Evidence of meeting #94 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 44th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was federal.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
Mr. Chair, as you know, on December 14, 2023, the Minister of Environment, here in committee, promised to provide us with all the details of the expenses related to his trip to Dubai, as well as a summary of the meetings, and to give us the list of the senators he had called regarding Bill C‑234.
Do you have any news from the minister?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
No. Unfortunately, I haven't seen him. I'll do my best to contact him after the meeting, through an intermediary. I looked for him yesterday, but he wasn't—
Conservative
Gérard Deltell Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC
If you want, I can give you his phone number. I could even text him now.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Maybe I should have called him instead of waiting to see him in person, but we'll check that after the meeting. I'm 100% committed to that. I'm curious about that as well.
Conservative
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
I apologize. I was not here on Tuesday, but I was watching intently while trying to deal with my new baby.
Conservative
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Thank you.
You mentioned that you were going to talk to Minister Guilbeault yesterday, I believe.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Yes, I looked for him yesterday, but I couldn't find him. As Mr. Deltell suggested, there's something called the telephone. I could have called him. I didn't think of that. Mea culpa. After this meeting, I will endeavour to get the answer through an intermediary, unless I see him in the next half hour, which I don't think I will, but I'm on it.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
We could report a motion to the House calling on him to call you. Would that help?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
I don't know. You're the expert in parliamentary procedure, Mr. Genuis.
Conservative
Garnett Genuis Conservative Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan, AB
Is there agreement to do that?
It seems like there's agreement on the committee.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
I don't think there's agreement, no.
I would now like to provide a brief update. We're going to prepare a travel budget to go to Alberta. All parties agree to do this during a break week, more specifically during the week of May 13. We'll get back to you on that.
Ms. Pauzé, I want to inform you that the sound tests were carried out with great success.
I would now like to welcome Mr. Weir and Mr. Schryer, from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, and Rébecca Pétrin and Gabrielle Roy‑Grégoire, from Eau Secours. We also have witnesses joining us by videoconference: Martyn Clark and Alain Pietroniro from the University of Calgary, as well as Justine Nelson and Miki Eslake from the Rivershed Society of British Columbia.
We'll get started with opening statements. I'll go in the order in which the names appear on my sheet here.
Who will be speaking on behalf of the University of Calgary? Is it Mr. Clark or Mr. Pietroniro?
Alain Pietroniro Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary, As an Individual
We will be sharing the discussion.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Okay. You have five minutes. You can share it whichever way you feel is best.
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary, As an Individual
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee today. We're both honoured to have been afforded the time of the committee.
This brief is being provided to underscore the critical need for a cohesive and collaborative approach to environmental prediction in Canada. We strongly advocate developing a co-operative institute that supports collaboration across academia, government and industry.
First, we know environmental predictions play a pivotal role in decision-making processes. They influence strategies related to infrastructure development, environmental stewardship, resource allocation and public safety. However, the absence of a cohesive and nationally coordinated prediction system in Canada has led to a fragmented prediction landscape. Academic contributions often exist as disjointed, short-term projects, while government capabilities are unevenly distributed across provincial and federal jurisdictions. This fragmentation results in inconsistent resource allocation and duplicated services.
Professor Martyn Clark Professor, Hydrology, University of Calgary, As an Individual
We argue that there are glaring opportunities to establish a national community of practice and environmental protection. Canada is the only G7 country without coordinated capabilities for predicting environmental risks. It is critical to support collaboration across the provincial, territorial and federal governments and academia and the private sector to strengthen resilience to environmental change.
A proposed solution will enable research and operational groups across Canada to contribute the unique data, information, knowledge and predictive capabilities to support mitigating and adapting to water crises. A co-operative institute will support the development of next-generation capabilities to predict floods, droughts, water quality hot spots, wildfires and ecosystem health.
We propose the creation of a Canadian co-operative institute for environmental prediction, inspired by successful models such as the cooperative institute program in the United States. This co-operative institute would serve as a hub that integrates research across universities, government bodies and the private sector. The proposed co-operative institute is essential to develop the data, information and predictive capabilities crucial for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
The proposed strategy outlines key transformations necessary for Canada to emerge as a global leader in environmental prediction. It advocates for a shift from a traditional loading-dock approach to a more strategic focus on critical science and engineering questions. The co-operative institute will modernize the prediction ecosystem for Canada to accelerate the transfer of prediction technologies from research to operations.
