Evidence of meeting #75 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 sara.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Calgary Centre-North, CPC
Fair enough, it enables it.
The last program I'd like to point to is the Canada research chairs program. It's one that I think is particularly important to research across Canada, especially basic research. Again, congratulations on your holding a tier-one research chair.
Director, Biodiversity Research Centre, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
Thank you.
Calgary Centre-North, CPC
I think the more we can promote academic research, especially women leaders such as you, through these programs, the more it speaks to our country's scientific capacity as a nation.
Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS
On a point of order, I wonder if Ms. Rempel could explain to us the relevance of this line of questioning and how it fits into the scope.
Calgary Centre-North, CPC
Certainly. Mr. Chair, as I mentioned earlier, my colleague opposite, Madam Quach, laid out a line of questioning or witness preamble that suggested that Dr. Otto's basic research capacity was important to the study, which I believe we all agreed to. Next she opened up a line of questioning with regard to the national research centre that was not directed primarily towards the scope of the study. I think what she was trying to get at was to show the impact of research funding on this habitat conservation study. I'm perhaps doing that in a more direct way and teasing out witness testimony that shows that there actually has been an increase in basic research, Mr. Chair, that has appropriately sponsored this type of research in this area.
NDP
Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS
Thank you.
In fact, we've already established at this committee—perhaps it might have been with our previous chair—that preambles are fair game. You can talk about whatever you want when you're about to set up a line of questioning.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht
On that basis, Ms. Leslie, I will allow Ms. Rempel to continue. She's setting out the preamble.
Conservative
Calgary Centre-North, CPC
Mr. Chair, I would comment on these questions at this point. I'd like to simply close off my line of questioning to thank both Dr. Otto and Dr. Whitton for their time today and for their research in this important area.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht
I want to thank all of our witnesses, especially those from the west.
Sorry, Ms. Duncan is back. I thought Ms. Duncan had left us.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht
She didn't get a turn, so we're going to give five minutes to Ms. Duncan.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and my thanks to the witnesses.
Dr. Otto, I do want to acknowledge that you gave $100,000 of your prize money. Thank you for such generosity.
We want evidence-based policies in this country. Is there evidence? One of the questions this committee is being asked is to compare what is better, management practices and stewardship or prescriptive government-mandated measures? I would like to know if there's actually evidence, because we want evidence-based decisions in this country. Is there evidence to suggest one or the other?
Director, Biodiversity Research Centre, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
I'm a little confused about the distinction. It seems to me that whether we all agree that a particular habitat needs to be preserved, and then we preserve it, or whether the government decides the habitat needs to be preserved and does so, either way, if the species is there and that is what is needed to protect it, the goal should be the same.
What I can also say is that we're probably not going to move very quickly unless we bring all the stakeholders together to work. There is evidence that if you don't collaborate and try to work together movement is slow, and we can't afford slow movement on these issues.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you, Dr. Otto.
So what would be your recommendation, your wish list, for this committee?
Director, Biodiversity Research Centre, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
My wish list is that we increase the setting aside of land, that we work together with the kind of habitat-banking initiatives Heather Kleb discussed, that private and public funding is made available to determine which are the most critical habitats, and that we act now to save them.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you.
Should SARA be implemented, or should it be, in the government's words, streamlined?
Director, Biodiversity Research Centre, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
I don't believe it's being streamlined; I believe it's being stalled. I think this is of great concern. I am very worried that other countries are increasingly seeing Canada as the dodo bird. We received a dodo bird award for our environmental policies. I'm very concerned about the impacts this will have on trade and on jobs in Canada. I'm worried about losing our reputation internationally as an environmentally concerned country.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
I think the government's word in this case, when it applies to SARA, is actually “efficient”, so I'd like to say that.
Would your recommendation to this committee be that SARA should be implemented?
Director, Biodiversity Research Centre, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, As an Individual
Yes.