Environment Committee on Oct. 20th, 2016

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

You have 30 seconds.

[John Aldag, Liberal, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Ms. Jans, you mentioned 10 years for an additional protected area that's, I think, already being managed as adjacent lands.

Why is it going to take 10 years? Is it a legislative piece that's needed? Is it a consultative piece?

[Karen Jans]

No. Greenwich is part of the national park, and it takes that period of time to work through the legislation. We have to get it through the gazetting process.

[John Aldag, Liberal, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

So if there is political will, it could be accelerated.

[Karen Jans]

Oh, absolutely.

[John Aldag, Liberal, Cloverdale—Langley City, BC]

Okay.

I'll keep going.

[The Chair, Liberal, Deb Schulte]

No, you're done.

It's really hard. We have so much we want to ask you, and there's just not enough time.

Mr. Shields is next.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Let me pick up on the issue Mr. Aldag was on. If I can clarify it—

Thank you for being here, by the way. I've been in that park long before you were born. I'm an old guy.

[An hon. member]

You are old.

[Karen Jans]

No, you're not.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Oh, yes, I am. I have a scar I got as a six-year-old from a jellyfish off the beach. I've carried it for many years. That was 1959, Madam.

I thought you talked about that plan having been ongoing for some time, when you talked about the 10-year plan. You've been working at this....

[Karen Jans]

No, we are in the process right now of creating a new 10-year management plan for Prince Edward Island National Park. The current one expires this coming year, and so we're in the process of creating a new 10-year one.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Okay, back up. You're saying you have started a process.

[Karen Jans]

Yes, we have.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

How long ago was that?

[Karen Jans]

It was last year.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Okay.

[Karen Jans]

We did a state of the park report in 2015, we started the process this past year, we've been going through several consultations, and we're in the last phases of public consultation.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Great.

Concerning the resources you might have used, such as a consultation process or science, can you tell me a little about it?

[Karen Jans]

First of all, we do what's called a “state of the park report” in which we do a situational analysis of where we are standing right now and what our indicators are like on the natural side, the cultural side, the externalization side, and in our relationships with first nations, etc.

We do that snapshot and then we work with the stakeholders and communities, as well as internally with our specialists, to identify where we want to go. What we have done here is essentially create a vision for the park for the next 15 years, and we've done it collaboratively with the communities.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

You're saying that you're just about finished that process.

[Karen Jans]

We're very close. We're not finished, but we've gone back out now.... Actually, next week we'll be going back out with a draft.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

So you've had the resources you've needed to get it done.

[Karen Jans]

Absolutely, yes.

[Martin Shields, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

That's great to hear. Thank you.

Moving on to Mr. Miller, you talked about quality versus quantity. I think we've heard numbers for months and months on end, percentages. Can you describe to me, although I think I've heard it, what's important to you, quality or quantity, and how you would define the difference?