The co-operative institute will do this by developing a computational prediction framework that will serve as a shadow system for the operational systems employed by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the provinces and territories, enabling scientists from both the research and operational communities to rapidly develop and evaluate new modelling and prediction methods.
The co-operative institute will also support greater collaboration across academia, government and the private sector, including developing shared computing solutions, establishing a career track for research scientists at universities and developing training and exchange programs.
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary, As an Individual
We recommend the establishment of a federal funding platform allocating $50 million annually for research efforts focused on environmental prediction. Additionally, we propose an ongoing investment of $30 million every five years for dedicated data and computing infrastructure.
The reality is that we are running short on time to ensure the safety and security of Canadians. The devastating floods, droughts, algal blooms, wildfires and drinking water advisories that are acutely felt across Canada affect our personal safety, our way of life and the health of our ecosystems, and they're having a growing impact on our economy. A Manhattan Project type of approach to helping us adapt to and deal with the coming environmental realities is required. We believe that the Canada water agency affords us an opportunity for this development.
Prof. Martyn Clark
In conclusion, the proposed solutions and this comprehensive briefing represent a pivotal moment for Canada to substantially enhance its predictive capabilities, fortifying the nation's ability to respond effectively to environmental challenges. The only thing missing at this transformational moment is the will and the agency to build and nurture a more dynamic and effective community engaged in environmental protection. Doing so will require bold and visionary leadership at all levels of government and academia.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Thank you. Your time is up.
We'll now go to Eau Secours, and I assume Mrs. Pétrin will be speaking.
Rébecca Pétrin Chief Executive Officer, Eau Secours
Yes, exactly.
The most recent UNESCO report in 2023 mentioned that water use conflicts between agricultural and urban areas will become increasingly frequent and, unfortunately, Canada will not be spared from those conflicts either.
Cases of water scarcity have already been richly documented across the country. Just this morning, Canada's National Observer's website mentioned the case of Alberta.
As a representative of an organization that works for civil rights, today I would like to highlight the four problems that we regularly face regarding the advancement of responsible water management.
First, there is a knowledge gap problem. Our organization is mostly in Quebec, but we do a lot of work with other organizations across the country. It is very difficult to harmonize data from one province to another and to have enough data on water quality, use and renewal.
Second, the levels of government delegate jurisdictions to each other, that is, from municipalities to provinces and from provinces to the federal government, and there is a misalignment in this delegation of powers. We are seeing a lack of leadership by the Government of Canada to advance the objectives it has set with the international community and the provinces, because there is a lack of control and power over the jurisdictions that are granted at the provincial level.
Third, there is the whole matter of water issues that don't come under any jurisdiction. We often face a lack of accountability on the part of ministers and elected officials. In fact, the municipalities are passing the buck to the province, and the province is passing the buck to the feds. I could name a case here that maybe some of you have heard of. This is the case of the community of Kanesatake, north of Montreal. For a number of years now, there has been a game of ping-pong between these various jurisdictions.
Lastly, we are often faced with another problem: federal entities, located in the provinces, emit contaminants into the environment, either in the water, in the air or in the soil. They work on their own, that is to say that there is a poor link with provincial authorities. We can think of ports, airports and indigenous communities, which depend a great deal on federal jurisdiction when it comes to the supply of drinking water, among other things. As a general rule, drinking water is a provincial jurisdiction, except in indigenous communities. So there could be better harmonization in that regard. There is also the hazardous waste landfill being built on the Ottawa River, which is a federal entity. This project will have adverse consequences, major environmental impacts on water, and the provinces will have to manage those impacts.
I would now like to present two potential solutions that we are proposing.
First of all, the announcement of the Canada water agency was obviously very well received by our organization, because we see it as a model of leadership for the Canadian government. We see this agency as a model water observatory, whose mandate would be to compile information, to put in place knowledge acquisition programs, to build capacity in the provinces, and to harmonize all the programs that are set up in those provinces to enable them to go further. We are proposing measures to monitor the achievement of targets, a responsibility that would be shared across Canada. There are 16 sustainable development goals, and water is one of them, including the protection of aquatic environments, to which Canada is committed. Objectives must be put in place, Canada-wide targets must be met and measures must be put in place to monitor the achievement of those objectives. That could very well be translated into an observatory model through the Canada Water Agency. It could also be a type of governance. We have several models in mind, including the Forum d'action sur l'eau, which exists in Quebec. It's a very inclusive governance model for all representatives of society.
