I'll deal first with clause 320, because clause 317 is consequential to it.
Clause 320 removes the requirement for Parks Canada Agency to prepare a corporate plan and annual report by repealing sections 33 and 34 of the Parks Canada Agency Act. As a consequence, clause 317 would remove the reference to the corporate plan in subsection 21(3).
These documents duplicate the information in the report on plans and priorities and the departmental performance report that Parks Canada must produce each year because of where it is placed on the schedule under the FAA. We will continue to do the departmental performance report and the report on plans and priorities each year, but the duplicated report will be removed.
Moving to clause 318, this amendment would extend the timeline for the preparation and tabling of a report on the overall state of our parks and sites from every two years to every five years. Changes to the overall state of our parks and sites, things like ecological integrity, commemorative integrity, take longer than two years in which to see an appreciable change. A five-year timeframe is much more appropriate and will allow for a more meaningful report and more analysis in terms of trends, etc.
Clause 319 would extend the timeline for the review and tabling of management plans for each national historic site from five years to at least every 10 years. Management plans are long-term strategic plans with a 10-year to 15-year time horizon. They set out the vision, key strategies, and long-term objectives for the place related, for example, to natural resource management, cultural resource management, visitation, and stakeholder relations. Ten years is a more appropriate timeframe and will allow us to focus on implementing the plan over that time, to work with our stakeholders in implementing the plan, and move towards those long-term strategic targets we've set out in the management plan.
This changed timeframe is reflected through an amendment to the Parks Canada Agency Act for historic sites.
Clause 324 includes the same changed timeframe for management plans in the Canada National Parks Act for national parks. Clause 325 makes the same change to the Canada National Marine Conservations Area Act for marine conservation areas.
Finally, clause 321 removes the requirement for an annual audit of Parks Canada financial statements and an annual review of its performance information in its annual report. This would be through repealing section 36 of the Parks Canada Agency Act. We would continue to report on our performance annually through the departmental performance report, and our financial statements would continue to be completed and made public via a link to the departmental performance report. There would no longer be the Auditor General's audit of the financial statements.
This item was already raised in division 1 of part 4 of the bill. A number of organizations are having the same types of changes made by the Office of the Auditor General, and I think that was discussed last night.
Thank you.