Evidence of meeting #9 for Finance in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was transport.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Greg Farrant  Manager, Government Relations and Communications, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters
Mark Mattson  President, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper
Krystyn Tully  Vice-President, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper
John Edwards  Domestic Development Director, CanoeKayak Canada
Jack MacLaren  As an Individual
William Amos  Staff Counsel and Part-time Professor, Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic, University of Ottawa
David Osbaldeston  Manager, Navigable Waters Protection Program, Department of Transport
Patrick Jetté  President, Association of Justice Counsel
Pierre Laliberté  Economist , Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec
John Farrell  Executive Director, Federally Regulated Employers - Transportation and Communication (FETCO)
David Olsen  Assistant General Counsel, Legal Affairs, Canada Post Corporation, Federally Regulated Employers - Transportation and Communication (FETCO)
Anu Bose  Head, Ottawa Office, Option consommateurs
Michael Janigan  Executive Director and General Counsel, Public Interest Advocacy Centre
Claude Poirier  President, Canadian Association of Professional Employees

7 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

We'll call the ninth meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance to order.

Mr. Carrier, on a point of order.

7 p.m.

Bloc

Robert Carrier Bloc Alfred-Pellan, QC

Mr. Chair, before we get under way, I just want to mention that I have a copy of a letter sent to you by the Chair of the Transport Committee dated February 13 last. It concerns the Navigable Waters Protection Act that is included in Bill C-10. In this letter, the chair of that committee suggests that we work together. Prospective witnesses could be invited and the two committees could hold a joint sitting to examine the bill that fall within the purview of the Department of Transport. I received a copy of the letter this morning. You have yet to make a decision about this. As far as I know, the committee has not had an opportunity to discuss this suggestion.

Our Transport Critic has not been invited to attend this evening's meeting. I see that some members of the Transport Committee are in attendance. The Bloc was not informed that a joint meeting would be held. I'd like to know if you have come to any kind of decision.

7 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you.

Mr. Tweed, would you like to address this?

7 p.m.

Conservative

Merv Tweed Conservative Brandon—Souris, MB

Thank you, Monsieur Carrier. I was the one who sent the letter, and the correspondence between the clerks suggested that because of time restraints, if a member from the transport committee chose to participate through the committee.... I see Mr. Volpe's here, and obviously you, Monsieur Carrier, have a lot of experience on that committee. The message I got was that if you wanted to be at the committee, you should try to substitute in or out.

I regret that Monsieur Laframboise, if he wanted to be here, couldn't be here.

7 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

From a finance point of view, what we tried to do was have one session dedicated to navigable waters. Obviously members are free to substitute in or out. It is my understanding that this is how it was handled in the last session of Parliament with respect to the immigration provisions of Bill C-50.

Monsieur Carrier.

7 p.m.

Bloc

Robert Carrier Bloc Alfred-Pellan, QC

We were not informed of any joint discussions that took place. Our Transport Critic, Mr. Mario Laframboise, was not specifically invited to attend this meeting. I can't say if the lines of communication were any better in the case of the NDP. I'm disappointed. I'm no longer a member of the Transport Committee and it's not up to me to make any decisions for their members. I was intrigued by the idea of organizing a joint meeting of the two committees.

7 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you.

Mr. Jean, did you want to address this?

February 23rd, 2009 / 7 p.m.

Conservative

Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB

Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair.

I just wanted to advise Mr. Carrier and all members that I never received an invitation either. I wanted to show up because I have an interest in this particular file from an environmental perspective. Certainly this isn't a joint meeting, as far as I'm aware. If it is, I'm not aware of that. I just found out a minute ago that one of the members didn't show up and I've been signed in, but other than that, I'm just coming as an observer. That was my intention, and I'm certain he was aware that the finance meeting was taking place and that this was on the agenda, which is why I'm here today. So I'm not certain, but--

7 p.m.

Bloc

Robert Carrier Bloc Alfred-Pellan, QC

I regret that the information was not conveyed to all parties, so that we could at the very least invite our party critics to be on hand to discuss this matter.

7 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you.

Mr. Mulcair.

