Environment Committee on Oct. 20th, 2014

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Ms. Kagan.

I'm not going to have time to ask you all that I would like but I'll introduce the question and see if I can get you to do some homework for me.

I'm concerned, particularly on the question of packaging, that we do not reinvent the wheel. I'm aware that in October 2009, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment issued a document titled “A Canada-wide Strategy for Sustainable Packaging”.

First of all, are you familiar with that document?

[Rachel Kagan]

I am. I participated in the consultations as well.

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

That's very good.

In that document there were, in particular, nine supporting measures to begin work on this Canada-wide strategy. They include many of the things that you've expressed concern about today including, for example, the adoption of Canada-wide sustainability indicators and metrics. In other words, the issue of data. As well, there was a suggestion of a Canada-wide standard and certification program for compostable packaging and the establishment of an industry-government working group to provide a forum for greater dialogue. This was something else that came through to me in your comments.

I wonder if you could look at that October 2009 “Canada-wide Strategy for Sustainable Packaging”, and in particular, those nine supporting measures, and tell me if you know the status of the implementation of those measures, what you perceive has been accomplished on each of those nine measures, and also tell me the degree to which your agency has been involved in the accomplishment of those nine measures?

That may be too much homework to ask of you but I know it would be very helpful for me, and I suspect for our committee, if we were to have a kind of report card from your perspective of those nine supporting measures when it comes to packaging. I suspect I don't have time to do more than ask you for that homework unless you are able to briefly comment in a general way and then give me the specifics later.

Is there anything you could say generally about that?

[Rachel Kagan]

Very generally, I share the same question as to the status of the implementation. Again, I know it's to provide guidance to individual provinces that are then going to do their own thing or not. That was the last I remember hearing of it. I know that the industry-government task group was struck for a really specific issue, and we were part of that. As for the other items, including a composting standard, I think there's a voluntary standard but I don't know if there's a nationally—

[Stephen Woodworth, Conservative, Kitchener Centre, ON]

If you have an easy way to get some specifics and report that back to us I would certainly be grateful. I think our committee would generally be grateful.

Thank you very much.

[Rachel Kagan]

I'll do that.

[The Chair, Conservative, Harold Albrecht]

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Kagan, for being with us today.

Committee members, we're going to declare a three-minute recess while we reconvene for our in camera session.

The meeting is suspended.

[Proceedings continue in camera]