Environment Committee on Feb. 27th, 2020

[Darlene Upton]

That's right.

We have a couple of initiatives under way. We're trying to complete the systems plans for both the terrestrial and the marine areas. This has to do with putting parks in areas that aren't currently represented. We're also looking at where we can expand to better protect areas. There are a number of projects ongoing right now. Work is continuing to look....

Park establishment often can be serendipitous. A bunch of factors can come together and present an opportunity. One thing the agency has is a great deal of flexibility in how we move forward through establishment, including the partners we bring and ultimately the arrangements we have for the management of those places. More and more, we have co-management arrangements with indigenous communities, as well as the ability to create protected areas that respect the legislation but also incorporate the values of local communities.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

You have 15 seconds, if you'd like to—

[Andrew Campbell]

I'll donate it.

I was going to add this, for two seconds. The other thing is—Michael's probably too humble to say—we also take a leadership role in the Canadian Parks Council, which is a parks group that represents all of the provincial and territorial parks as well. Certainly Michael has taken a lead in making sure that the goals that the government has put forward are also being considered at the provincial and territorial level.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yasmin Ratansi]

Thank you.

Mr. Mazier, you have five minutes.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Going back to the emergency management and tree management in general, you talked about going over to Australia and helping out over there with the wildfires. When you look at the damage that the pine beetle has done, especially in Jasper National Park and those kinds of parks, you see a situation evolving there that makes it perfect timber to burn.

Have there been any management plans implemented? What is the plan to get rid of that? Is there any sense of urgency? Are there timelines that if we don't...? Who's being hired, and all those kinds of things? What's the plan for that?

[Darlene Upton]

We have developed, with partners, a specific management plan in that particular area. Obviously, one of the big concerns is the dead trees and the fuel load.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Who would be the partners?

[Darlene Upton]

The partners are the province and Natural Resources Canada as well. They bring a lot of knowledge and information to the table. Obviously the province has a number of concerns, so we're working with all those partners.

We've invested a fair bit of money—and I don't have the actual number in front of me—on fuel reduction, particularly in those areas.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Have they started taking it away?

[Darlene Upton]

Yes. That's been ongoing for a while, but we are ramping up efforts in response to the—

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Are there any deadlines? Are we thinking we have to get rid of this or we could end up with another Australia? Are there any mandate definitions like “let's get this done”?

[Darlene Upton]

They're defined by the funding we have available, in part. We started last year with a number of new projects. There will be a number of new actions this season as well in terms of load reduction and prescribed burns.

[Andrew Campbell]

It is one of the very few places that we have ever done mechanical removal within a national park. That's going on right now.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Could you provide to the committee an update on that plan and how that's going?

[Andrew Campbell]

We can certainly provide that to the clerk and the committee.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Okay. Excellent.

Regarding cell service in parks, in general, does Parks Canada have any kind of plan? Is anybody responsible? You have people all over the parks. How do they communicate? Is there any plan for connectivity?

[Stephen Van Dine]

We work closely with Shared Services Canada on mapping where both employees and visitors are able to access cell service, as well as—

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Is there any budget for it, for Wi-Fi?

[Stephen Van Dine]

We use the dollars that were appropriated to manage improvements in all areas. The schedule varies depending on the level of resources available and depending on the level of service that's in there.

One of the innovations that we have achieved recently, following the leadership of our colleagues at Shared Services Canada, is that we now have some abilities to work with local service providers in a much more direct way to allow for access, and that's something new that we're exploring right now.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Is there any involvement with infrastructure? How would a person get into that system to know who to reach out to? Is it the local superintendent?

[Stephen Van Dine]

Yes.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

On the two billion trees, does Parks Canada plan on being part of the two billion trees the government has announced that it wants to plant?

[Darlene Upton]

Yes. The planning is in the early phases, but we're working with both Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada to look at how that will roll out and what opportunities Parks Canada lands offer.

[Dan Mazier, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Does Parks Canada have lands available for planting trees?

[Darlene Upton]

Potentially. We're just starting to have the conversations now.