7 p.m.

NDP

Thomas Mulcair NDP Outremont, QC

For your information, regarding the point of order, we checked and we were never informed of any suggestion to hold a joint meeting of the two committees. I regret that a colleague who could have attended and contributed his expert opinion of the analysis done by the Transport Committee was not informed and will not be there.

7 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Mr. Mulcair, I wasn't at the transport subcommittee where this was discussed, but my understanding is that it was the transport subcommittee and a member from each political party was there. It was not from the full transport committee with respect to a joint meeting with the full finance committee.

With respect to the agenda here today, it was my understanding as chair that members, even before the budget implementation bill was passed, wanted the finance committee to study this issue expeditiously, which is why we started infrastructure prior to the passing of the budget implementation bill, and it was my understanding that this was a priority of this committee. That's how I proceeded.

If the committee wants to proceed, I guess we would wait for a full motion from the full transport committee to study this item. If they want to hold a joint committee in the future, that's up to this committee and the transport committee. But it was from the subcommittee of the transport committee that the chair wrote it, and I understand that all four political parties were represented at that subcommittee.

But this is a finance committee meeting, at which members are free to substitute in or out if they have an interest in this particular issue.

We will now get to the agenda.

We have one individual and five organizations here for this panel of an hour and a half: first of all, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters; second, the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper; third, CanoeKayak Canada; fourth, as an individual, Mr. Jack MacLaren; fifth, the University of Ottawa; and sixth, the Department of Transport. If I can ask each of you to do an opening statement of not more than five minutes, we'll go in that order. Then we'll go to questions from members.

Mr. Farrant, we'll begin with you and work our way down the table.

7:05 p.m.

Greg Farrant Manager, Government Relations and Communications, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good evening, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. On behalf of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, our 100,000 members and supporters, and 655 member clubs across the province of Ontario, I appreciate this opportunity to speak to you this evening on certain aspects of Bill C-10, the budget implementation bill.

Let me be clear that we understand that the recent budget and this bill in particular were born out of the necessity for the government to respond quickly and decisively to the current economic circumstances facing both the Canadian and global economies. In that respect, we commend the government for their actions and, in particular, for their attempt, through the budget, to remove impediments to moving forward with critical programs.

We do, however, have a number of concerns relating specifically to the clauses of Bill C-10 that deal with proposed amendments to the Navigable Waters Protection Act. In our view, some of the proposed amendments have the potential to dramatically alter the ability of Canadians to continue accessing and using thousands of miles of waterways currently protected under the act. These same amendments could impact negatively on fish habitat, fish passage, and recreational sport fishing in Canada, which contributes over $3.5 billion annually to the national economy.

In Canada, the use of rivers and streams for commerce and recreational purposes is a fundamental part of our economic and social fabric. The ability to use our waterways helped to build this nation. While the waterways may not today be the highways or lifelines of commerce they once were, they are nonetheless essential to a host of economic and social activities that are essential to the well-being of Canadian businesses, individuals, and communities.

In the process of trying to bolster some aspects of the economy and put people back to work, it is imperative that the government does not eliminate the critical checks and balances that protect other elements of the economy and the way of life of Canadians. It is essential that in fixing some problems we do not create unforeseen economic, social, and environmental problems that will live with us far beyond the current economic crisis. We believe that some of the proposed changes to the NWPA have this potential.

I won't bother with a great deal of history on the NWPA. Most of you are familiar with that, and we have limited time here.

Navigability in Canada is both a question of law and of fact. To be navigable in law, a watercourse in question must be navigable in fact. Navigability is, in fact, demonstrated if a waterway is used or is capable of being used by the public as a water highway, for lack of a better term. In essence, the test developed in Canada is one of public utility. If a waterway has real or potential practical value to the public as a means of travel or transport from one point of public access to another, it is considered navigable.

Equally, if it serves or is capable of serving a legitimate public interest in that it is or could be regularly and profitably used by the public for some socially beneficial activity--recreational fishing, for example--then it must be regarded as navigable land within the public domain and must continue to be protected as such.

