Environment Committee on March 12th, 2026

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

We just have to hope nothing happens.

[Andrew Campbell]

We're also working with the province. As I said, we have a provincial memorandum of understanding with the province in order to be able to look at the province as a whole from a risk mitigation perspective. Their study and their work have said it isn't as high a risk as it is in other areas that we need to put our resources towards.

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

I'm going to shift gears a bit, because I get a lot of park inquiries.

There is an area within the park—I don't know how familiar you are with it—

[Andrew Campbell]

I'm very familiar with the park.

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

—between the south boundary of Glenburnie and the McKenzies Brook road. Residents have repeatedly reached out to our office about ATV use on this 1.3-kilometre section of road.

There is an agreement that was signed back in 1973, but as you know, ATV use back then wasn't as predominant. A lot of people in Newfoundland and Labrador use their ATVs to access their cabin areas or go berry-picking, and Parks Canada does not allow them to use their ATVs on this section of road. Local RCMP know the importance, and they don't issue fines, but the Parks Canada people do, so a lot of people reach out, wondering if there can be some sort of adjustment made, given the realities of rural people in this area and what they use their ATVs for now. It's very important to them.

[Andrew Campbell]

Certainly, we're always open to having that discussion.

As you know, within the agreement, there are certain prescriptions of not permitting certain types of things, but we're always open to discussion. We meet with the snowmobile association, and we meet with—

[Carol Anstey, Conservative, Long Range Mountains, NL]

I know you've made allowances there. Do I have a commitment that we can further this conversation?

[Andrew Campbell]

Certainly, with the superintendent, we are happy to have that conversation, yes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Thank you.

Mrs. Miedema, the floor is yours for five minutes.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thanks so much to all the witnesses. I know that none of us would be here if it weren't for all of the hard work of our bureaucracy. As a former local government bureaucrat, I very much appreciate everything you do.

I'd like to talk a bit about the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes park, which is adjacent to my riding of Halifax. I'm a very strong supporter of parks. I also have an environment and climate background. I'm really excited about this. It would be Canada's newest national urban park, similar to the Rouge park in Toronto. It could be as large as 255 hectares and would provide essential conservation land, as well as recreational opportunities for the residents of Halifax and visitors.

It was initially conceived with the support of the Province of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Regional Municipality. Are the shared responsibility and joint funding still intact today? How are ECCC and Parks Canada working with the province and the municipality on next steps for the project?

[Andrew Campbell]

I'm happy to respond that we continue to work with both the municipality and the province. Also, of course, a great partner on this is the Mi'kmaq nation.

As we move forward, we're also working with a lot of civil society organizations. We are in daily conversations with all of them, I would say, in still looking at how we continue to move forward this initiative of a national urban park in Halifax.

Of course, there are a lot of considerations that every layer of government is looking at. There are transportation networks. There are the existing pieces of legislation that protect some of this land. We are needing to look at how all of that will work together, but things continue to move forward for the establishment of this project.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Would you have any idea on timelines and who is driving the moving forward of the project? Is it the federal government? Which level is really driving the project to success?

[Andrew Campbell]

Parks Canada is the project leader on that. I will say that we are all driving it forward, because a lot of people want to see this happen. Unlike those who are asking questions, Mr. Chair, I am not elected, and I don't get to make announcements on dates and timing. Perhaps that would be something that's better to ask your colleague, the minister.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Excellent.

I'm also really excited about the prospect of Wind West. I think it's going to be game-changing for Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada and really contribute to Canada's clean energy future. I know that it's still early days and we're in the regulatory planning stages, etc. The call for bids is currently open.

I have a few questions about how it's moving along. Can you provide details on what type of coordination is taking place between the Impact Assessment Agency and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator for the environmental assessments of the project?

[Terence Hubbard, President, Impact Assessment Agency of Canada]

As you noted, it is still early days for the project, but we have been working in close co-operation with the Province of Nova Scotia and the offshore energy board for some time.

A lot of the work started with a regional assessment on offshore wind that we carried out in collaboration with both of those partners. It was completed about a year ago now. It informed the province's decisions and the board's decisions on prospective wind energy areas that will be moving forward through their land tenure process.

We've also been working very closely with the Province of Nova Scotia on a co-operation agreement in terms of environmental assessments moving forward, and we have long-standing co-operation, through the joint management approach, with the offshore board. We will be working in tandem in leveraging the wealth of information, evidence and data through the regional assessment to streamline individual project assessments as they move forward and continue to look for opportunities to support that sector.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Was that co-operation agreement signed with Nova Scotia, or is it still to be signed?

[Terence Hubbard]

Nova Scotia is still to be signed. I think the public comment period closed last Friday.

[Shannon Miedema, Liberal, Halifax, NS]

Okay, so it's moving along. Excellent.

The Wind West major project involves actually....

Oh, I am out of time.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Bonin, you have the floor.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to address the representative from the Canadian Impact Assessment Agency.

Some media outlets have reported that [Inaudible—Editor] Marinvest concerning a liquefied natural gas project. A newspaper mentioned that a 20‑page document had been submitted. Can you provide that document to the committee, obviously with the necessary precautions to safeguard trade secrets, so we can review it as a committee?

[Terence Hubbard]

I'm aware of the document. We would need to review the restrictions because it's not an agency document.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Thank you.

A global treaty on plastic pollution is currently being negotiated. Is there any money in the budget for the management of plastic in general or in relation to that treaty?

If you don't have the answer, I'd ask that you send it in writing. Otherwise, I'll lose my two minutes of speaking time listening to silence.

[Megan Nichols, Assistant Deputy Minister, Environmental Protection Branch, Department of the Environment]

I don't have the exact details on hand, but currently, there is money for plastics policies until the end of 2026‑27.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Okay. You can send us that in writing.

Finally, I'd like to share a short list of demands. I know documents will be available today, but they don't include many details.

First, can you provide a list of the department's programs, grants and contributions that will be ending this year, and a list of those that will have less money than they did in the 2025‑26 budget?

Next, can you provide a list of the subsidies allocated by the federal government to fossil fuels? We're unable to obtain that information. There may be subsidies you consider inefficient. There was a policy to reduce those subsidies, or at least an intention to do so.

Finally, I'd also like to have details about budget cuts associated with the removal of the consumer carbon price. I'd like to know whether that has an impact on your expenditures. I'm thinking in particular of the fuel charge.

[The Chair, Liberal, Angelo Iacono]

Thank you, Mr. Bonin.

Mr. Leslie, the floor is yours for five minutes.