Mr. Speaker, as we begin the debate at third reading stage of Bill C-27, I would once again like to thank my colleagues from the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for their work on this bill, an act respecting the national parks of Canada.
The debates on this bill were marked by a spirit of co-operation that helped strengthen and improve it.
I would like to review the main features of Bill C-27 and mention the amendments made by the standing committee.
The first point concerns ecological integrity. The panel on the ecological integrity of Canada's national parks clearly indicated that “we must firmly and unequivocally establish that ecological integrity is the core value of Parks Canada's mandate”.
The chair of the panel and other witnesses, including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and the Canadian Nature Federation, reaffirmed that position before the standing committee.
Bill C-27 was strengthened in a number of ways: by including a definition of ecological integrity based on the panel's report; by making ecological integrity the top priority, not only as regards the zoning of parks and their use by visitors, but also all the aspects of their management; by specifying that management plans must include a long term ecological vision, a set of ecological integrity objectives and indicators and provisions for resource protection and restoration, zoning, visitor use, public awareness and performance evaluation; and, finally, by requiring that, within one year following the tabling of a new or amended management plan for a park, a wilderness area be designated.
The second point was the establishment of new parks. With this legislation seven new national parks and one new national park reserve will be formally established. As well, Middle Island will be added to the Point Pelee National Park.
The procedure for establishing new parks and park reserves has been streamlined by providing for an order in council process. It will take less time to formally establish new parks once park establishment agreements have been signed.
The examination in parliament of proposals on new protected spaces will be maintained, and an amendment to the act will still be needed to withdraw lands from a park.
In view of concerns about the new process for the establishment of parks, Bill C-27 has been amended as follows:
For every proposal on a new park or park reserve tabled in Parliament, there will be a report detailing the consultations held and any agreement on the establishment of the park, so that Parliament will be able to assess the amount of support the park or park reserve is getting.
Members of the citizens' committee of Havre-Saint-Pierre and Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, and of the hunting and fishing association have appeared before the standing committee to ask that their traditional rights be recognized in the Mingan archipelago national park reserve. The committee has seen fit to add this reserve to the list of parks where the traditional harvesting of resources will be allowed.
The next point is controlling commercial development in park communities. There are seven communities contained in national parks, all in western Canada: Banff, Lake Louise, Field, Jasper, Waterton Lakes, Waskesiu and Wasagaming. I apologize if I am mispronouncing any of these names and further names that will come in my text. These communities have been the focus of extensive commercial, residential and visitor pressures.
The Banff-Bow Valley study of 1996 made many recommendations to protect the ecological integrity of Banff National Park and to strengthen controls over commercial development and human use in parks.
The new act takes steps to control commercial developments in park communities. Community plans will be tabled in parliament. The legislation makes provision to set the boundaries of the communities, the boundaries of commercial zones, and to cap the maximum square footage of commercial developments. These elements of the community plans will be placed in the schedule of the act and can only be changed by an act of parliament.
Concerns were raised by park community representatives during the hearings on Bill C-27 and the standing committee has responded. Regarding concerns with respect to termination of leases, the bill has been amended to state that the Expropriation Act applies.
Community plan has been defined to mean a land use plan for a park community. This new definition serves two purposes. First, it ensures that there will be no confusion between the use of the term community plan in this legislation and how that term is used in Alberta legislation. Second, it signals to park community residents that there is no impediment to their undertaking their own planning for social, educational, health and related needs of the community.
The section on public consultation now makes explicit reference to representatives of park communities and requires that the minister consult on land use planning and development in such park communities.
The next point has to do with the protection of wildlife and other park resources. Bill C-27 contains increased penalties for poaching. The maximum fine for poaching protected species has been increased to $50,000. The maximum jail sentence for poaching has been increased from six months to five years. The offence of trafficking has been introduced to deal with the increasing trend towards removing large quantities of animal or other resources, such as fossils and rare plants.
Amendments to the bill further strengthen wildlife protection by increasing fines for poaching or trafficking involving protected species to $250,000, which is consistent with recent legislative proposals concerning threatened species, and by increasing fines and penalties for failure to clean up environmental damage from $2,000 to $50,000, including a clause which doubles the fines in the case of repeat offences.
The next point is working with first nations. The Government of Canada, as we all know, is committed to working with first nations as set out in the “Gathering Strength” document.
Bill C-27 reflects this commitment in a number of ways. Five national parks are being established through agreements with first nations. I repeat my previous apology on mispronunciation. These are Aulavik, Wapusk, Auyuittuq, Sirmilik and Quttinirpaaq. Second, provision is made for use of parklands and the use or removal of flora and other objects by aboriginal people for spiritual and traditional ceremonial purposes. Provisions are made in the bill to remove lands from Wood Buffalo and Wapusk to accommodate treaty land entitlement.
The standing committee heard from representatives of the Assembly of First Nations, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the Keeseekoowenin Band. They had two primary concerns that they wished to see dealt with in the legislation: first, respect for aboriginal and treaty rights and, second, consultation with aboriginal peoples.
The standing committee introduced amendments to Bill C-27 in response to these concerns. These include a non-derogation clause with regard to aboriginal and treaty rights; strengthening the commitment to consult with aboriginal organizations and bodies established under land claim agreements on policy, park establishment, management planning and regulations; including aboriginal organizations and bodies established under land claim agreements in the minister's agreement making authority; and provision to remove lands from Riding Mountain National Park for the purposes of settling the claim of the Keeseekoowenin Band.
In conclusion, the throne speech included a promise from the government to extend our system of national parks.
In 1997, the government undertook to create a commission of experts to look into the ecological integrity of Canada's national parks. This commission has now tabled its report and the Minister of Canadian Heritage has announced an action plan. A key feature of this plan is to place ecological integrity at the heart of legislation and policies.
Bill C-27 respects these undertakings and will become a heritage for future generations of Canadians.