To provide a balanced view of our proposed changes to the NWPA, I would be remiss if I did not point out that we do believe there are several positive proposed changes to the act. These include the proposal to strengthen enforcement and compliance provisions, including fines, appointments, and powers of officers. We also understand and support the government's efforts to remove some of the barriers to economic development by attempting to minimize red tape. In particular, we support the efforts to provide for a single approvals process for related projects.

Third, we support the concept of classifying works and, in the case of minor works, of developing standards of construction, placement, operation, safety, and removal, provided that there is a concerted effort to enforce those provisions. However, we have major concerns about, and must strongly oppose, proposed changes to the NWPA that would provide for the classification and potential declassification of navigable waters. In specific terms, proposed subsection 5.1(1), proposed subsection 12(1), proposed subsection 13(1), and proposed section 14.1 are all of concern, since they provide for the classification of navigable waters. We support the concept of classifying works and types of projects and providing for the development of standards for specific projects and works that are of a minor nature, such as, for instance, floating docks and diving platforms and what not. Both the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans have been working towards a system whereby it is possible to simplify approval for minor works. However, the classification of what constitutes a navigable water is extremely problematic, particularly if it provides the potential to declassify or diminish any existing or potential navigable waters.

Because the proposed amendments are not clear in this regard, the potential to declassify navigable waters exists. This is a major concern to us and to other users of Canada's waterways with regard to public access and the use and protection of the fishery.

Recognizing that we are under time limitations, we have the following two recommendations.

Given that the government will be reviewing both the Environmental Assessment Act and the Fisheries Act, we strongly recommend that the proposed amendments to the NWPA be decoupled from Bill C-10 and that they be considered in concert with a review of these other acts later this year; and that a more fulsome review and public consultation process, particularly regarding the classification of navigable waters, be included in that review.

Failing that, we recommend that amendments to the NWPA be generally approved with the exception that the reference to the concept of classifying navigable waters be completely removed from the proposed amendments. If this alternative is adopted, there should be a further clarification of the wording of the revised act confirming that nothing in the act is intended to reduce or abrogate the responsibility of the minister to ensure that the impacts of development on navigability, public use of waterways, and the environment are fully considered.

In closing, if I may say, Mr. Chair, in this context it is important that the government not only do the right thing but also be seen to be doing the right thing, and in our view, amendments to the NWPA, which may be long overdue, have no place in this bill.

I thank you for your time, sir.

7:10 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you very much for your presentation.

Mr. Mattson, will you be presenting?

7:10 p.m.

Mark Mattson President, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.

I know how short your time is and how important your time is. We'll try to keep to within the five minutes.

I'm president of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. We represent waterkeeper organizations from British Columbia right through to Labrador. I'm joined here by my vice-president, Krystyn Tully, and the Ottawa Riverkeeper, Meredith Brown.

There really are two points about the proposed changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act that I hope you take home with you tonight. If the changes are approved, two things will happen. First, no longer will the government need to get the consent of the people when it wants to take away the rights of navigation. Second, the government will no longer be required to do its due diligence before infringing upon those rights of navigation.

Both of those rights or obligations that are currently protected under the Navigable Waters Protection Act are now being rephrased as being old, outdated, and no longer important. We know from our relations with the hunting community, paddling community, fishing community, and the tourism community right across this country that this is not true. These are not outdated rights and principles, and the people still require that this government, its elected officials, or the actual public servants be required to get the consent of the people and to do due diligence before they take away or infringe on those navigable water rights.

7:15 p.m.

Krystyn Tully Vice-President, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

We are specifically concerned about four changes: the elimination of the environmental assessment trigger is one, exempting whole classes of waterways from scientific study or public review is another, exempting whole classes of projects as well as waterways is a third, and minimizing public notice and consultation when making decisions that affect navigation rights is a fourth. These changes mean reduced transparency in decision-making, they mean a loss of valuable scientific review, and they mean the elimination of parliamentary oversight from one of our most important laws.

We waterkeepers live our lives on the water from British Columbia to Ontario to Newfoundland and Labrador. We know the history behind this law because we live this history. First and foremost, navigation is a right enjoyed by every individual; it's not a privilege that's been given to us by government, and to date, no western democracy has ever taken this right away from its people.

