Evidence of meeting #26 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was arctic.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Trevor Taylor  Director of Fisheries Conservation, Oceans North Canada
David Miller  President and Chief Executive Officer, World Wildlife Fund-Canada
Paul Crowley  Vice-President, Arctic, World Wildlife Fund-Canada
Tim Williams  Committee Researcher

4:35 p.m.

Liberal

William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'll try to make my questions short. The purpose here is to get evidence on the record so that we can write a report on the basis of evidence brought here by our expert witnesses.

Does either of your organizations have proposals for a specific set of areas in the Arctic, whether marine or terrestrial, that you believe would be the best starting points for an integrated, comprehensive set of conservation areas? I understand that your response will be that it should be driven by the Inuit. I agree with that and I understand that. That said, have you as organizations set your minds to the areas that ought to be protected, and is that evidence that could be submitted to the committee?

4:35 p.m.

President and Chief Executive Officer, World Wildlife Fund-Canada

David Miller

I think both organizations have done some work on that and could submit our analyses of where we think it's important.

I don't want to speak for Oceans North Canada, but I think the answer is yes. We could submit something.

4:35 p.m.

Liberal

William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC

Is that something that—

4:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

Perhaps I can make the point here that everybody should have on their desks the ecologically and biologically significant areas that you have identified as starting points.

4:35 p.m.

Director of Fisheries Conservation, Oceans North Canada

Trevor Taylor

Yes, that is correct. Those were by DFO and other federal agencies.

I don't have it with me, unfortunately, but a map exists as part of the land claims negotiation process. The Inuit mapped areas from a use and occupancy perspective, areas that have been important to them from a cultural, ecological, hunting, and lifestyle perspective.

4:35 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

That would be great to get.

4:35 p.m.

Director of Fisheries Conservation, Oceans North Canada

Trevor Taylor

We have proposed areas, so to speak. They're not hard and fast areas, but we've said to the federal government and various agencies and politicians over the course of the past couple of years that if they were serious about this 10%, if they took the EBSAs and took the Inuit stuff, they could easily generate a map. It might look like this or it might look like that, but it's very easy to get 10% of these core key areas.

4:35 p.m.

Liberal

William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC

It would be great to get thoughts from both Oceans North and WWF on where those specific areas could be. I note that while the government has identified objectives of 10% and 17% in marine and terrestrial, there also has to be a long-term vision. I would presume that we wouldn't want to limit ourselves to 10% and 17%.

Moving on to the issue of budget, it will come as no surprise that this will be a major challenge. Do you have submissions to make, or could you make submissions, in relation to specific budgetary allocations that you feel are necessary in order to get to the targets set in the Arctic region and to go beyond to what is actually necessary if you're going to achieve real conservation to enable the maintenance of a traditional Inuit lifestyle with all of the ecosystems intact?

4:35 p.m.

Director of Fisheries Conservation, Oceans North Canada

Trevor Taylor

We have gone through a very poor exercise on that, so I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with advancing numbers from a budgetary perspective. We have gone through it, but—

4:35 p.m.

Liberal

William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC

You understand my concern—

4:35 p.m.

Director of Fisheries Conservation, Oceans North Canada

4:35 p.m.

Liberal

William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC

My concern is that what will come up will come up solely through the department.

4:35 p.m.

Director of Fisheries Conservation, Oceans North Canada

4:35 p.m.

Liberal

William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC

We're a new government still—

4:35 p.m.

Director of Fisheries Conservation, Oceans North Canada

4:35 p.m.

Liberal

William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC

—so the process of building confidence around what numbers are necessary in order to achieve appropriate objectives is, I think, open.

4:35 p.m.

President and Chief Executive Officer, World Wildlife Fund-Canada

David Miller

The best we'd be able to do is order of magnitude, I would think.

4:35 p.m.

Vice-President, Arctic, World Wildlife Fund-Canada

Paul Crowley

Again, we have to be very cognizant that it's with the Inuit that Inuit impact and benefit agreements will be negotiated. We'd really be in awkward position to say, “This is how much you should be allocating to that.” However, I will say that the perspective needs to be long term. It's not just a one-off payment; it is a long-term payment that allows for capacity-building, for training, for infrastructure associated in the communities. We have to remember these communities often have no marine infrastructure, not even a boat launch.

My guess is that whatever has come up through the department won't be nearly enough to take on the task, which is to develop an economy and a community that is truly working from conservation. I would say that even though that may appear to be in the end a big number, it's budget dust down here.

4:40 p.m.

Liberal

William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC

Thank you.

I have a very quick question for Mr. Taylor. Would you agree that an integrated shipping lane—I'm not sure what the correct term is, but integrated shipping planning—is a necessary component of any conservation initiative? Do those things have to be done together?

4:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

You have 30 seconds for that answer.

4:40 p.m.

Director of Fisheries Conservation, Oceans North Canada

4:40 p.m.

Voices

Oh, oh!

4:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

That was easy.

4:40 p.m.

Liberal

William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC

Do I have 15 seconds?

4:40 p.m.

Liberal

The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte

Yes, 15 seconds.