Environment Canada accepts these criticisms and is modifying its process. In the future, the process will involve early consultation with all stakeholders and partners (provinces, parliamentarians, industries, NGOs) in the development of options for a particular environmental issue.
Accordingly, Environment Canada has committed itself to implement a process that will fulfil the principles of: public participation, openness and transparency in the decision-making process; exploring options beyond traditional command and control regulations such as: market-based tools (trading programs, taxes and charges, financial incentives, environmental liability and deposit/refund systems); voluntary actions (guidelines and multistakeholder protocols); information provision (environmental labelling, technology development and transfer, government reports/inventories, citizenship); and regulations/guidelines/environmental quality objectives; and cost effectiveness, flexibility, and harmonizing environmental management regimes among federal and provincial governments.
Question No. 50-