Environment Committee on May 29th, 2014

[The Chair, Conservative, Harold Albrecht]

I'd like to call meeting 25 of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development to order.

We are honoured to have Minister Aglukkaq with us to speak to the estimates. Minister Aglukkaq, I know that you had some difficulty in traffic to get here and you are a bit rushed, so please take your time. We will have that 10-minute opening statement followed by questions from members.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Minister of the Environment]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good afternoon, everyone. First of all I want to thank you for rescheduling my appearance before this committee. I know we had to reschedule it about a month ago, so thank you for doing that. I want to begin by providing you a brief statement and after I would be happy to answer questions.

The opportunity to serve Canadians through the portfolios of Environment Canada, Parks Canada, and CEAA is a great honour for me. Environment Canada serves Canadians 24 hours a day, every day, and each year the department issues about 1.5 million weather forecasts, conducts about 8,600 inspections, and prosecutes over 340 violations of environmental law.

As you are aware, Environment Canada is a science-based department. For this reason, since 2006, our government has invested over $4 billion in science and technology at Environment Canada alone. With this solid scientific foundation, Environment Canada is making substantial contributions to meeting the government's priority of a clean and healthy environment.

Two weeks ago Prime Minister Harper and I launched the national conservation plan. It will help to conserve and restore Canada's land and waters, and connect Canadians to nature. The plan provides a more coordinated approach for conservation efforts across Canada and will encourage on-the-ground actions and partnerships leading to tangible results.

The plan will also expand opportunities for partnerships including municipalities, environmental interest groups, hunters and anglers, land owners, and community groups to take practical actions to safeguard the lands and waters around them. It also builds on the actions and efforts of countless Canadians who are working to conserve and protect our rich natural heritage.

Last week, building on the priorities announced with the national conservation plan, I was in Halifax to announce further funding through the eco-action community funding program. This program helps to advance these goals and promotes the kind of effective collaboration work that is so important to the national conservation plan. The funding program will provide community groups with financial support for projects that have measurable positive impacts on the environment.

As well, last week I also announced in Fredericton further investments to the science horizons youth internship program, which also supports the national conservation plan. It will help post-secondary students gain valuable work experience while helping to protect Canada's environment. The national conservation plan is one of the many initiatives we have undertaken to safeguard Canada's environment.

Since we formed government, we have created two national marine conservation areas, three marine protected areas, three national wildlife areas, and two national parks. We are also making important investments to help maintain the infrastructure of our national parks. In budget 2014 we are investing $391 million to maintain and repair the dams, bridges, and highways. In the main estimates this year, we are also allocating $4 million for dams and locks along the Trent-Severn Waterway, and $1 million for the historic canals.

In addition to these accomplishments, we are creating more parks. A few weeks ago the Senate tabled a new bill to establish the national park reserve in the Northwest Territories. This will result in more than 85% of the entire watershed being protected from development. The creation of this park has been years in the making, involving consultations with the communities, aboriginal groups, industry, and the Government of the Northwest Territories.

We are also working to create Canada's first national urban park, the Rouge national urban park in the greater Toronto area. Establishing the Rouge national urban park will further build on our government's success in expanding Canada's system of protected areas. The first of its kind in Canada, this new park will be 16 times larger than the size of New York's Central Park and will be readily accessible to 20% of Canada's total population. In our main estimates this year, we're allocating $19.6 million to support the development of this park.

Environment Canada is also advancing its work to safeguard water resources, an area that I know is of interest to this committee.

In 2012 we signed a modernized Canada-United States Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. We renewed and expanded the Lake Simcoe-southeastern Georgian Bay cleanup fund. We are allocating $7.6 million in our main estimates this year to help restore the ecological health of Lake Simcoe and southeastern Georgian Bay, and improve water quality for the residents and wildlife of the region. We're also continuing to implement the Canada-Quebec agreement on the St. Lawrence and helping to clean up Lake Winnipeg through the Lake Winnipeg Basin initiative.

To protect the air Canadians breathe, we work extensively with provincial and territorial governments, and industry, health, environmental, and non-governmental organizations to develop Canada's air quality management system. This provides a coherent Canada-wide approach to ensuring good air quality across Canada.

We're also working to reduce mercury, a toxic element in our environment that could cause serious health problems for Canadians. This past October, Canada signed the Minamata Convention, a new international treaty, to reduce major sources of global mercury emissions and releases to the environment.

