Environment Committee on May 5th, 2026

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

Thank you, Ms. Anstey.

We will now turn to Mr. Malette for five minutes.

[Chris Malette, Liberal, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I don't speak French very well.

Therefore, I will be asking my questions in English.

Secretary Provost, as you are aware, it's important to recognize the Great Lakes as both an environmental and an economic asset for communities across Canada—most notably today as it's Great Lakes day on the Hill. Through the federal nature strategy and the national water security strategy, the government has identified freshwater restoration, nutrient reduction and biodiversity recovery as key priorities.

In my riding, the Bay of Quinte, where local communities have long shown strong leadership on water quality and shoreline stewardship along Lake Ontario, how will the government build on that work to deliver measurable progress, and how will communities be able to track those results?

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville, QC]

Thank you very much for that question.

[Chris Malette, Liberal, Bay of Quinte, ON]

I'm sorry, Madam Chair. I will be sharing my time with Mr. Fanjoy.

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville, QC]

The whole issue of freshwater protection in Canada is a real cause for concern for all of us. One aspect of the strategy will cover the national water security strategy in order to address citizens' concerns.

In Canada, we are all convinced that water is an infinite resource. I say “all”, but the more I travel across Canada, the more I realize that some provinces have long known that this resource is scarce and precious. I come from a region where we used to feel it was infinite. Unfortunately, we do not always use it wisely.

That said, I believe public awareness is growing. That is why we will support the national strategy in collaboration with the Canada Water Agency. We want to be able to provide not only today's Canadians, but also those of tomorrow and the day after, with good-quality water for their survival.

[Chris Malette, Liberal, Bay of Quinte, ON]

Thank you, Ms. Provost.

[Bruce Fanjoy, Liberal, Carleton, ON]

Thank you, Madam Secretary of State.

I love win-win solutions, and Canada's strategy to protect nature is one of those. Can you elaborate on the important role of indigenous communities in the development of this strategy?

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville, QC]

Thank you for this very important question.

Indigenous peoples represent us across vast territories, and they know nature. They know how to steward it, and they have demonstrated this.

I will take the example of a magnificent project that was not even launched by our government. It was launched, at the time, by Mr. Harper's government. This project concerned the Great Bear Rainforest. This major funding initiative, which aimed to ensure the rainforest's long-term survival in collaboration with communities in British Columbia, demonstrated not only the greatness and potential of nature conservation, but also its economic viability based on economic development led by first nations. It has therefore become a magnificent example of reconciliation between our nations.

Since then, there have been other projects, such as the Great Bear Lake project, as well as two others carried out in Manitoba and Nunavut respectively. Other projects are currently under discussion.

These major projects will enable us not only to protect vast areas of land and water, but also to accelerate our reconciliation while developing the economy in communities for which this has historically been very difficult.

[Bruce Fanjoy, Liberal, Carleton, ON]

Thank you.

I have a quick question for Madam Levesque.

How can economic development align with nature protection goals?

[Kaili Levesque, Associate Deputy Minister, President of the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, and Direct Support for Secretary of State (Nature), Department of Industry]

Thank you very much for the question.

In fact, the two can go hand in hand, and the second pillar of the strategy, “building Canada well”, is very much designed with that in mind. We have a variety of regulatory and legislative frameworks that the members here would be well familiar with, but it's about how we actually apply and deploy these tools.

If you're looking at a project of national interest or a project of high local interest that may not be at a national scale, it's how we interpret, whether it's through regional assessments at the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada; the fish and fish habitat protection program at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans; the regulations that underpin the Species at Risk Act; how we actually work with developers, communities and first nations; where these will be built to apply the mitigation hierarchy; and where we look to avoid or minimize the damage, to mitigate and offset so that we can actually have not only projects existing in a natural setting, but in some cases, offsets that build back better.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

Thank you very much, Mr. Fanjoy.

I now give the floor to Mr. Bonin for two and a half minutes.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Ms. Provost, I mentioned that British Columbia received $500 million under a tripartite agreement on nature conservation, whereas Quebec received only $100 million. I repeat: $500 million for British Columbia and $100 million for Quebec.

Can you tell us the amounts that have been spent so far on nature conservation, by province?

I would also like you to table another document. You said you had spent billions of dollars. I would like us to see what they were used for. That would be much appreciated.

I also have questions about the $3.8 billion announced in the latest strategy to protect nature, namely the strategy entitled “A Force of Nature”.

Of this $3.8 billion, will any amount be allocated to the Government of Quebec?

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville, QC]

Thank you for your question.

The funding allocated in the strategy was agreed under the previous budgetary framework. I am sure my colleagues will be able to provide you with this information.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

Madam—

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville, QC]

As for the strategy, at the moment, we have not yet established how the budget allocation will work. We want to work on projects with the developers who will be present. We want to work on community-led initiatives to mobilize the capital that is already there.

[Patrick Bonin, Bloc, Repentigny, QC]

So you cannot tell me the amount that will go to Quebec. However, you will eventually provide us with a more detailed budget plan regarding the $3.8 billion, so that we know exactly where this amount is going. It's very broad. If you could provide us with more detailed information, we would be grateful.

I would like to clarify something. In the document entitled “Canada's 2030 Nature Strategy”, which was published in 2024, there were 23 targets and indicators. I would like you to table before the committee a progress report on the indicators contained in this strategy. This would enable us to understand your progress.

Could you also provide us with a detailed list of the planned projects relating to terrestrial and marine areas?

In your nature strategy, you mention 14 projects related to protected areas. Could you also submit those to us?

What are the projects currently under way and what is their current status?

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

Please give a brief answer.

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville, QC]

We will take into account the requests made by my colleague and we will forward the information to him.

[The Chair, Liberal, Shannon Miedema]

Thank you very much, Mr. Bonin.

We'll now turn to Mr. Bexte for five minutes.

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Thank you, Chair.

Welcome, everyone, to our committee today.

The 800,000 square kilometres is an ambitious target. You've described a few scenarios and some direction on what the plan is. It would be very easy to add that much land in the Arctic Archipelago without affecting very many people, but you're implying that a lot of this will be done in the southern belt, where there are a lot of people. It's in the lower part of the country, where the people are, so that people can have access. Our population density is in the big cities and urban areas, so they'll be adjacent.

Specifically more to Alberta, how many potential sites have already been identified for inclusion in this plan?

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville, QC]

Thank you for your question.

The list of sites will be tabled before the committee. This relates to Mr. Bonin's question. We will submit to the committee the list of sites that are formally under consideration by the government.

However, there are a number of sites of various kinds whose designation is in the hands of private landowners. These landowners are already working, at this very moment, with nature protection and conservation groups. It is therefore not the government that is the primary driving force. We provide the impetus through funding, but it is philanthropic groups and nature conservation groups, such as Ducks Unlimited Canada or the Nature Conservancy of Canada, that make the proposals.

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

Let me intervene, just due to the time.

Is the point to enable access, or is the point to protect it?

[Nathalie Provost, Liberal, Châteauguay—Les Jardins-de-Napierville, QC]

I think we need to do both. We must bear in mind that we want to provide access to these sites.

That said, in terms of proportions, this is limited as the land has already been developed. Even if these are small private plots, we must take them into account. That is, in fact, why we are continuing to work on urban park projects.

If we really want to achieve the 30% target by 2030, we must also work on large open spaces whilst, in this context, balancing the needs associated with major economic development projects.

[David Bexte, Conservative, Bow River, AB]

In order to get the types of parcels you want in the places you want, will you consider the expropriation of land as well?