Evidence of meeting #58 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 education.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Member, Board of Directors, Director, Forest School Canada, Child and Nature Alliance of Canada
Basically just health implications.
Conservative
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to you all.
Dr. Brunet, should ecological integrity and ecosystem health be a recommendation from this committee?
Consultant and Researcher in Environmental Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Lecturer, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
Ecological integrity in the urban settlement is hard to attain.
Consultant and Researcher in Environmental Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Lecturer, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
Ecological health, of course; integrity, I doubt.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Yes, okay.
Should we be enshrining ecological health in policy and legislation?
Consultant and Researcher in Environmental Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Lecturer, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
We should, to the extent of the jurisdiction of the federal government, because there's this question of federal and provincial and municipal responsibilities that have to be maintained. If it is something that can be done without too much difficulty, I think the principle should be there at least.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you.
Again I'll ask Dr. Brunet a question, and this is hard, because it's trying to get a balance here.
How do we manage goals, such as connecting people to nature, in a way that does not compromise an overarching conservation goal or compromise ecological health?
Consultant and Researcher in Environmental Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Lecturer, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
You can have different types of conservation zones in urban areas.
For example, in Montreal, we have a park called Parc-nature du Bois-de-Saraguay, which is for conservation. It is not open to the public for recreation. This is a typical forest in the area from 200 years ago. This forest has never been touched. It is maintained for its ecological value.
Nearby you have another park, which is open to the public for recreation. There are different types of activities. There is conservation, but it is open to the public. There is a type of equilibrium to reach. I think it's possible.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you. Would you be able to send the committee further recommendations on these different types of zones?
Consultant and Researcher in Environmental Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Lecturer, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
I can give you more examples for parks. For example, in the Montreal area, we have Mont-Saint-Hilaire, which is part of the network of UNESCO urban biosphere reserves. This is a forest that has never been cut or touched. It is only there to maintain the quality of the ecosystem. It's open to the public. There's no recreation, but people can take a walk, listen to the birds, and so on. This is something really interesting.
The Montreal area has a wide variety of ecosystems. We have Quebec national parks close to the city of Montreal. Within the city, there's Mount Royal, which is another interesting forest and park. It involves the efforts of a local conservation group. There are a lot of models of types of forests.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Could you provide this committee with these different models and examples of the different models? Can you give us the park names as well? That would be terrific.
Consultant and Researcher in Environmental Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Lecturer, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
I could, of course. I have produced some notes, which are available. They will be translated soon. Within these notes, there are some examples, but I can be more exhaustive.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Specific recommendations to the committee would also be very helpful.
Consultant and Researcher in Environmental Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Lecturer, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
I can make a table, which would be useful.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
That would be it. It should have the model, which parks use it, and your specific recommendations.
Consultant and Researcher in Environmental Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Lecturer, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
I will give examples. Okay.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Okay. I will ask Dr. Brunet one more question.
How do we have balance and ensure that visitor engagement is not emphasized over conservation?
Consultant and Researcher in Environmental Science, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Lecturer, Université du Québec à Montréal, As an Individual
Visitor...engagement? I don't understand very clearly.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Mark Warawa
Again, thank you to the witnesses for being with us today. We regret that it wasn't longer. What you shared with us was valuable information. We appreciate your taking the time and being with us this day.
Colleagues, we have bells pending, I believe.
The meeting is adjourned.