The current act recognizes this and requires that government seek the public's consent and advice every time it infringes on our rights. The new act says we can't afford to do this, we don't have the resources, and we need regulatory efficiency in the name of economic development. That's not true.

The current act gives the minister and the Department of Transport all the authority they need to exempt small projects. It doesn't apply to waters that aren't navigable, and it doesn't apply to projects that don't interfere with navigation. Not only are the amendments overkill and unnecessary, but they won't even accomplish the goals they are supposed to. They eliminate the rights of the public, but at the same time they off-load oversight and accountability to politicians, to provincial governments, and to municipal governments. The work doesn't go away; it just gets passed to somebody else.

It centralizes decision-making in Ottawa, so bureaucrats here will tell people in Alberta and Quebec what will happen on their waterways, and the people who live in those communities and know the waterways better will not have an opportunity or a forum to be heard, to present science, or to help make decisions better. It creates piecemeal protections that will protect some communities at the expense of others. Some communities in Canada will have rights and privileges that others do not enjoy.

There is an attempt here to address some of the economic concerns, and we're well aware of what those are, but at the same time, it's granting opportunities to one group at the expense of another and it's going to hurt hunting and fishing, tourism, outfitters, first nations, and small businesses--the people who rely on these rivers for their livelihood.

We appreciate the opportunity and the privilege to speak to the committee today and we urge you to remember the thousands of people who can't be here tonight, the other waterkeepers, the first nations, the hunters, the paddlers. For the record, we do want to say we do not believe there has been adequate consultation. So many people still need to be consulted, including in your ridings at home, and we apologize that we're here at the eleventh hour pointing out major flaws in this important piece of legislation. We wish we'd had an opportunity to be part of a full consultation prior to tonight, but this is where we are. We're bringing forward the best available research to let you know that the Navigable Waters Protection Act amendments in Bill C-10 are going to pose a huge problem, create administrative burdens, and centralize decision-making in the future, and to ask that you consider them separately from the finance bill, maybe as part of the environmental assessment review that's coming up later this spring, and through the transport committee, and through the environment department.

7:15 p.m.

President, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

Mark Mattson

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, members of the committee.

7:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you for your presentations.

We'll go now to CanoeKayak Canada, please.

7:15 p.m.

John Edwards Domestic Development Director, CanoeKayak Canada

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ladies and gentlemen, my name is John Edwards. I'm the domestic development director of CanoeKayak Canada. I'm joined by Anne Merklinger, the director general of CanoeKayak Canada.

We are an organization with 50,000 members in Canada. We are one of Canada's oldest sporting organizations, founded in 1900. We are the organization that is responsible for putting Olympic athletes on the podium for Canada at the Olympic Games, whether they be in the sport of flat-water canoeing, marathon canoeing, or whitewater canoeing.

Also, we are a regular attendee at the annual meetings of the Canadian Marine Advisory Council and we are on the Standing Committee on Recreational Boating to advise the Office of Boating Safety and ultimately Transport Canada on issues of safety with regard to recreational boating in Canada. We take those responsibilities very seriously.

I will point out that committee members have received a handout. I'm not going to speak directly to that, but it has more detail.

There are three key points we wish to communicate this evening.

First of all, the Canadian identity is entirely wrapped up with the rivers of Canada. As has been pointed out, it is considered a birthright of Canadians. It is founded in the deepest traditions of our common law, the common law combined beautifully with the aboriginal considerations for access to the waters of Canada. In a unique way, we have combined the heritages of the two main peoples of Canada.

I ask you these questions. With this heritage that is so important, will the iPod generations know nothing of the old Canada? Surely not. Are the rivers of Canada in the way of the new Canada? Are they barriers? Surely not.

There is an economic aspect to this. There is a new and emerging tourism economy in Canada. The act did not foresee that when it was originally drafted, but that is surely the case today. Canoe and kayak touring and ecotourism have become a major part of the economic life of much of rural Canada. Rural Canada struggles to find economic purpose in this country. Please don't take another piece of economic development away from rural Canada.

