Environment Committee on May 30th, 2013

Evidence of meeting #78 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 mining.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Habitat Conservation in Canada

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Pierre Gratton President and Chief Executive Officer, Mining Association of Canada

Jim Burpee President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Electricity Association

Dan Gibson Senior Environmental Scientist, Hydro Environment Division, Ontario Power Generation Inc., Canadian Electricity Association

Rick Bates Executive Director, Canadian Wildlife Federation

Mark Hubert Vice-President, Environmental Leadership, Forest Products Association of Canada

Ben Chalmers Vice-President, Sustainable Development, Mining Association of Canada

Kate Lindsay Advisor, Conservation Biology, Forest Products Association of Canada

James Page Manager, Species at Risk Program, Canadian Wildlife Federation

10:40 a.m.

Conservative

Lawrence Toet Conservative Elmwood—Transcona, MB

My point is exactly that. It was the outcome.

The outcome that the FSC wanted to see happen wasn't taken up by corporate Canada to actually use those products in their print work. There was virtually zero uptake. I think we were under 1% of uptake, and that went up probably to about 25% to 30% in a very quick period of time, within a year, when some of these regulatory adjustments were made.

It's just an example of the flexibility that you talked about, and the need for flexibility and how that can correlate in some of our legislative work—which sometimes we have to look at and ask if we are really accomplishing the outcome we want—and to be focused on outcomes rather than the process. That was a case where the process was actually killing the outcome.

10:40 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht

Thank you, Mr. Toet.

We've come to the end of your time.

Even the clocks in our room don't agree, but we have about three minutes left. I'm going to give Ms. Duncan the last three minutes.

10:40 a.m.

Liberal

Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I hope I have time to ask for this. If not, I may just ask if you could table it.

It's SARA's given purpose to prevent wildlife species from becoming extinct and to secure the necessary actions for their recovery. It provides for the legal protection of wildlife species and the conservation of their biological diversity.

Mr. Burpee, I'll ask that you table with this committee how your proposed changes, which you've made to the minister, will increase the likelihood of these objectives being realized—that would be preventing species from extinction, the necessary actions for their recovery, and the legal protection—how this will increase the legal protection of wildlife species and the conservation of their biological diversity.

With that, I'll say thank you.

10:40 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht

That concludes our committee time for today.

I want to thank each of our witnesses for being here and for the work that each of their associations do in terms of protecting our environment and enhancing our habitat conservation efforts.

Thank you to our committee members for your great cooperation today.

The meeting is adjourned.