Evidence of meeting #61 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was environmental.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Robert McLean  Executive Director, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environmental Stewardship Branch, Department of the Environment
Tovah Barocas  Director, Development, Earth Rangers
Mike Puddister  Director, Watershed Transformation, Credit Valley Conservation
Terri LeRoux  Executive Director, Credit Valley Conservation Foundation

10:10 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht

Thank you, and thank you, Ms. Ambler.

Ms. Leslie, please.

10:10 a.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Thanks, Mr. Chair.

There's a lot of stuff coming out today about the tensions that exist for NGOs when they work with the private sector, some of the dangers and pitfalls, some of the opportunities, some of the challenges. I like where that conversation is going, sort of teasing out those tensions, because we can't figure out how to work with them or around them unless we know exactly what's going on.

Mr. Puddister, during your testimony, you brought up the roles of residents, businesses, institutions, and government in conservation. I liked that you named the individual residents, you talked about institutions and businesses, and you also named government. I think, from what I'm hearing from the testimony today, all those players need to be at the table and all those players need to be engaged. I want to ask you and Ms. LeRoux, but also Ms. Barocas, about how those relationships work. Can you take one out?

I think it's important that you mentioned government because the role of this study is to look at the private sector working with non-governmental organizations, but I really do see that government has a fundamental role to play with those relationships when it comes to conservation, when it comes to protecting the environment.

Maybe, Mr. Puddister, I can start with you and your thoughts about how all those relationships work together and who really needs to be there.

10:15 a.m.

Director, Watershed Transformation, Credit Valley Conservation

Mike Puddister

Thank you.

As I mentioned, we position ourselves as being the watershed experts, if you will, the leading science authorities for the ecosystem we have responsibility for.

As I'm sure you and other members would appreciate, the environmental issues we're challenged with, whether they be in an urban or rural area, are quite substantial. There are simply not enough resources in the public sector to fully address those. It really does need to be a community partnership, so we need to create those opportunities.

As Terri mentioned, we have a volunteer calendar on our website. People can get engaged in different projects if they have the time. We reach out to the community. We create learning and educational opportunities so that they understand a little bit about their local community, the local environmental issues it's facing. For instance, almost 50% of our watershed community is made up of new Canadians, and so we found ways of reaching out to them so they understand that their new community is facing environmental challenges, which they may not fully appreciate. They have other significant issues they have to deal with first. It's an educational process.

We also need to recognize those leaders and those volunteers who have put sweat equity into addressing environmental issues. We have an annual awards ceremony, which is usually broadcast on the local cable network and we have a number of press releases that go out afterwards, to recognize those leaders in all sectors, whether they be individuals, community groups, institutions, or corporations.

To try to build that momentum to make people aware that there are opportunities and they can all contribute to doing something positive in their community, it really does need to be a collaborative effort based on relationships.

10:15 a.m.

NDP

Megan Leslie NDP Halifax, NS

Your role is key. You talked about being the watershed experts. You talked about the fact that you have that scientific knowledge. You certainly don't want the private sector to just say, “Oh, I have a great idea. Why don't we dox”, and it actually is not based on science and doesn't have good environmental outcomes.

Ms. Barocas, how do you see all these players working together, and what are the roles of each?

10:15 a.m.

Director, Development, Earth Rangers

Tovah Barocas

I think it's absolutely integral that all these groups do work together, to be sure.

From the Earth Rangers' perspective, our partnership and the funding we've received through the national conservation plan have helped to build so much credibility for us in the communities we go into. It has helped us to focus on areas that we weren't able to focus on before. We have a huge, massive strategy for increasing our presence in Quebec. We now have a new French brand. We are moving into the territories. We're bringing the program to Yellowknife this September. All of those things wouldn't be possible without that funding.

From the perspective of the private sector, I think they see that. They see the investment the federal government has made in Earth Rangers and they feel now that their investment is being leveraged, in the same way that the government sees us leveraging your investment with the private sector. For us, it's been incredibly important and valuable. We'd love to see more of that for our other partners and our other ENGO partners as well.

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht

Thank you, Ms. Leslie.

Mr. Toet, please.

10:15 a.m.

Conservative

Lawrence Toet Conservative Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to our guests today. This has been very interesting.

I want to go back to the private sector engagement and some of the talk of the tensions that can sometimes exist in that relationship due to donors having a sense that the relationship may not be a positive one. I want to talk about what I would see as probably an inverse aspect to that, and that's your opportunity to work with local businesses.

Ms. LeRoux, you talked about the program in the Orangeville area, with many smaller and medium-sized businesses getting involved in that program. Are you finding that through those opportunities you have the ability to create a greater influence within that business community, to create more of a stewardship sense within their corporate structure, that there's an educational opportunity, and that there's growth in that through those types of processes?

June 11th, 2015 / 10:20 a.m.

Executive Director, Credit Valley Conservation Foundation

Terri LeRoux

Absolutely. In fact, one of our ultimate motivations is always to instill that appreciation and understanding in anyone we work with at any level—volunteers, donors, business owners—because it's really their engagement and their true involvement that's going to make the long-term difference. Through the achievement of the short-term goals and outcomes we have with projects and programs, we're always looking to the future and what those relationships will mean.

10:20 a.m.

Conservative

Lawrence Toet Conservative Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Are you finding that as you're dealing with these small to medium-sized corporations, you are really having an impact on their outlook, not just for a particular project but towards conservation and the need for habitat conservation in all the work they do?

10:20 a.m.

