we're going to lose about 90,000 trees, 10,000 of which are on municipal property. The other 80,000 are in private hands.

To give you an example of what this means to our city, the loss of 90,000 ash trees would diminish our canopy by from 1.5% to 2%. We would then be at 13%, or maybe 12%.

The cost of this to our city is huge. This year we're just starting into the phase in of which trees are being hit and damaged. We have a 15-year strategic plan whereby we're going to try to work through this.

I'll go through this really quickly, but in 2013 we'll spend $60,000 just for treatment, $140,000 to take the trees down, and then an additional.... We'll spend about $265,000 next year just to deal with taking the trees down and planting some more.

Now, given the number of trees we have and how large this effort of replanting is going to be—when we replant, we would like to work towards that 40% canopy, which would be a 1:3 ratio—it's going to cost us $1.5 million in tree planting to deal with this impact.

An urban forest is very important to all cities and all communities across this country. I think it's important that we deal with it.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Mark Warawa]

Thank you very much.

Next is Mr. Woodworth. You have seven minutes.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Thank you very much.

Thank you to each of the witnesses.

I speak some French, but it is not enough for the current context.

So I apologize, but I will speak in English.

In any event, I have a question, first of all, for Ms. Ceschi-Smith.

I understand that the Government of Canada has cooperated with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in a green municipal fund and has endowed it with $550 million.

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

It is $550 million, $100,000 of which is dedicated to brownfields.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

You are familiar with it, obviously.

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

I am. I was actually on the green municipal fund council.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

As I understand it, it's to improve local air, water, and soil quality and to promote renewable energy with grants and below market loans.

Was any of that money available to combat the emerald ash borer problem you've been describing?

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

At this point, no, it hasn't been. I may ask my staff to fill me in.

My understanding of the green municipal fund is that it actually is for projects. It is for projects that are infrastructure related that will make improvements. It's not necessarily to handle the devastating biological event happening to our trees.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Is that your staff person with you?

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

Yes.

It is really an infrastructure fund. It's for water and buildings and those kinds of things.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

It would be for construction projects that would be in aid of the environment. Is that what you're saying?

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

It is for projects that actually have a benefit for the environment and that are an aid to it.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Can you give us a few examples, by chance?

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

An example could be a green building, such as a LEED building, in brownfields. For example, it would maybe be a site that gets cleaned up and then has some buildings on it that are LEED buildings or that have a very good environmental impact.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Is the fund entirely administered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities?

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

It is, and it has a council that is dedicated solely to the environmental projects that come before the green fund.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

The applications are made to that council and not to the federal government. Is that correct?

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

They are made to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities through the green fund council, absolutely. Then we have a lot of people behind it, as specialists in the area, who analyze the proposals that come in.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Has the Federation of Canadian Municipalities found this to be a good benefit?

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

We have found that fund to be absolutely amazing. The reason I'm saying that is that every year, for the last number of years, FCM has had a sustainable communities event. It's usually in February. Last year I was a judge, and this year I was actually chair of the judges. The projects coming in from communities across this country in the water area, in building, and in roads give you hope for what is happening to this country.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

That's very good.

[Marguerite Ceschi-Smith]

It's very worthwhile, and it works very well. Municipal governments are taking a lot of leadership in putting forward projects that will handle and deal with environmental changes.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

That's exactly the hope the government wants to inspire, and we do it in partnership with municipalities. It sounds as if it's working in a very good way.