Last and most important is safety. Ladies and gentlemen, obstructions are hazards by definition. They are threats to life and limb. How will the public be warned about hazards on newly non-navigable waterways? Will there be signs up at every point of public access to the newly non-navigable waterways? Safety issues need to be thoroughly reviewed in this matter. We're not confident that has been the case.

In closing, the members of CanoeKayak Canada, like all taxpayers, wish the Government of Canada to operate in the most efficient and focused manner in order that we can have the best government at minimal cost. There appear to be anecdotal examples where the NWPA has been carried too far in its implementation. We would be pleased to work with the government and other stakeholders on the above-noted issues to ensure the NWPA is applied appropriately in the 21st century. We don't think this has ever been done with Canada's paddling communities. We think the committee members are well aware of what an effective and full public consultation is, after having just gone through an election.

We are also well aware of the need for the government to expedite infrastructure spending in the near term of two years. We respectfully suggest the Budget Implementation Act of 2009 be amended to permit Transport Canada to retain additional staff to expedite these approvals.

Finally, we recommend that the NWPA amendment section of the bill be removed from the Budget Implementation Act of 2009 so that a proper consultation can occur.

Thank you very much for your time.

7:20 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you, Mr. Edwards.

We'll now go to Mr. MacLaren please.

7:20 p.m.

Jack MacLaren As an Individual

Thank you, sir.

My name is Jack MacLaren. I own a small farm outside of Renfrew in Ontario. I have run into trouble with the Drainage Act and the Navigable Waters Protection Act.

If you can imagine it, on my farm there's something similar to a bowl—imagine these desks being about 400 to 500 yards long—with a small mud hole in one end into which all the drainage goes, and a ditch that we have dug over to a point where the water filters into the ground. There must be holes in rock or something there.

Last year, without my permission, the beavers moved in. Normally this area goes totally dry. The beavers moved in and dammed this thing up. It flooded my lawn and flooded a large piece of land I was going to plant apple trees on, which I can't do, because apple trees don't like wet feet. In wanting to correct this situation, I phoned a gentleman who owns high hoes. The first thing he asked me was whether I had a permit. I said, “It's totally on my land; I don't need a permit.” He said, “You do. I will be fined...”—I forget the amount of money he would be fined—“and so will you.” So I checked with another one and heard the same thing.

So here I have this flooded land, my lawn flooded, a little piece of creek—not a creek but a ditch—300 feet long, and I can't get it cleaned out because of the Drainage Act and the Navigable Waters Protection Act. I have pictures here, which I can't show you, of a gentleman standing in the water. We took a picture of his feet. The water is over the top of the toes of his rubber boots. But I cannot clean that out.

First, I phoned MNR, and they sent a gentleman down. He told me I had to go to Fisheries and Oceans. Don't forget, this is entirely on my farm, in front of my house. It's probably 400 to 500 yards long. I cannot remove it from my land without.... A Fisheries and Oceans representative came from Prescott. He had no problems with it. I had a problem getting him to send me a letter okaying this. Now I am supposed to go back to MNR in Pembroke, apply for a permit, and get it from them.

This was now coming on fall, and as you all know, where the water seeps into the ground, it disappears. It's in the bowl; it disappears inside that area. When it freezes, the water no longer can get away from there. It's too late by that time for me to get a permit to get the work done. So I am stuck with a little piece of ditch, totally on my property, and I think they're calling it a navigable waterway.

This is the most stupid piece of legislation.... I guess I'm not supposed to use that terminology here, but it is the most stupid piece of legislation I have seen. It's under the Navigable Waters Protection Act. The water that is down past the beaver dam won't come over the toes of your boots, but I still have to go through this. I would like the Drainage Act to be scrapped and the Navigable Waters Protection Act to be scrapped on private land. I'm sure all of you gentlemen don't want to go fishing on my farm in a mudhole in which you would sink out of sight, because there are no fish there.

So I would like this totally scrapped.

Thank you, sir.

7:25 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you, Mr. MacLaren.

Mr. Amos, you'll be presenting on behalf of the University of Ottawa?

