Evidence of meeting #97 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 board.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Director General and Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Financial Management Directorate, Department of the Environment
Thank you very much for the question. I'll just look at my notes.
NDP
Director General and Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Financial Management Directorate, Department of the Environment
I'm sorry. Is that in supplementary estimates or...?
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Yes, it's in the supplementary estimates, page 2-43. It's for indigenous involvement in SARA, and I'm wondering if that's related to the woodland caribou.
Director General and Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Financial Management Directorate, Department of the Environment
I don't believe it is. I'm just having difficulty locating the information at this time.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
Maybe you could get back to us on what that is about, because I have another question.
Director General and Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Financial Management Directorate, Department of the Environment
Certainly.
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
I have a different opinion on the low carbon economy. I am troubled that the $1.2 billion that was committed in 2016 has been sitting, and I'm a little stunned at the small amount that is being disbursed. I'm puzzled as to why that money has not been released to the territories and provinces more expeditiously.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Pan-Canadian Framework Implementation Office , Department of the Environment
Thanks for the question. This being a brand new program, we needed to establish the parameters around how it would be operated, what its scope would be, and how the guidance would be provided to provinces to ensure that we would have proper oversight and review of the individual programs. As is often the case with new programs, an awful lot of work has gone into the front end in order to set out the parameters, the application process, the review process, and the approvals process. We've been working away on that while consulting with provinces and while receiving projects. A lot of things have been happening in parallel to help speed up this process.
We've been engaging with provinces, receiving proposals, and reviewing those proposals while negotiating contribution agreements simultaneously in order to move those monies as quickly as possible. We now have contribution agreements in place with a couple of provinces, and we have agreements in principle with a number of others. We have sifted through, reviewed, given feedback on, and reviewed again a very long list of projects, and there is quite a pipeline now of projects. Our expectation is that those agreements will be concluded shortly and that the monies will start to flow soon.
NDP
NDP
Linda Duncan NDP Edmonton Strathcona, AB
This follow-up will be really fast.
You're saying the money will be coming, but, in the coming budget, there's nothing about the fund. There are no plans to allocate any more money. The only thing is the federal carbon pollution pricing backstop. That all goes to the Department of Finace. I don't see anything in the budget for future allocation of these dollars. It leaves me wondering what's going on.
I would appreciate some kind of update on what is going on with this fund. Perhaps you could send that to us.
Liberal
Director General and Deputy Chief Financial Officer, Financial Management Directorate, Department of the Environment
Just very quickly, the funds were announced in previous budgets. The transfer that you see in the supplementary estimates (C) is the first of several waves of funding that will come through future estimates. Our main estimates will also include a sizable transfer of funding for the low carbon economy fund, but not the full amounts that have been announced previously. You will see those allocations in future estimates documents.
Liberal
William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for their patience.
I want to get into the new budget around nature parks and wild spaces. I too am very enthusiastic about this, as I'm sure you're aware. I note that for 2018-19 there will be $24 million available. That will be ramping up, at least on the parks side. I presume there are some other funds for the species at risk side and some other funds for the CWS side.
I wonder if there's any breakdown between the species at risk aspect of it and the CWS and migratory birds side of it. We have the parks stuff; that's fairly clear. I just wasn't sure about the rest. Then I'll get more specifically into next steps on that.
Assistant Deputy Minister, Canadian Wildlife Service, Department of the Environment
We still don't have all of those details laid out yet. There's still some work to do. I think we can get back to you, but there's still some work to do. This has just come out, and we have to work through what that allocation is.
Liberal
William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC
I understand, and I look forward to that. Thank you for getting back to me on it.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
I know that all members can ask any and all questions, and that has been clear, but this really is about estimates. To be fair to those who have come prepared for estimates, if we could.... You're allowed to ask anything. I get it. However, if we could focus on the estimates, it would be great. Thank you.
Liberal
William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC
Sure.
Madam Chair, I'm not really interested in losing my time to quibble with this—
Liberal
William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC
—but the main estimates indicate that there are interim estimates that are presented at $321 million so that they can enable operations, specific aspects of the first quarter of expenditures. I think since the issue of first quarter expenditures is raised, I can ask questions about how that money is going to be spent. I don't think that's untoward, and I'd love to have those 90 seconds back.
Liberal
William Amos Liberal Pontiac, QC
Now that there are significant new funds that enable a whole different range of activities that the Parks Agency, the Wildlife Service, and those dealing with CERA can move forward with, what suggestions would you have for interested provincial governments or municipal governments that want to engage, and engage early, to foster those kinds of partnership opportunities that the budget presents?
I think there's great enthusiasm when people see the positive opportunities for incentivizing those partnerships. What would a government do? In the Pontiac, for example, what would municipal governments do? What could the provincial government do to express interest and a desire to move forward together? That would go with the CWS side as well as the Parks Canada side.
Vice-President, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation, Parks Canada Agency
Thank you for the question. I can start.
As you obviously know, this committee has given us excellent advice on moving forward with the conservation agenda in protected areas. That advice is being utilized as part of the Pathway to Canada target 1, as we are engaging with provinces, territories, and indigenous groups to essentially map out the approach on a national basis of how we're going to reach the Canada target 1, which is the Aichi target 11. Through that process, every aspect of conserving biodiversity on land basis is being considered. That's private lands, provincial and indigenous lands, and so on.
Ministers are currently engaged in that process, with the expectation that they will be providing guidance on that on a national basis. Presumably each of the jurisdictions will be looking at their current plans and the types of flexibilities that are being discussed in terms of new tools for conserved lands and how that forms part of the overall strategy to get to 17%. I think over the course of the next year there will be an enormous amount of work around what those opportunities are and how we would explore all of those opportunities, because obviously the landing zone between now and 2020 is very short.