Evidence of meeting #80 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 funding.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:30 a.m.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you.
The last thing I want to ask you about is the national conservation plan, for which you said we need clear goals, targets, and indicators. If you could make your wish list to this committee, what would you like to see?
9:30 a.m.
Director, Ambioterra
You would probably need to categorize them by type: natural area, aquatic area, and so on. Even if it is an ecosystem issue, you must nevertheless take into account the various types of natural areas and species. As regards indicators, earlier, I gave an example of the percentage of restored areas or the number of protected areas.
In Quebec, the people at Conservation de la nature developed a way of establishing priorities for areas to protect, based on the species at risk that are present. They call them hot spots. To do that, the organization used data from the federal government, the provincial government, and some NGOs. Based on that, it is possible to identify networks for connectivity, for example between protected areas and farmers. They have residual forests, corridors and riparian zones. That would make it possible to create a network everywhere, as well as connectivity among the species. It could be part of the plan.
9:30 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht
Thank you, Ms. Duncan. Thank you, Madam Gareau.
We'll move now to Mr. Pilon for a five-minute question, please.
9:30 a.m.
NDP
François Pilon NDP Laval—Les Îles, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Ms. Gareau.
Several experts have told us that wild species are on the decline in Canada. Can you tell us a little bit about the situation in the St. Lawrence Plain, such as what percentage of the area is protected and how the protected species are doing? Are we talking about a decline here?
9:30 a.m.
Director, Ambioterra
Yes, we are talking about a decline. As I said at the outset, the upper St. Lawrence Plain is the area with the most biodiversity, but also with the most species at risk, given the variety of threats affecting it. I think that less than 3% of the area is protected, because it is highly developed. In the Haut-Saint-Laurent RCM, for example, there are more than 70 endangered species. In that regard, things are not improving.
9:30 a.m.
NDP
François Pilon NDP Laval—Les Îles, QC
You talked about urban sprawl and aquatic areas.
Is the decline in aquatic areas—it is surely not in decline in your region—worrisome? Are steps being taken to restore them?
9:30 a.m.
Director, Ambioterra
The current focus of our work is not on aquatic areas. However, we are working with voluntary landowners who have aquatic areas on their property. There are not very clear statistics on degradation for our region. Normally, the provincial government does the follow-up. But because of a funding shortfall, it has not been done. It was done in Laval, and a 20% to 30% per year rate of degradation and loss of wetlands was identified. The statistics must be more or less the same for us.
9:30 a.m.
NDP
François Pilon NDP Laval—Les Îles, QC
Once again, you talked about voluntary conservation.
Can you explain this approach to the committee?
9:30 a.m.
Director, Ambioterra
Yes, it is something that was developed about 50 years ago. Landowners voluntarily decided to protect their natural heritage. At the first stage, we target landowners who live in priority zones and where there are species at risk. We send them a letter asking them if they are aware of what voluntary conservation is. We speak to them about protection incentives created by the two levels of government, for example the Ecological Gifts Program at the federal level and tax cuts at the provincial level. The municipalities can also grant these types of exemptions. In fact, not all municipalities are aware of this. Therefore, they need to be informed about the existence of such tax measures.
9:35 a.m.
Director, Ambioterra
Yes, but there are too many landowners for the funding that we have available to us. Of course, some of them will never be interested. Up to now, the funding that we receive allows us to take care of 10 to 15 landowners, but 40 of them are interested. Many of them are interested.
9:35 a.m.
NDP
François Pilon NDP Laval—Les Îles, QC
You also spoke about a shortage of inspectors. You said that there is one inspector for one day during the week. Can the federal government do something to improve the situation?
9:35 a.m.
Director, Ambioterra
I don't know if that would be possible, but perhaps. That would require finding ways for the different levels of government to communicate.
9:35 a.m.
NDP
François Pilon NDP Laval—Les Îles, QC
Let's continue talking about municipalities.
How can we integrate and increase awareness among stakeholders and the RCMs? We know that there will be urban sprawl, but how can we ensure that it is done responsibly? Do you have suggestions for us in this respect?
9:35 a.m.
Director, Ambioterra
That would require different experts in various locations. For example, as I was saying earlier, not-for-profit organizations would have to come together with representatives from each level of government that have expertise in sustainable urban development. Then, it would be essential that the RCMs benefit from this expertise and the available resources.
9:35 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht
Thank you very much.
We'll move now to Ms. Rempel, for five minutes.
9:35 a.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Centre-North, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, Dr. Gareau.
I wanted to pick up on Madame Quach's questions about looking at ways to perhaps make our granting programs in these areas more efficient and more effective.
You had mentioned in your testimony that there should be a five-month time period by which notifications are brought out. Could you just speak a little bit more to that recommendation, why it's important for your group, and how it would be different from the existing system right now?
9:35 a.m.
Director, Ambioterra
The projects begin in April of each year, at the same time that the government's new fiscal year starts. We receive the answers 10 to 12 months after the request has been made. Consequently, we don't necessarily have the means to carry out the projects.
Currently, we are advancing the money so that the projects can get underway, since the diagnosis on the ground must be done in the spring in April. When we receive answers in November, like we did last year, obviously this compromises the majority of natural diagnostic projects.
9:35 a.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Centre-North, AB
Which program is this that you're referring to specifically?
9:35 a.m.
Director, Ambioterra
I am referring to the Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk.
9:35 a.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Centre-North, AB
Okay. Are there any other programs that you interact with right now where you see similar types of delays?
9:35 a.m.
Conservative
Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Centre-North, AB
Great. That was very helpful. Thank you.
A lot of your programs are working in partnership with landowners and other groups. I was wondering if perhaps you could speak to some of the best practices that your group has developed in order to maintain those partnerships or to go out and seek new ones.
9:35 a.m.
Director, Ambioterra
With the voluntary landowners, we provide a number of recommendations. When it comes to cutting down trees for example, of course they can use their forest, but we make recommendations on how they can do so sustainably. If there are species at risk in the area, we recommend that they maintain a buffer zone around these species and instead go to cut their firewood in areas where there are less noble species or those that are less endangered. In terms of riparian strips, we tell them that they must protect a minimum of 10 metres of this strip. We also make recommendations to them on plant species.
We also participate in the consultations held by the various Conférences régionales des élus in order to incorporate the—