7:25 p.m.

William Amos Staff Counsel and Part-time Professor, Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic, University of Ottawa

I'll have to explain. In fact, I will be presenting on behalf of a number of different groups.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you, members, for having us here. My name is Will Amos. I'm staff counsel with the University of Ottawa and Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic, so I'm an environmental lawyer by trade.

Today I will be representing a variety of ecotourism, paddling, environmental, and outfitter groups. Among the groups that I am speaking for today is Mountain Equipment Co-op, with its several million members; Sierra Club of Canada; the Canadian Environmental Law Association; the West Coast Environmental Law Association; Fondation Rivières; Nature Canada and some of its affiliates; and the Canadian Rivers Network, with 35 groups underneath it, which include a number of outfitters and ecotourism enterprises. Effectively, I'm speaking for a large number of groups here, and I wouldn't characterize my remarks as strictly coming from the “environmental community”.

To start, I'd simply like to point out a very important statistic, and it is that the Census of Canada report from 2003 indicated that 2.3 million Canadians paddle every year. This is a lot of Canadians. This is an act that actually impacts upon many interests. These are real people, real voters, real interests.

There are a number of issues that I'm going to try to raise. Some of them have been touched upon by my fellow presenters, and I do hope that we get to touch upon them in the question period. The main points I'd like to make are the following.

First, fundamental changes to the Navigable Waters Protection Act and to protection afforded to the public's navigation rights should not be bundled into a budget bill. They do require an adequate consultation process, and we would posit that the process of consultation was simply not adequate last spring. The dozens of groups that I'm representing were not contacted, not aware, and not able to make comments, and I would hazard a guess that if they had been consulted, the amendments proposed might have been better and a streamlined NWPA might have been improved.

Second, the amendments that are proposed would weaken the right of navigation, sacrifice outdoor recreation opportunities, and compromise the federal environmental assessment role through the use of non-transparent ministerial exemption provisions.

I'd also like to spend some time today, if time permits, exposing what we perceive to be the myth of environmental overlap and duplication with the provinces.

First of all, I'd like to say that many of the groups I represent would have loved to appear last spring. They weren't invited to the transport committee hearings. I understand that the transport committee did consider a cross-country tour. That would have been a fabulous idea, and I think there are a lot of paddling groups operating at the local level that would have greatly appreciated that. While I'm grateful for the opportunity to make last-minute representations on behalf of these organizations, this does not compensate in any way, shape, or form for the inadequate opportunities that there were last spring.

Thank you for the opportunity, but we would like to do this again, and our main ask at the end of the day is going to be that, as other groups have mentioned, the proposed amendments be removed from Bill C-10 and that they be discussed again in the context of a broader reform initiative of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

We understand that the government is proposing reforms. The Navigable Waters Protection Act amendments speak directly to those reforms of environmental assessment. We believe they should be discussed in the same context, at the same time, and that this will yield a more effective series of changes.

I think that if the federal environmental role in protecting the public right of navigation is to be transformed, it does behoove the government to follow a normal legislative process such as a bill that's tabled, that can be examined by civil society, that can be discussed before committee, and not a process where no bill is in front of an incomplete group of civil society.

I think that in the context of discussing our request that these proposed amendments be taken off the table, it's worth noting that in 2005 there was a precedent for this kind of withdrawing of proposed amendments to environmental law. In 2005, the Liberal minority government proposed a number of changes to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, and after discussion, they decided they would remove those because of the kerfuffle it caused. I think there is room to believe that this is a process that can be done again.

In terms of provincial overlap and duplication, I think we're getting a lot of rhetoric about red tape, a lot of rhetoric about what the provinces are able to do and what the federal government is able to do. I think it's really important to note that the federal government has constitutional jurisdiction over navigation and the provinces do not. No provincial environmental assessment process is going to look at navigation. By creating these exemption provisions, the federal government will allow the transport minister potentially to issue an order to take out certain works, take out certain kinds of waterways, from the approval process, which thereby removes them from the environmental assessment process, which therefore means the provinces will be left to do the EAs, and they won't be looking at navigation.

