Among the challenges it will have to overcome, in my opinion, is the need for its leaders to be people who, rather than protecting their exclusive preserve, are transparent about the government’s vision for the Department of Environment and Climate Change.
The agency really needs to put in place people who believe in this mission, so as to avoid pitfalls and internal slowdowns in the structure. This would disappoint the public, whose expectations are high. As we heard in the testimony, in Canada, everything to do with water, including regulations, is compartmentalized and subdivided between different departments, and it’s very difficult to find your way around.