Environment Committee on May 1st, 2018

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

That's excellent, right on the button. Thank you very much.

Mr. Fisher, you have a short time. We're almost out of time.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you folks for being here.

Sorry I'm not going to get my full time, but I just want to touch a little on what Mr. Bossio said, and I'll try to be as short as I can. The resources put in budget 2018—money for biodiversity, species at risk, and recovery initiatives—amounts to some $1.3 billion over five years, yet you said we lacked resources. Is that money going to jumpstart this process—and here I include the sustainable development goals unit for monitoring and reporting. Are these steps in the right direction getting us to where we need to be in terms of achieving our targets?

[Julie Gelfand]

I can tell you that we'll be auditing the implementation of the use of those funds after they've been dealt with.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

That's fair enough. Very quickly, Madam Chair, the inventory, the natural capital, and the 10% marine protected areas, are those successes?

[Julie Gelfand]

Yes.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

How do you feel those departments got to those points?

[Julie Gelfand]

In the case of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, there was a five-point plan to get to the 10% of marine protected areas. In the case of the natural capital and Statistics Canada, to be honest, they came up with that on their own, so it's a result of leadership within the department.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

That's great. Thank you.

Thanks, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

Thank you very much.

I want to thank Ms. Gelfand and her team for their excellent work on their reports and their great answers to the questions.

We're now going to bring in the departments for us to delve a little deeper.

We're going to suspend for a few minutes to bring in the next panel.

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

We're going to resume the meeting.

We only have an hour, but quite a few witnesses in front of us. I know we'll want to ask questions, so I'd like to preserve as much time as I can for questions.

With that in mind, we've asked all of our presenters to keep their comments within five minutes. They have been gracious enough to give us their presentations, so we have the details in front of us, but they're being asked to try to keep within the five minutes.

I will introduce our guests. You are all over the place, so I will leave it at introductions and then you can announce yourselves as we go through the presentations.

With the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, we have Philippe Morel, assistant deputy minister, aquatic ecosystems sector. We have Jean-François LaRue, director general, aquaculture management; and Wayne Moore, director general, strategic and regulatory science.

We also have, from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Jaspinder Komal, executive director and acting chief veterinary officer, animal health directorate. Welcome.

From the Department of the Environment, we have Hilary Geller, assistant deputy minister, strategic policy branch. We have Sue Milburn-Hopwood back with us again, assistant deputy minister, Canadian wildlife service; and we have Basile van Havre, director general, domestic and international biodiversity policy.

From Parks Canada Agency, we have Rob Prosper, vice-president, protected areas establishment and conservation; and Kevin McNamee—welcome back—director, protected areas establishment and conservation.

From Global Affairs Canada, we have Deirdre Kent, director general, international assistance policy; and Laird Hindle, deputy director, development policy planning.

There are a lot of you in front of us today. We thank you very much for being here. We look forward to your testimony and to the questions that will follow.

Who would like to start?

Thank you very much, Mr. Morel.

[Philippe Morel, Assistant Deputy Minister, Aquatic Ecosystems Sector, Department of Fisheries and Oceans]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for inviting us today to speak to the CESD report.

As you are aware, Fisheries and Oceans Canada was implicated in two of the commissioner's reports: the audit on salmon farming, and the audit on conserving biodiversity. At DFO, we welcome the CESD's reports and the conclusions on how to improve salmon aquaculture governance in Canada and how to advance our work in the conservation of Canada's biodiversity.

Firstly, I would like to speak to the audit on salmon farming. Aquaculture is an important economic sector in our country, generating close to $2 billion in total economic activity. In 2016, over 3,000 Canadians were directly employed in aquaculture, mainly in the rural coastal areas, including many indigenous communities. Aquaculture is not only a federal economic priority, but many provinces and territories have also identified the sector as an opportunity to grow.

DFO's role is to develop and enforce regulations that support the sustainable development of the sector. Provinces and industries are better placed to promote economic growth. DFO also provides science to support decision-making. We operate in the context of close relationships with provinces and territories to support the growth of aquaculture in Canada in a way that respects the environment.