We recognize the serious problems of climate change and are addressing them through our sector-by-sector approach, which advances both our environmental and economic objectives. We introduced the strict regulations that made Canada the first major coal user to ban construction of traditional coal-fired electricity generation plants. We also put in place greenhouse gas regulations for coal-fired electricity that are expected to remove 6,600 kilograms of mercury from the atmosphere between 2015 and 2035.

We introduced regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for passenger vehicles and light trucks for model years 2011 to 2016. In 2012 we also proposed a second phase of regulations for model year 2017 vehicles and beyond. As a result of these proposed regulations, we can look forward to new cars and light trucks made in 2025 that emit 50% less greenhouse gas and consume up to 50% less fuel than the 2008 models. In addition we can expect to see reductions of up to 23% in greenhouse gas emissions from 2014 model heavy-duty vehicles and later model years, as a result of regulations we introduced last year.

Internationally, our government is continuing to work with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to achieve a single new international climate change agreement that includes meaningful commitments by all major emitters.

Canada is also a founding member of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition. It's aim is to reduce climate pollutants that are potent global warmers and dangerous air pollutants. The coalition finances projects that will help to address climate change and improve the health of millions of citizens around the world. We are a founding member and a major financial contributor to an international coalition, taking action to reduce pollutants such as black carbon and methane.

That is not all. We fully delivered on our fast-start financing commitment of $1.2 billion to support a range of climate change projects in over 60 developing countries. This is the largest contribution the Government of Canada has ever made to international climate change financing.

Turning to CEAA, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, and with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012, now in place, Canadians can expect predictable timely review, reduced duplication, stronger environmental protection, and enhanced consultation with aboriginal peoples.

The act establishes legal timelines for environmental assessments. Instead of taking months, proponents receive a decision about whether a federal project assessment is required within 45 days. The agency is also coordinating consultation with aboriginal groups in a manner that is respectful, responsive, and consistent with the honour of the crown.

Moving forward, the agency will continue to deliver high-quality environmental assessments of major projects built on effective relationships with aboriginal peoples, and play a lead role in shaping the future of federal environmental assessments.

Mr. Chairman, that concludes my opening remarks for this afternoon's committee appearance. I look forward to responding to your questions.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Harold Albrecht]

Thank you very much, Minister.

It's great to have you with us.

Now we'll go to our first round of questions, and we'll begin with Mr. Carrie, for seven minutes, please.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the minister for being here.

One of the things you mentioned in your opening remarks is exciting for me. As you know, I'm from Oshawa, and there has been a lot of talk lately, and a lot of positive feedback from local stakeholders, on one of the initiatives you talked about in your opening remarks. What I'm talking about is the Rouge national urban park.

I am wondering if you could elaborate a little more about that. It's something that in my community we're very excited about. It's my understanding that this is the first national park of its kind, not only in Canada but I think in the world. Could you elaborate a bit more on the leadership in that regard, why this park is so unique and why it's so important to the communities around the GTA?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Thank you for the question, Colin.

You're correct that this is the first urban national park in Canada. Parks Canada has engaged with many Canadians and stakeholders in the Ontario region, including the first nations, in the planning process for the Rouge national urban park.

The participants involved in the process have expressed a passionate commitment to this initiative and the establishment of the park. The input we have received from the various stakeholders throughout our consultation process on the management plan is being used for the development of the plan.

We have a number of partners, and Transport Canada and the Ontario government have also officially confirmed their respective intentions to transfer land to Parks Canada. The June 2013 announcement basically formalized the partnership between provincial commitments to the initiative of developing the park. The process continues. As well, municipal partners have been involved in the consultation and development of it.

Parks Canada now is working towards finalizing the land assembly agreements with Toronto, the regional conservation authorities, and municipal and regional landholders. We're expecting that to be completed very soon.

The size of the Rouge national urban park, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, is 16 times larger than Central Park. I think this is very exciting. There will be many Canadians who will be able to access a park within an urban region. It's the first of its kind, and the many partners involved in this initiative are very excited and look forward to making it formal through the introduction of the legislation when we've finished the consultations with people from Ontario.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Minister, I want to thank you for that answer but also thank you for your leadership. This is something that I think people have been talking about for maybe 30 years now. The fact that you've been able to bring these stakeholders together...and we see it will be almost ready to go in the next few months. It's exciting for people in Oshawa, but also around the entire GTA.

While you're here, I want to ask you something about a recent announcement that you made with the Prime Minister. I want to commend my colleagues on the environment committee. We've recently wrapped up a number of great conservation studies, and we've heard from a myriad of witnesses who have provided us with some very valuable testimony.

