Environment Committee on May 12th, 2021

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Minister, I have a question about the Impact Assessment Act. There's a project list that defines which projects receive an automatic federal assessment under the Impact Assessment Act. In addition, you are able, at your discretion, I believe, to designate projects to be assessed under the act. That doesn't happen very often at all. I'm pleased to see that it's happening for Highway 413. However, with the project list, as it's currently defined, your department is assessing fewer projects than it did before. Of course, your government promised to restore the cuts to environmental regulation that took place under Stephen Harper.

Are you considering expanding that project list?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

The project list was developed as part of what was then called Bill C-69 and is now the Impact Assessment Act. We did an enormous amount of work to look at how you put into place rules that will ensure that projects go through appropriate assessments, that good projects can proceed, and that projects that are more challenging get caught early on in the process.

We don't have any intention right now to revisit the project list, but as you noted, I have the ability to designate projects where there are impacts on federal jurisdiction. Let me be clear: I cannot designate projects where there are impacts on provincial jurisdiction only, but Highway 413 was one and the Vista coal mine was another that I designated recently because of potential impacts on federal jurisdiction.

[Taylor Bachrach, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

I'd like to slip in one more question here. The supply of electric vehicles remains a major barrier to their uptake. Transport Canada estimates that by 2025 only 4% to 6% of our new vehicle sales will be electric. Our goal is 10%, so we're not on track. The accountability legislation that we're currently talking about is all about finding out if we're on track and, if we're not, increasing our ambition and using policy to get us back on track.

A ZEV mandate is proven to do that. It's something that's working in British Columbia, our mutual home province. They're currently leading Canada in terms of new car sales for EVs. Even the Conservatives say that a ZEV mandate is something that would take us forward in terms of the uptake of electric vehicles. Is that something you're willing to consider as part of our climate plan?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Well, it's certainly something we're willing to consider, and we've said that publicly. The focus right now for us is working with the Americans on transportation-related issues, because obviously, we have a very integrated market and production of vehicles, so we are working with them on trying to find ways to enhance the efficiency of internal combustion engines, but also looking at accelerating the deployment of zero-emission vehicles, and that's definitely on the table.

I would say that British Columbia, where you and I both come from, leads the country with respect to deployment. It's partly the ZEV mandate, but partly that the government has made the decision to partner with the federal government on subsidies to ensure that we are actually helping to bring down the cost of electric vehicles to match those of internal combustion engines. We would love it if other provinces did the same thing.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

We've got it.

Mrs. McLeod, you have five minutes, please.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you.

It looks like a B.C.-dominated panel, almost, today. Welcome, Minister.

As a quick follow-up to Mr. Scheer's questions earlier, I understand if we send you a list of the projects we are wondering about, you have committed to doing a detailed response through your department. Is that...?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Yes, I'm happy to provide an update in terms of timelines and, in the case where a project is shown to be over budget, why it's over budget.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you.

I've noticed what I would say is a bit of a disturbing pattern. On GHG emissions, you committed to meeting certain targets and, of course, we don't meet them. You committed to planting two billion trees. The last time I looked, there wasn't one in the ground yet.

I want to bring up another example. In 2016, to great fanfare—and we're a key group that are part of it—we committed to the Kigali amendment to the Montreal protocol, to massively scale down Canadian hydrofluorocarbon emissions. Companies were given five years to comply with new recommendations, and most did. However, your government granted last-minute, under-the-table exemptions to industrial manufacturers like DuPont, which didn't comply with these regulations.

Canada's jobs, of course, are important, but so is a level playing field. These exemptions allow up to 1.8 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. That's the equivalent of 400,000 cars put back on the road this year.

Why do you think those exemptions were appropriate?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

You are absolutely right; our government committed to an 85% reduction of hydrofluorocarbons by 2036 through the Kigali amendment, and we remain firmly committed to meeting our international obligations. In fact, in 2019 and 2020, Canada actually exceeded its HFC reduction obligations. The permits that you're referencing are given based on technical criteria and are assessed very much on a case-by-case basis. We're going to continue to work with all industry stakeholders to ensure that we meet our international obligations to phase down HFCs.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Thank you.

You're talking about technical issues. We have other companies that were able to meet the technical requirements. What you did—and you did it very quietly and very secretly—was give these exemptions. How can we be a leader when you're quickly.... Obviously, the technology was there. These companies had a number of years to meet these new criteria, but you thought it was appropriate.... Yes, jobs are important, but so is an equal playing field, and so is knowing the government is going to do what it says it's going to do.