Our organization is a representative organization of citizen rights. We also advocate the establishment of a pan-Canadian network of organizations in society that would, for the most part, make it possible to put in place a well-deployed education and training network for the entire population, as well as better communication between the various governments and citizen communities. This network would also make it possible to strengthen and support Canada's progress in achieving its objectives at the provincial level, because we know that citizens have a role to play in political representation with their local elected representatives.
That concludes our presentation, Mr. Chair.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Thank you.
We'll now go to the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.
Mr. Weir, go ahead, please.
Adam Weir Fisheries Biologist, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
Good afternoon, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. On behalf of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, I would like to thank you for inviting us to talk about the importance of fresh water.
The OFAH is Ontario's largest not-for-profit fish and wildlife conservation-based organization. It represents 100,000 members, subscribers and supporters, and 725 member clubs. It strives to ensure the protection of our outdoor heritage and it encourages safe and responsible participation in activities like fishing and hunting. It champions the conservation of Ontario's fish and wildlife resources.
Of particular relevance to this committee's discussion is our interest in the management of fresh water, conservation of aquatic habitats and the ongoing threat of aquatic invasive species. Our team of biologists and professional staff conducts technical analysis and responds to environmental and fisheries-related policies, regulations and legislation at provincial and federal levels. We also coordinate several programs that benefit fisheries conservation.
In our last presentation to committee, we highlighted some of the conservation initiatives the OFAH is involved in, such as Ontario's invading species awareness program, through which we engage the public on aquatic invasive species, address high-risk pathways and facilitate monitoring and early detection.
We also administer the Lake Ontario Atlantic salmon restoration program and the community hatchery program.
Today I would like to take the opportunity to discuss the Canada Water Act and the Canada water agency and how these relate to OFAH and our members.
From our understanding, the act and agency are meant to provide for the management of aquatic resources through research and programs involving, among other things, conservation and utilization of water resources, but what are the best ways to keep our water clean and well managed? What opportunities are there for improving, restoring and protecting these valuable resources?
Our experiences have taught us the importance of connecting people to the outdoors through fishing and hunting, as these activities create value towards natural resources. Value promotes stewardship and stewardship benefits species and their habitats. While the focus is oftentimes on improving water quality for the purposes of things like clean drinking water and clean beaches, which are obviously important, we see prioritizing recreational fisheries as an excellent opportunity for addressing water-related issues and challenges.
Healthy and sustainable fisheries are synonymous with clean water resources. They go hand in hand. Focusing on recreational fisheries will help achieve most, if not all, water health and water quality goals and objectives. Fishing contributes to the nutritional needs and the social, economic and cultural well-being of individuals in communities all across Canada. Therefore, supporting nearly three million anglers across Canada, who spend close to $19 billion annually, and leveraging opportunities in this way will only pay dividends for the conservation of water resources now and into the future.
There's a need to reinvigorate a program similar to the recreational fisheries conservation partnerships program to restore, rebuild and rehabilitate Canada's recreational fisheries habitat. This can be achieved by providing funding to recreational fishing groups and conservation organizations like OFAH to undertake projects that support these objectives. Infrastructure investment into boat launches, better parking and boat washing stations will lend itself directly to engaging Canadians in the outdoors, creating lasting, meaningful connections to nature as well having positive economic outcomes.
The OFAH has established its own student research grant program that it's piloting this year, through which longer-term funding arrangements will be provided to students to complete their graduate work on fish- and wildlife-related research projects. In 2022, we also established our community conservation fund to support various initiatives, including fish and wildlife conservation projects, habitat restoration and protection, and invasive species mitigation.
On a nationwide scale, the Canada water agency should seek out opportunities in a similar way by investing in research related to recreational fisheries, creating funding mechanisms to support grassroots community actions and engaging Canadians in prevention and management of aquatic invasive species.
Fish and fishing are tangible. They are things that most Canadians can relate to. They foster a healthy lifestyle, an appreciation for nature and the outdoors, and a sense of stewardship towards the land and the water.
We look forward to working with the federal government and the Canada water agency to find the best ways to keep our water safe, clean and well managed by prioritizing Canada's recreational fisheries.
Thank you.