I think the EGSPA legislation is somewhat unique in that it sets a whole bunch of targets and timelines for a lot of different environmental issues at the same time. It covers everything from greenhouse gas emissions to water quality to protected areas. That is a unique element of it.
The sole purpose is to have the targets and the timelines with annual reporting, so that it transcends changes in government. That particular legislation was introduced under the Progressive Conservative government, a lot of the targets were met under the NDP, and now the current Liberal government is also continuing to implement much of the content of the legislation.
I definitely think there are some elements to it that are useful at the federal level, though the biggest success story for Nova Scotia on protected areas is actually the implementation of the protected areas, the actual creation of these areas. In many cases it cost a couple of hundred million dollars to acquire the lands that were most important for conservation. That political will is really key in making sure that we get to the targets that we set.