Environment Committee on May 15th, 2019

[Niall O'Dea]

No.

That's a 10-second answer.

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

That was quick.

[The Chair, Liberal, John Aldag]

There you go.

Monsieur Godin.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Fisher, for pointing out the unanimous nature of the committee's report. This demonstrates our commitment to take the necessary measures to protect our environment, work to reduce our environmental footprint and actively and positively fight climate change.

Mr. O'Dea, I wonder about the amount you mentioned in your speaking notes when it comes to Canada allocating up to $175 million over the next four years.

Has the money invested over the past 10 years—in fact, since the adoption of the Aichi targets—produced the expected results? More concretely, how many millions of dollars must be spent to gain 1% on our conservation targets?

Is my question clear?

[Niall O'Dea]

Yes.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Do you need $200 million to reach the 17% target or will $100 million be enough? Or is it more like $2 billion? I'm looking for a concrete figure. Can the results be quantified in financial terms?

[Niall O'Dea]

That's another very good question, but it's quite difficult to answer.

Please allow me to give you some context. It is cheaper to acquire hectares, or spaces, in northern Canada than in southern Canada. However, it is clear that the majority of species at risk, including those that are most at risk, are found in southern Canada. So this problem also needs to be addressed.

The actual cost of a hectare varies greatly. When it comes to our targets, we need to balance our desire to obtain as many protected hectares as possible—and therefore achieve our target percentage—with our efforts to ensure that this network of protected areas is well connected and representative of the diversity of habitats and species in Canada.

That's why it's a little difficult to answer precisely about the real cost of targets. What I can say, however, is that, over the past 10 years, there have been many commitments from other parties to support these efforts and achieve these targets. As a result, the funds from the former natural areas conservation program were equivalent to twice the federal investments, which represents a significant added value for Canada's biodiversity, particularly in southern Canada.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Canada is a special case because it is the second largest country in the world in terms of area. I understand that there are areas with low density and others with higher density. Our reality is different from that of European countries, which have an extremely high density. However, in simpler terms, is it possible for you to establish the gains obtained based on everything that has been invested since 2010?

[Niall O'Dea]

I don't have that data with me, but we can certainly provide it to you.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Could you send it to the committee?

[Niall O'Dea]

Yes.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

What I want is very simple: the amounts invested by the federal government since 2010, and the gains they have made in terms of inland and coastal areas.

[Niall O'Dea]

We can certainly get the answer to you.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

On another note, in your remarks, you mentioned a proposed national wildlife area encompassing 27 islands in the St. Lawrence River near Montreal. Could you tell us more about that?

[Niall O'Dea]

Yes, absolutely.

We announced this project at the Nature Champions Summit held on April 24 and 25 in Montreal, Quebec. We are conducting this project in partnership with the Montreal Port Authority and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Responsibility for this series of islands in the St. Lawrence River will be transferred from the Montreal Port Authority to the Department of Environment and Climate Change for the establishment of a new national wildlife reserve, as there are several others.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Is it possible to estimate the gains that this project will bring us in terms of the target percentage of protected areas?

[Niall O'Dea]

Yes, absolutely.

There are 27 islands, with a total area of 775 hectares. This region includes Boucherville, Varennes, Verchères and Lake Saint-Pierre.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Right, but what would the percentage of gains made be?

[Niall O'Dea]

We're talking about several zeroes after the decimal point.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

In other words, the gains would be minimal.

[Michael Nadler]

It's important to keep in mind that even a really small area can be very important in terms of conservation, area or even biodiversity.

[Joël Godin, Conservative, Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, John Aldag]

Ms. Dzerowicz, over to you.

[Julie Dzerowicz, Liberal, Davenport, ON]

Thank you very much, Chair.

Thanks for the great presentation. The issue of biodiversity—the concern around the large number of species at risk of extinction in the world—is a huge concern to Davenport residents.

I have a lot of letters from constituents. One who wrote to me said, “Please use your voice in parliament to make RADICAL, IMMEDIATE change to respond to these findings.” She's referring to an article written in The Guardian, I think just a couple of weeks ago, that stated, “Scientists reveal 1 million species at risk of extinction in damning UN report”. She goes on to say, “We need to enlist the best conservation scientists [we have] to stem the tide of extinction in Canada, and support other similar initiatives around the world.”

First, is our historic $1.3-billion investment in nature conservation stemming the tide of extinction in Canada? If so, how?

[Niall O'Dea]

It's a good question. I'll answer it in part and ask Michael to speak to the Parks Canada contribution. It's a big question.

Yes, I think it's giving us a unique opportunity, in two primary senses. One is this work towards the establishment of new protected and conserved areas, which, in their establishment, provide values for a whole series of species at risk.

The other dimension, of course, is that we're enabled through this new funding to advance a transformed approach to species at risk conservation in Canada, which is moving from a species-by-species approach to a multispecies approach focused in priority places, on priority species where those exist and on priority threats in sectors.

That new form of engagement with provinces and territories, the private sector and indigenous peoples is enabling us to accelerate multispecies action plans that allow us to better use the investments we're making and that others are making to advance that progress.

Also, it has given us the opportunity to lead at an international level. I mentioned our chairmanship of the open-ended working group under the convention on biological diversity. This investment gives the profile and the legitimacy to Canada in our international engagements to help drive ambition in that broader global conversation. That's certainly our hope as we head towards Kunming in 2020.

Michael, would you like to add to that?