The report tells us that we can still improve. As you know, the audit makes eight recommendations to DFO on managing the risks associated with salmon aquaculture in order to protect wild fish, one of which also implicates the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Overall, the report indicates that while DFO does carry out significant scientific study in salmon aquaculture and has management measures in place to mitigate the associated risks, there is still work to be done. We agree with the recommendations set out in the report and are advancing work to regulate one of the fastest-growing industries in the country.

We are committed to regulating, together with our provincial and territorial partners, a sustainable and responsible aquaculture sector. We are moving forward on meeting our Cohen Commission commitment of completing key disease risk assessments by September 2020. All of the risk assessment analyses are planned. We published the first one recently, and we expect to publish four more in the near future.

In collaboration with CFIA, we are also clarifying roles and responsibilities for managing emerging diseases by establishing more formal governance. We are working closely with our partners and stakeholders in aquaculture management to ensure our decisions relating to aquaculture are made transparently, based on the best available science, and clearly communicated to Canadians.

We have begun strengthening our science communications. You should be aware that at the beginning of February, Minister LeBlanc announced that Canada's chief science advisor, Dr. Mona Nemer, will be leading an independent expert panel to provide advice on the appropriate use and consideration of scientific evidence in decision making on aquaculture, and the communication of science and decisions to Canadians.

Further to this, we are participating in the interdepartmental science review to inform the development of a risk-based decision model on setting thresholds on drugs and pesticides.

We are advancing work to strengthen our aquaculture regulations and enforcement capacity by developing additional measures to increase our capacity to respond to aquaculture enforcement incidents. We are examining options to publicly report information collected under the aquaculture activity regulations. In addition, we are collaborating with our counterparts in the provinces, territories, and with international colleagues to explore options for national standards on aquaculture equipment, by means of a feasibility study. The recommendations set out by the commissioner will help ensure DFO continues to support sustainable aquaculture management.

With regard to the audit on conserving biodiversity, like the audit on salmon farming, we agree with all recommendations. As the commissioner pointed out, DFO will reach 10% of marine protected areas by 2020. We are now at 7.75%.

In addition, DFO understands the importance of public reporting and we will continue with the two key public reporting initiatives, the annual environmental sustainability indicator report and the report on the status of protected areas.

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

Are you close to the end of your remarks?

[Philippe Morel]

I'll just close here.

In closing, I just want to emphasize the fact that on species at risk—on the target, too—we do focus on aquatic species. We will continue to address the backlog and to move forward on the new species.

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

Thank you very much. I am sorry to keep it short. I know we'll get into some of those issues with the questions.

Mr. Komal, would you like to go next?

Thank you.

[Dr. Jaspinder Komal, Executive Director and Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, Animal Health Directorate, Canadian Food Inspection Agency]

Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good afternoon. My name is Jaspinder Komal. I am the executive director of the animal health directorate at CFIA and also the chief veterinary officer.

My remarks will be very brief. I appreciate your invitation to be here today and for giving me the opportunity to speak to the recommendations in the commissioner's latest report on salmon farming as they pertain to the CFIA.

The spring 2018 reports of the CESD make eight recommendations related to managing risks associated with Canadian salmon aquaculture in a manner that protects wild fish. I'll be focusing my comments on the single recommendation that relates to the CFIA. I will address what the CFIA is doing in response, but for now let me talk a bit about the CFIA's role.

The CFIA is a science-based regulatory agency. Our business stems from a very broad mandate that encompasses food safety, animal health, plant protection, and market access.

Safeguarding food and the health of animals is essential to enhance the health and well-being of Canada's people, environment and economy.

The CFIA is committed to protecting wild and farmed aquatic animals in Canada, and is responsible for preventing the introduction or spread of aquatic animal diseases from finfish, molluscs, and crustaceans, which have the potential to seriously impact aquatic animal health, the Canadian economy, and international trade.

