Madam Speaker, let me continue from where I was.
In 1992, at the Rio summit, many nations of the world, including Canada, signed the Convention on Biological Diversity and made the commitment to adopt or maintain the necessary legislative and regulatory provisions to protect species and distinct populations at risk.
Soon after that, in their red book, the Liberals promised to ensure long term protection of species that live on our planet. In 1995, the current Minister of Canadian Heritage, then Minister of the Environment, introduced a first bill in that spirit. That bill gave rise to an incredible amount of protest and criticism, mainly from environmental groups.
One of the main objections to the bill had to do with the fact that the legislation would only apply to federal territories. Only four provinces, including Quebec, had a law on endangered species. Environmental groups argued that it was essential that the federal government legislate for the whole country.
In 1996, the federal government laid before the provincial and territorial environment ministers a Canadian Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk.
In October 1996, the ministers responsible for wildlife approved the accord in principle. Even though he signed the agreement, David Cliche, Quebec's Minister for the Environment, issued an independent press release, in which he said clearly that he could not remain indifferent to the fact that this accord opened the door to overlapping between federal and provincial legislation, and that a close eye would have to be kept on events.
Just a few weeks later, the federal government, through the then Minister of the Environment, Sergio Marchi, introduced Bill C-65, an act respecting the protection of wildlife species in Canada from extirpation or extinction, which was the forerunner of Bill C-33 now before the House.
I do not know whether this government is responsible or not, but I do know that at the time it was criticized by the provinces for the very broad powers it was assuming for the protection of wildlife species. Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories expressed deep concerns about the concept of cross-border species and the powers defined in the bill.
Many criticized the minister's about-face when he introduced his bill and said the exact opposite of what he had stated a few weeks earlier—funny how this government keeps doing this—about wanting to improve harmony between the provinces instead of imposing standards. The Liberals let Bill C-65 die on the order paper.
They are now bringing this issue back on the forefront, by introducing a so-called improved bill. Improved how? Improved with regard to provincial jurisdictions?
It is important to indicate that some federal legislation, like the Fisheries Act or the National Parks Act, allows the federal government to step in to protect some species, but there is no federal legislation directly dealing with that specific purpose.
If passed, Bill C-33 would be the first Canadian legal instrument directly concerned with the protection of endangered species.
Since pollution and migratory species know no boundaries, co-operation is required at the international level, as it is also, on a lower scale, at the national level. Canada federalism calls for co-operation between the provinces on this issue, since this is an area of shared jurisdiction in Canada. It is important to protect endangered species in Canada.
It is estimated that close to 70,000 known species have their habitat in Canada, many of which are found only in Canada. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, or COSEWIC, has designated 340 wildlife species as at risk in Canada. This organization established in 1978 is composed of representatives from every government agency, province and territory, as well as four national conservation agencies. It is the main player in the protection of species and it is responsible for establishing an index of the endangered species in Canada.
The COSEWIC indicated that, of the 340 wildlife species considered at risk in Canada, 12 are now extinct, 15 are extirpated species or no longer exist in the wild in Canada, 87 are endangered, 75 are threatened and 151 are vulnerable, which means that there are concerns about these species. Of the 97 species whose status was reassessed in recent years, 26 are now closer to becoming extinct. This was one of the findings in a guide to the Species at Risk Act published by the Government of Canada and released by the Department of Environment on April 11, 2000.
Needless to say that without appropriate legislation, be it federal or provincial, without enforcement measures and adequate resources, the COSEWIC initiatives are insignificant and their impact is limited. With the increase in the number of species facing extinction, the problem is serious. Consequently, we must adopt effective measures.
But does Bill C-33 really provide an additional protection that is enforceable? Will it really do something to improve the protection of our ecosystems and of the threatened species that are part of them?
I would like to address the issues involved here, according to the Bloc Quebecois. Despite the summary indication in the preamble about the shared responsibility for protecting endangered species, the bill's wording does not reflect this. It does not reflect reality, i.e. the fact that the main thrust of habitat protection is provincial.
Everything in fact suggests that the minister holds the power—and I say power advisedly—to impose his vision of protection on the provinces when he deems it necessary. In other words, his legislation will take de facto precedence over existing provincial legislation, even if the habitats fall solely under provincial jurisdiction.
Clause 10 stipulates that the minister “may—enter into an agreement—with respect to the administration of any provision of this Act”.
More precisely, in the section on general prohibitions, it is clearly stated in clause 34(2) that:
The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, by order, provide that sections 32 and 33 apply in lands in a province that are not federal lands—
What is more, it is indicated that if the minister deems that the law of a province—clause 34(3)—or of a territory—35(3)—does not protect the species, he must recommend to the governor in council that an order be made.
Granted, clauses 34(4)( a ) and 35(4)( a ) provide that “Before recommending the Governor in Council make an order under sub-section 2, the Minister must consult the appropriate provincial minister”. However, the bill only refers to consultation. The bill seems to say implicitly that in the case of disagreement, the opinion of the federal government will prevail.
As well, through clause 36, the bill forces the provinces who identify some species as threatened species not listed as endangered species by COSEWIC to apply the same restrictions to their own species as those imposed on designated species.
By doing so, the federal government is assuming the right to impose its own way of protecting species. Members of the Bloc are not convinced that constraints and fines would always be the avenues privileged by a province.