I am wondering if you could explain to the committee how our government is contributing to the conservation of our country's rich natural heritage by following through on our government's throne speech commitment of creating the national conservation plan.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Again, it's the first of its kind in Canada. We introduced on May 15, the national conservation plan. I also want to thank the environment committee for the study that has been done around this idea. Many of the ideas came from the working of this committee as well, so thank you for that.

To launch the initiative, the national conservation plan, on May 15 the Prime Minister announced the plan in Fredericton. The government, to launch this initiative, is investing $252 million over the next five years in the plan in order to advance the work in the three priority areas that have been identified under the national conservation plan—to conserve Canada's land and waters, restoring Canada's ecosystem, and connecting Canadians to nature.

The plan itself builds on the existing successful efforts across the country of many organizations. The conservation-related investments announced in budget 2014, including the conserving of recreational fisheries, as an example, and supporting family-oriented conservation activities, have also been incorporated in that. Many of the initiatives identified celebrate the work of many Canadian stakeholders and new partnership opportunities as well, but bring it under one envelope so that we all work together in our collective efforts to deal with protecting our environment. The investment in this budget of $252 million will be used to launch that plan this year.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

Excellent. I know I don't have a lot of time.

[The Chair, Conservative, Harold Albrecht]

You have one minute.

[Colin Carrie, Conservative, Oshawa, ON]

A minute....

Minister, I was recently in China and I got to experience their environment first-hand. You see people wearing these masks. It just makes me feel very proud that I'm a Canadian, but I think a lot of Canadians take our air quality for granted. I was wondering if you could take a minute to tell the committee about our government's clean air regulatory agenda, and how our government's going to ensure that we have some of the cleanest air in the world.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

In the initiatives under the clean air regulatory agenda that we've taken, we have taken actions to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants that have threatened the health of Canadians, degraded the environment, or contributed to climate change and smog.

I'll just highlight some of the funding that we have renewed from the clean air regulatory agenda—

[The Chair, Conservative, Harold Albrecht]

In just a minute, could I get you to follow up with another questioner?

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Sure.

[The Chair, Conservative, Harold Albrecht]

We were running out of time on that question. Because of our tight timeline, we're going to try to stay pretty close to the seven-minute rounds.

We're going to move now to Ms. Leslie, for seven minutes.

Thank you, Minister.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

Madam Minister, welcome back.

The last time you actually appeared before this committee, you and I had a bit of a chat afterwards offline. We were talking about the Arctic Council, and you encouraged me to bring forward an idea to study the Arctic Council here at committee. I did, tabled a motion, but we can't seem to get it passed at this committee.

I wonder if your office would be supportive of a study on the Arctic Council here at our committee.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Some of the initiatives that are being undertaken by the Arctic Council relate to this committee. One example that we're undertaking, under Canada's leadership, is around black carbon and methane. The work is progressing well.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

We'd love to do a study on it.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

Yes.

The committee responsible for the initiatives around that.... It's a bit split. Some of it's under the Indian Affairs minister, who's also appearing before another committee right now as we speak. In terms of a committee on the Arctic Council, I'm also presenting to the foreign affairs committee on that because it falls under their initiative.

The work under the Arctic Council related to the environmental portfolio is certainly black carbon, methane. Some of that falls into the work of the Arctic Council—

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Maybe we'll try to draft—

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

—and we are studying those. We are studying those and we are moving on that domestically and internationally through this process. But the work of the Arctic Council—

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Maybe I'll just try to redraft it.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

—is quite broad, and it's not environment-specific. There's mental health, suicide, climate change, traditional knowledge of indigenous people, safe shipping. So it's quite broad—

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

Okay, well, that's great. That's all the answer I need.

[Leona Aglukkaq, Conservative, Nunavut, NU]

—in that it falls into different committees, so it's...yes, go ahead.

[Megan Leslie, NDP, Halifax, NS]

We'll redraft the motion.

I'd like to move on to endangered species because a federal court judge has ruled that you, as the environment minister, and the fisheries minister both broke the law by failing to enforce the Species at Risk Act. The judge pointed out that there's a pretty big systemic problem in the fact that the two ministries that are charged with protecting endangered and threatened species aren't working together. He also said that it's not acceptable that the two ministers continue to miss deadlines. All I can see is that the only reason you've acted on these files is that you've been brought to court, dragged to court, and forced to follow your own law.

Now in 2013, the environment commissioner said that there were 146 recovery strategies overdue, over a quarter of them were more than three years overdue. I wonder how many are still overdue and how many more have become overdue? What are the numbers that we're at?