As the report itself points out, the CFIA and Fisheries and Oceans Canada co-deliver the national aquatic animal health program, with Fisheries and Oceans Canada's contribution being that of laboratory expertise. Under the national aquatic animal health program, the CFIA has the lead role for activities such as monitoring the presence of disease, declaring the official disease status of bodies of water, controlling the movement of aquatic animals between bodies of water of different status, and responding to outbreaks of disease as appropriate.

I will now address the recommendation.

The recommendation made in the CESD report is that the CFIA and Fisheries and Oceans Canada should clarify their roles and responsibilities for managing emerging disease risks to mitigate the potential impacts of salmon farming on wild fish.

We welcome the CESD report on salmon farming and its conclusions on how to improve salmon aquaculture governance in Canada.

We are already working on these measures.

The CFIA and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans are in the process of developing a formal process to evaluate emerging aquatic animal diseases, and to decide the roles of the two federal entities with regard to such diseases in order to protect wild fish. Technical staff working at the agency and at Fisheries and Oceans Canada began engaging this fiscal year, 2018-19, with implementation to take place by April 2019.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

That's excellent. Thank you very much.

Ms. Geller.

[Hilary Geller, Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy Branch, Department of the Environment]

Thank you very much to the members of the committee for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Government of Canada on its commitment to implement the 2020 agenda for sustainable development, both at home and abroad.

I'd like to acknowledge my colleague, Deirdre Kent, who is the director general for international assistance policy at Global Affairs Canada, and whose group, among other things, is leading the development of Canada's voluntary national review report, which will be going to the UN in July.

As you know, five federal departments have been identified as leaders in preparing Canada for the implementation of the sustainable development goals: Employment and Social Development Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Global Affairs Canada; Indigenous Affairs Canada; and Status of Women Canada.

Together, we appreciate and welcome the commissioner's interest in the 2030 agenda and in ensuring that Canada is on track to effectively support all 17 sustainable development goals. The government agrees with all the commissioner's recommendations, including developing a governance structure, establishing an inclusive engagement strategy, and developing national targets and sustainable development goals specific to Canada. The five audited departments are working actively together to respond to all of these recommendations.

As the Auditor General noted, many government priorities, such as taking action on climate change, renewing the government's relationship with indigenous peoples, advancing gender equality, and working to ensure a safe, clean, and sustainable environment already support the 2030 agenda.

Internationally, Canada is contributing to achieving the SDGs through programs such as the new feminist international assistance policy, the progressive trade agenda, and the second national action plan on women, peace, and security.

The government is committed to building on these successes and elevating the good practices embedded in these programs to bring together a comprehensive and cohesive approach to the SDGs. One example of this was announced on April 17, when the government said that it was taking steps to develop such a national strategy. It launched a voluntary national review web portal to learn about how Canadians are helping to advance the SDGs both at home and abroad.

Over the coming months, the government will reach out to Canadians, including indigenous peoples, civil society, the private sector, and other levels of government to develop a national strategy that will catalyze action on the SDGs across Canada. We will work with all partners to build awareness among the public and to foster new partnerships and networks to advance the SDGs. We will take steps to ensure all federal departments and agencies integrate the SDGs into their policies and programs, and a robust SDG team will be established to coordinate and to support these efforts. This team will also help to gather data, report, and communicate on progress towards the SDGs.

Finally, the government is committed to continuing to work through Statistics Canada with the United Nations and Canadian partners on the global SDG indicator framework to help both Canada and the world measure our progress.

In recognition of the complex nature of coordinating the SDGs, as has been mentioned, budget 2018 proposed a significant investment of $49.4 million over 13 years to establish an SDG unit that will provide overall policy coherence and coordination, and to fund monitoring and reporting activities by Statistics Canada.

To further facilitate meaningful engagement, the budget also proposed providing just under $60 million over 13 years for programming to support implementing the SDGs. This means developing a national strategy in consultation with all levels of government, indigenous peoples, the private sector, academia, and civil society to catalyze action, build awareness, and foster new partnerships and networks to advance the SDGs.

Canada's efforts to implement the agenda will be presented in July at the UN, where we will also put forward our first national review.