Thank you.

7:30 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative James Rajotte

Thank you, Mr. Amos.

We'll go now to the Department of Transport.

7:30 p.m.

David Osbaldeston Manager, Navigable Waters Protection Program, Department of Transport

Thank you very much.

I'm the national manager for the navigable waters protection program for Canada. Joining me today is Madam Brigit Proulx, who is our legal counsel with a specialty in the Navigable Waters Protection Act and who has been working on the amendments quite extensively with us over the course of the last several months.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to participate today. I'd like to start out by expressing our appreciation for your consideration of the amendments as proposed for the Navigable Waters Protection Act. The current amendments will allow a more flexible regulatory regime, intended to support the diversity of the modern-day Canadian marine environment overall and, in particular, the development of infrastructure and natural resource projects.

Streamlining of the federal government regulatory process for such projects, we understand, remains a priority for the government and for Transport Canada as we continue to move forward towards change and economic growth. As you are aware, the main objective and scope of the new bill, of these amendments, is intended to meet the needs of proponents of works and those who use Canada's vast waterways in order to allow for a balanced approach to the shared use of those waterways.

The current legislative and regulatory process fails to provide a review and approval process commensurate to the degree of potential interference to navigation. Small infrastructure projects with little impact on navigation as well as projects over waterways that cannot be reasonably used for the purpose of navigation are being caught in extensive review processes presently required within the legislation. As a result, current infrastructure project development timelines are being seriously affected and financial opportunities for funding are being passed by. For example, the North Channel Bridge, which connects Akwesasne and the city of Cornwall, serves 2.2 million auto trips and over 125,000 truck trips per year. The replacement of this bridge is long overdue. However, due to a gap within our legislation, a separate act of Parliament would have to be passed to bring it to fruition, a process that will take much, much longer than simply providing for its review, as with all other bridges in Canada, under the proposed amended provisions of our legislation.

Even the smallest but most common infrastructure projects, such as bridge re-decking and guard rail replacement, projects that have no impact upon the navigational envelope underneath the bridge structure, currently generate a need for a navigational assessment. Simply put, we do not feel that such requirements are warranted or reasonable.

In order to make the Navigable Waters Protection Act relevant to today's operational and economic climate, the amendments would introduce a tiered approval process that would ensure a review and approval process more commensurate with the degree of potential interference that a work may have upon navigation than what is provided for today.

In saying this, we do recognize that there is concern among some interest groups that these amendments will adversely impact the current public right to navigate and that major infrastructure and resource projects will no longer be required to complete environmental assessments under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. I'd like to take this opportunity to assure the committee that the act will continue to protect the public right of navigation and that the environmental requirements for such projects will remain.

The new provisions of the act will define classes of navigable waters that would not reasonably be used for navigation. Those waters, by the way, are very much as Mr. MacLaren has so kindly described: a private lake, for example, with the land of a single landowner surrounding it. The intention of defining classes of minor waters is to better focus our efforts on truly navigable waters as opposed to farmers' drainage ditches or water courses too small, too shallow, too obstructed, or too steep to be reasonably used for the purpose of navigation.

Similar to minor waterways, the concept of minor works will be introduced in the new legislation. Criteria are being developed for small structures, such as private docks and boathouses, that have little to no impact on navigation. This will allow the department to reallocate the necessary resources required to manage the regulatory process for major projects involving infrastructure development, energy, mining, aquaculture, and forestry.

Furthermore, the removal of the term “main works” will allow for the review of any work commensurate with its potential impact on navigation and not on the basis of simply the type of work in question, allowing for better oversight and regulatory control over the installation of works on Canada's waterways. New provisions will also provide a system of increased fines to act as a deterrent to non-compliance.

In closing, I'd like to say that a modernized act will help us do a much more effective job of protecting the public interest in navigable waters, while at the same time expediting the infrastructure growth and redevelopment required today. Without them, we will continue to experience delays in approval of critical infrastructure projects. Our desired result is to stimulate the economy and remove the unnecessary regulatory burden while continuing to provide the due diligence with respect to the administration of this act.

I thank you.