In terms of the recovery strategy, the terminology chosen also raises concerns in regard to the jurisdiction of provinces in that area. Clause 39 reads that “to the extent possible”, the recovery strategy must be prepared in co-operation with the provincial minister. I repeat, “to the extent possible”.
Action plans referred to in clauses 47 and 48 raise a similar concern. More particularly, the whole part of the bill dealing more directly with the critical habitat, namely clauses 57 to 64, allows the government to establish codes of practice and to impose national standards or guidelines, even if the federal government has no control over most of the territories concerned and no power over the management of resources on those lands.
Not only does the bill give broad discretionary powers to the Minister of the Environment, but it does not respect the division of powers as stated in the Constitution and as interpreted over the years. This bill truly interferes in an area under provincial jurisdiction and excludes the provinces from any real and direct input into the process. Existing legislation is totally ignored.
It is true that the protection of species can only be effective if habitats are also protected, but it is the responsibility of the provinces to manage these issues in co-operation with the various stakeholders.
Even though the minister supports, theoretically, the shared responsibility between the federal government and the provinces with regard to the protection of species, in reality, first, he disregards the division of powers and the provinces' responsibility with regard to the management of habitats and the protection of species; second, he ignores existing legislation; and, third, he assumes very broad powers with regard to the protection of species.
By acting this way, the federal government is going against true environmental harmonization between the various levels of government.
I will say a few words about the position of environmental groups and industry. Most environmental groups are opposed to the bill proposed by the Minister of the Environment. Those who should be his allies in any attempt to improve the protection of wildlife species find this bill totally useless and even dangerous.
Indeed, there has been much protest and criticism since the minister introduced his bill. Most stakeholders find the bill too weak. Even organizations representing the industry feel that the bill will not provide greater protection for species or specify the appropriate approach to protecting species living on a site under development.
Representatives of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association and of the Mining Association of Canada indicated that the government “could have taken a much stronger approach concerning federal land and natural areas, where constitutional jurisdiction is not challenged”. It must be noted that, in its present form, Bill C-33 is a bit scary for the representatives of certain industries, who believe that the compensation issues are insufficiently defined, as the representative of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association said. As for the representative of the Mining Association of Canada, he said that the fines and legal proceedings were excessive in cases where a species was not deliberately killed.
However, the main problem that seems to be raised by all environmental groups is the fact that the decisions on the designation of species will be taken by the minister and his cabinet, and not by scientists. This has led many activists, such as the president of the Canadian Campaign for Endangered Species, to state that Bill C-33 was a “dismal failure” and that it will not ensure the protection of Canadian species.
Others, like one of the lawyers of the Sierra Club, made more qualified statements, but still denounced the weakness of the legislation and described as disgraceful the fact that such a discretionary power with respect to the designation of species be granted to politicians.
The minister is being criticized for resorting to a piecemeal approach dictated by cabinet, instead of a set of gentle measures promoting negotiation, but supported by compelling legal measures if an agreement cannot be reached.
Ignoring the issue of the division of responsibilities, environmentalists maintain that the federal government can and must get involved to legislate over all the lands, including provincial lands, to adequately protect migrating species. They add that only protecting the natural habitat of these species is not enough and that the whole critical habitat must be protected.
I will now outline the Government of Quebec's position on Bill C-33. As soon as the federal Minister of the Environment introduced his bill, his Quebec counterpart, Paul Bégin, said that the proposed legislation was just another example of useless duplication for Quebec.
Indeed, the Quebec minister indicated that Bill C-33 introduced by the federal government sought not only to create a safety net for endangered species and their habitat on federal lands, but also on the whole Quebec territory.
As mentioned earlier, while it may be appropriate for the federal government to legislate to protect migrating species, but this government has no constitutional authority regarding the management of habitats on provincial lands. The Quebec government cannot accept that the federal government infringe upon areas of provincial jurisdiction and dictate to Quebec how to protect its ecosystems when Quebec already has its own legislation protecting endangered species and their habitats.
Mr. Bégin said:
—Quebec has always behaved in a responsible and appropriate manner regarding the protection of the most threatened fauna and flora species and intends to keep on exercising its authority in this matter. We will never accept an umbrella piece of legislation covering all the initiatives in this area.
I was quoting from the press release regarding the federal legislation on wildlife species at risk in Canada released by the Quebec government on April 11, 2000 and which was issued by the office of the Minister of the Environment.
The Quebec government believes an act such as Bill C-33 would be acceptable if it excluded any species or habitat under provincial jurisdiction and applied to a province or territory only if this province or territory had explicitly asked that it did.
The Quebec government would not need to resort to such a provision since it passed its own legislation on the issue in the 1980s. Indeed, Quebec passed an act respecting threatened or vulnerable species in 1989, and it has its own act respecting the conservation and development of wildlife as well as fishery regulations.
These three acts give Quebec the means to identify species at risk, designate them legally as threatened or vulnerable species, protect their habitat, and implement recovery plans to adequately protect endangered species and habitats.
I would like to state the position of the Bloc Quebecois. Since species are disappearing more rapidly, the problem is serious, and we must take effective action.
But does Bill-33 really provide additional protection? Will this bill really improve the protection of ecosystems and of their endangered species? We think that the answer to these two questions is no.