With that, let me conclude. Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Kent, would you like to go next?

[Deirdre Kent, Director General, International Assistance Policy, Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development]

Not yet.

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

Okay.

[Sue Milburn-Hopwood, Assistant Deputy Minister, Canadian Wildlife Service, Department of the Environment]

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I'm here today with Basile van Havre, director general of domestic and international biodiversity policy at the Canadian Wildlife Service.

I will focus my remarks on the commissioner's report on conserving biodiversity. We welcome the commissioner's recommendations, and are taking actions to ensure that they are addressed. The Government of Canada is committed to meeting its international commitments for biodiversity.

As you know, biodiversity conservation is a shared responsibility. Achieving Canada's national biodiversity targets requires action and support across all levels of government, indigenous peoples, and many others.

The 2020 biodiversity goals and targets for Canada were developed following an extensive collaborative process. Our government, working with partners, has already taken actions to make progress on those targets. The Government of Canada is equally committed to fulfilling its obligations under federal wildlife legislation, including the Species at Risk Act. We are working with provinces, territories, and indigenous people on the protection and recovery of Canada's species at risk—including caribou, which were mentioned in the report—using robust recovery plans based on the best available science and traditional knowledge.

The Government of Canada developed a three-year plan to address the backlog of 149 terrestrial species eligible for listing under the act. Since February 2017, final listing decisions have been made for 76 of these species, and proposed listing decisions were published for another 13.

The Government of Canada has also addressed the backlog of overdue recovery documents for terrestrial species. As of today, 178 of the 192 overdue proposed recovery documents have been completed and posted on the species at risk public registry.

In February, since the report was completed, we published the action plan on boreal caribou, and yesterday we published a report under section 63 of the Species at Risk Act on unprotected critical habitat for boreal caribou and the steps that are being taken to protect that critical habitat. We will continue to work with provinces and territories, who are the leads for lands under their jurisdiction, to ensure the protection of boreal caribou critical habitat and to meaningfully advance protection and recovery measures for this iconic species. This includes ongoing efforts to establish conservation agreements with provinces and territories, and to formalize commitments and accelerate actions to protect and recover boreal caribou.

We are also working with Parks Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and our provincial and territorial colleagues to protect 17% of terrestrial areas and inland waters and 10% of marine areas by 2020. My colleague from DFO has already has already spoken about the marine component, and my colleague from Parks Canada will say more about the terrestrial target.

Through budget 2018, it is proposed that $1.3 billion be allocated over five years to protect Canada's ecosystems, landscapes and biodiversity. This investment will directly contribute toward reaching our targets for protected areas, protecting and recovering species at risk.

The funds allocated in budget 2018 will allow us to: increase our efforts to protect species at risk; put in place new recovery measures for priority species, areas at risk and threats to our environment; advance implementation of SARA by supporting species assessment, listing, recovery and action plan activities; expand national wildlife areas and migratory bird sanctuaries; improve the management of our protected areas; and establish a coordinated network of conservation areas by working with provincial, territorial and indigenous partners.

For the other 19 targets, all partners are engaged in assessing progress against our commitments as part of the “Sixth National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity”, due in December 2018. This report will provide important information on the status of biodiversity, and from that we'll look at how best to collectively address the challenges and gaps.

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

Thank you very much. I know you have much more to share with us. Unfortunately, we don't have that much time.

Mr. Prosper is next.

[Rob Prosper, Vice-President, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation, Parks Canada Agency]

Yes, thank you very much.

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee. Parks Canada welcomes the commissioner's report and agrees with the recommendations related to Parks Canada.

Parks Canada is the federal agency charged by Parliament through the Parks Canada Agency Act with protecting a network of natural and heritage places that include 46 national parks, 171 national historic sites, four national marine conservation areas, and one national urban park.

Our network of protected areas play an important role in helping communities and the ecosystems they depend on to adapt to and mitigate impacts of climate change by protecting and restoring healthy, resilient ecosystems and contributing to the recovery of species at risk.