Executive Director, Credit Valley Conservation Foundation

Terri LeRoux

Yes. We're definitely finding that if we look at a community context and track involvement, say in Orangeville, the businesses that have become involved over the past decade—it's been a long campaign—have steadily increased their level of involvement. It's gone from general interest to financial investment to being engaged on volunteer committees to being watchdogs or trail stewards in our conservation area and now to participating in processes to develop and review management plans for the conservation area. It's a very holistic approach to it, and working with local businesses has been incredibly beneficial for us. I think it speaks to the shared-fate rationale, that once we start working together everyone realizes that we're in this together and it truly speaks to the mutual benefit.

10:20 a.m.

Conservative

Lawrence Toet Conservative Elmwood—Transcona, MB

Thank you.

Ms. Barocas, would you also care to comment on that? Are you finding the same thing in your relationship with businesses as you're working forward with them, that there is that ability to actually encourage them not just in the particular project but in their perception and their work within their communities?

10:20 a.m.

Director, Development, Earth Rangers

Tovah Barocas

Absolutely. Because Holcim has already come up in this discussion, I'll give as an example the large partnership we have with Holcim Canada to support migratory songbird habitat. Later this year that will move on to include supporting some birds of prey.

Our executive director, Peter Kendall, has actually been chairing an organization called the Cornerstone Standards Council, which is an attempt by the aggregates industry and a variety of ENGOs to create a voluntary standards organization, not dissimilar to the FSC, the Forest Stewardship Council for the paper industry, but for aggregates, in order to create a higher environmental standard. His involvement in that project, which really is an industry-led initiative, came out of our partnership, on the Earth Rangers side, with Holcim, with Lafarge, and with some other large aggregate companies. I think that's a perfect example of them getting their feet wet partnering with different environmental groups and then seeing a business opportunity and an opportunity to take that a lot further and then also engaging a number of stakeholders in that process.

10:20 a.m.

Conservative

Lawrence Toet Conservative Elmwood—Transcona, MB

It's interesting that you talk about FSC. It's an organization I'm very familiar with from my former days in the print industry. It actually did a fantastic job of bringing forward those issues and concerns. The way they did it was actually a bit outside the box from what everybody else did. Instead of working with the forestry companies, it actually went after the corporate world to make sure the corporate world was engaged and wanted to be online with its program. It did a very effective job of that and could be an example to many other organizations.

10:20 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht

Okay, you have about two seconds left.

10:20 a.m.

Conservative

Robert Sopuck Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB

Talk fast.

10:20 a.m.

Conservative

Lawrence Toet Conservative Elmwood—Transcona, MB

I'll talk really fast.

10:20 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht

Ms. Ambler is next.

I want to ask if I can take just one minute to ask one quick question related to the funding.

Ms. LeRoux, you commented that only 1.3% of all donations made through CanadaHelps were directed to environmental charities. That other topic came up in terms of 3% of all charitable donations.

Today we focused largely on SMEs and large corporations in terms of support for your foundation and other charitable activities in the environmental sector. Are you targeting at all individual Canadians, ordinary Canadians who might have a passion for this, who would write a $200 or $300 cheque a year? Is that part of your initiative?

I'm asking because we've been aggressive in trying to bring streams of new donors into the charitable sector through the first-time donor's super credit and some of these initiatives that would actually possibly help you to engage on an individual level.

If you could just respond to that, I would appreciate it.

10:25 a.m.

Executive Director, Credit Valley Conservation Foundation

Terri LeRoux

Definitely the private sector corporate contributions are just one part of our fund-development portfolio, and we have a very robust individual donor program.

10:25 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht

Would you be able to just give a percentage? Would it be 80:20 in terms of the ratio of corporation to individuals? Do you have a ratio?

10:25 a.m.

Executive Director, Credit Valley Conservation Foundation

Terri LeRoux

Probably about 25% of our annual donations would come directly from individual households.

10:25 a.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht

Thank you very much.

Mrs. Ambler.

10:25 a.m.

Conservative

Stella Ambler Conservative Mississauga South, ON

My first question is to you, Mike, about the emerald ash borer, the invasive beetle that's taking so many of the trees along the watershed, and I see the same thing in my own neighbourhood. Are there any private sector partnerships helping you deal with this problem?

10:25 a.m.

Director, Watershed Transformation, Credit Valley Conservation

Mike Puddister

Thank you.

Well, as you point out, it's a huge issue. Right now we've been fortunate to have municipal funding to address the bulk of the issue. Down in the southern part of the watershed, in our Rattray Marsh Conservation Area, consisting of about 80% to 85% ash trees, the community has become engaged. So to respond to the earlier question, individual residents have stepped forward and are providing a portion of the funding. It's not a huge proportion, but there is some local residential commitment to help offset the environmental devastation the EAB is creating.

In terms of corporate contributions, currently we do not have any corporate support for it.

10:25 a.m.

Conservative

Stella Ambler Conservative Mississauga South, ON

I noticed that you held some public workshops last year. Do individuals sometimes come forward who perhaps own their own companies? Does that ever happen? I'm just wondering how an organization like CVC might find corporate sponsorship or partnerships with the private sector, and maybe that's one way.

10:25 a.m.

Director, Watershed Transformation, Credit Valley Conservation

Mike Puddister

Well, it's a matter of marketing, I suppose. We've certainly made some efforts there in the Mississauga community, making them aware of the EAB issue and how significant it is, including with press releases and workshops, as you pointed out. We've always provided that opportunity. We currently call the campaign Save Our Ash, and it's made available to anyone. We certainly promote it in the hope that both private and public sector individuals would come forward and help support the funding of a major management initiative.