How can we trust that you're going to be a leader in environmentalism when you don't stick to the agreements you've created?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

I would say a couple things to that. The first is that the essential purpose permits do not impact Canada's ability to meet its international obligations, and as I said, we actually met and exceeded our obligations in 2019 and 2020. The temporary permits, and I'll emphasize that they're temporary, are given based on technical criteria and are assessed on a case-by-case basis by officials. In terms of leadership in the world, Canada continues to play a leadership role with respect to HFCs and the Kigali amendment.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

I would think that certainly companies.... Were any companies turned down for these exemptions?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

As I say, these are done on a case-by-case basis. They are actually handled by officials, as you would expect when they are technical. They are not handled by the minister's office. Certainly, if you want an answer as to whether somebody was turned down, I'm happy to get that from the department.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Yes, because obviously if every single company that applied received exemptions, and those that met the criteria worked diligently and spent the money, we've created a very unfair playing field. I'd certainly appreciate that information.

Where I'm going to go next is, of course, to forestry. We're heading into forest fire season, and forestry is huge in my area. You know, the harvesting takes up about eight megatonnes, but forest fires and pests emit 251 megatonnes, so those are big issues in Canada's forests. You've committed significant dollars.

What are your metrics going to be in terms of these dollars and the impact these dollars are going to have? Do you have specific metrics, and where are you in those conversations with the province?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Are you talking specifically about tree planting?

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

No, I'm talking about your reductions, period. You have the last “State of Canada's Forests” report, the growing Canada's forests program, nature smart and an agricultural program.

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

Within the context of the climate plan, the focus, as you know, has been on tree planting, which is both a carbon sequestration tool and a way to address some of the biodiversity concerns.

With respect to pest control, Parks Canada plays a significant role in parks. Jasper, for example, has the spruce pine beetle, and Newfoundland and Nova Scotia have the spruce budworm. For the actual management of pests, while there is support from Natural Resources Canada for sure, on an ongoing basis the provinces and territories obviously take the lead on a lot of them.

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Is it accurate to say that there are no trees in the ground yet from the two billion you promised?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

You probably would have seen that we issued an expression of interest earlier this year. We had over 120 applications for tree-planting projects, and we expect to see some of those moving forward.

[The Chair, Liberal, Francis Scarpaleggia]

Let's move on to Mr. Saini now.

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you, Minister and officials, for being available today. It's always good to have you at the committee.

I want to talk about something that's personal to me and my riding. One thing I've noticed over the last year is that the COVID-19 pandemic has helped many Canadians gain a new appreciation for nature. Record numbers of people have been searching for ways to get out and enjoy what the natural world has to offer. One of the best ways to do this is to hike the Great Trail, which stretches from coast to coast and right through the centre of my riding of Kitchener Centre.

How will funding in the estimates help more Canadians get out and gain a new appreciation for Canada's natural beauty?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

I couldn't agree with you more. The pandemic has made us all realize how important a healthy environment and nature are to all of us. As you mentioned, with its 24,000-kilometre network of multi-use recreational trails that connect 15,000 communities across the country, the Great Trail is an incredible resource for Canadians to connect with their nature. One only needs to walk or bike on trails like the Iron Horse Trail in Kitchener, which runs all the way to Waterloo, to see the importance that these trails can have.

That's why we have invested another $7.5 million in the Trans Canada Trail organization. We also just recently announced $200 million in the budget to establish the natural infrastructure fund, which will support natural and hybrid infrastructure projects. We also announced, as part of our public transit fund, the first active transportation fund, which will deliver more recreation, cycling and walking options for Canadians. It's really important.

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

I want to turn my attention now to the biodiversity in southwestern Ontario.

I was very happy to see funding for protecting biodiversity in the main estimates. Being in southern Ontario, I live in a region with the highest biodiversity in Canada, but also, unfortunately, the least amount of protected land and the most species at risk.

What is the government going to do to protect the rare and endangered ecosystems of southwestern Ontario?

[Jonathan Wilkinson, Liberal, North Vancouver, BC]

As I mentioned before, we have a biodiversity crisis in this country and a climate crisis. We have tried to take an approach that looks at southern Canada, where we have large cities, high agricultural productivity and manufacturing; middle Canada, where we have a lot of our national parks but also a lot of the energy and forestry development; and northern Canada, where we have some of the vast wilderness areas.

In the south, we're looking to protect key ecological corridors and are looking into creating urban parks or near-urban parks to try to ensure that there are spaces for species and spaces for human beings to interact with nature on an ongoing basis. That is extremely important, and I think the pandemic has underlined how important it is.

[Raj Saini, Liberal, Kitchener Centre, ON]

One thing that's going to be critically important for us as a country in fighting climate change is making sure that we have the skilled and educated workforce necessary to create and implement the strategies and tools necessary to fight climate change.

How will contributions to the youth employment and skills strategy help young Canadians realize their potential and help solve this issue in the years to come?