Under the Species at Risk Act, Parks Canada is responsible for the protection of individual species found in our heritage places. This accounts for approximately 200 species that occur regularly on our lands and waters and approximately 40% of the species listed under the act. Parks Canada has now completed all 76 recovery strategies and species management plans for which we were the lead agency, including all seven progress reports, meeting all legal requirements in this regard.

Under the Species at Risk Act, an action plan must be prepared following the completion of a recovery strategy. An action plan outlines the activities required to address threats to improve the species' status. Currently the agency has completed 21 multi-species action plans covering 174 species occurring in our places, and priority recovery actions identified in those plans are implemented through the agency's conservation restoration program, which is a rolling fund of $84 million over five years.

In short, national parks and national marine conservation areas are places that play an important role in species and habitat conservation, encouraging research, protecting traditional lands of important indigenous people, and inspiring conservation actions beyond their boundaries. These places have an important role to play in the establishment of a network of connected, protected, and conserved areas, underpinning Canada's international and domestic commitment to protect 17% of its land and fresh water and 10% of its marine areas by 2020—as you know, an objective known as target 1.

Based on the most current data, 10.5% of Canada's land and fresh water is protected by federal, provincial, territorial, and indigenous governments and non-profit and private sector organizations. Of this, Parks Canada currently protects 3.4% through established national parks.

Parks Canada's continued contribution to target 1, in both terrestrial and marine environments, will be pursued through the expansion of its system of national parks and national marine conservation areas protecting natural areas representative of Canada's landscapes. To date, 30 of 39 terrestrial regions are represented and five of 29 marine areas are represented.

It is important to stress here that the basis of Parks Canada's terrestrial and marine systems plan is protection of representative natural areas, which is a key qualitative element of the international Aichi protected area targets of Canada target 1.

On the terrestrial side, Parks Canada is pursuing the establishment of the proposed Thaidene Nëné national park reserve in the Northwest Territories. This park will protect parts of the annual ranges of three barren-ground caribou herds and will ensure that the cultural connection to this place by indigenous peoples will be maintained for generations to come.

As another example, in October 2017, the governments of Canada and British Columbia, along with the leadership of the Okanagan nations, announced the launch of a tripartite process to establish a national park reserve in the south Okanagan.

On the marine side, Parks Canada is pursuing the expansion of its national marine conservation area system, including in the Churchill and Nelson rivers, James Bay, southern Strait of Georgia, and les Iles-de-la-Madeleine.

In August 2017, the governments of Canada and Nunavut and the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, signed a historic memorandum of understanding declaring feasible the establishment of a national marine conservation area in Lancaster Sound.

Despite all of our efforts, Canada target 1 will not be achieved by the federal government alone. Over the past 15 months, the pathway to Canada target 1 initiative has succeeded in creating a unique alignment of federal, provincial, and territorial departments responsible for parks and protected areas, along with two national indigenous organizations.

Advice has been received from a national advisory panel, an indigenous circle of experts, and a consensus report from this committee.

In closing, given that the majority of Canada's terrestrial area is crown land, managed by provinces and territories and subject to the terms of treaties, including comprehensive land claim agreements and legal obligations under section 35 of the Constitution Act, reaching target 1 will only be possible if we maintain and broaden the collective momentum established under the pathway initiative.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

Thank you very much.

We only have time for one round of questioning. I'd like to welcome MPs Rosemarie Falk and Larry Miller to the committee.

We'll start with Will Amos.

[William Amos, Liberal, Pontiac, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to our fine public servants. We appreciate your testimony before us. There are too many interesting topics to discuss today. I'm going to focus a quick question on the SDGs and then shift most of my time on conservation.

Last July I had the privilege of delivering Canada's statement at the high-level political meetings in New York on the SDGs. It was definitely an eye-opener. I wonder if you feel that the Canadian public is sufficiently aware of the SDGs and understands how they relate to the implementation of domestic policy. I think one of the biggest challenges for Canada is convincing the public of the relevance of these SDGs. I don't think the average Canadian sees goals established by the UN as something concrete in their day-to-day life. How can we improve that situation?