Catherine McKenna

[The Environment, October 20th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member opposite for her continued advocacy on the environment.

We understand that we need to rebuild trust in our environmental assessment system, that we need to make sure that the environment and the economy go together. That is why we are working extraordinarily hard with provinces, with indigenous peoples, with civil society, with business to ensure that we have a world-class environmental assessment system that protects the environment, supports reconciliation, and ensures that good projects go ahead in a timely way with regulatory certainty.

[The Environment, October 20th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we are committed to working with the provinces, Quebec, the municipalities in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean, and municipalities across Canada to protect and restore Canada's species at risk, including the caribou. The environment and the economy must go hand in hand, so we are working closely with the provinces, territories, and municipalities.

[The Environment, October 20th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, no relationship is more important to the Government of Canada than the one with indigenous peoples. Over the past year, our government has held more than 200 meetings with indigenous people across the country about environmental assessment. We have held week weekly technical meetings between federal officials and Assembly of First Nations' staff. It has been a very useful means to exchange perspectives and understand the best way to move forward.

We certainly invite the Assembly of First Nations to continue to be part of this process. We are working very hard with indigenous peoples, with provinces, with civil society, and with business to ensure that we have a world-class environmental assessment system that supports reconciliation, protection of the environment, and that ensures that good projects—

[The Environment, October 19th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, the situation in Sarnia with the first nations is very worrying. We are encouraged by the steps the Ontario government is taking. We are working very closely with it.

This is exactly why we need to ensure we always have strong regulations for clean air and to protect human health. We are looking forward to strengthening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

[Federal Sustainable Development Act, October 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member opposite for all of her hard work and support for action on climate change and sustainable development.

Here, I am also thinking of our colleague, who sadly is deceased, Arnold Chan, who talked about the importance of civility, working together, and engaging. I think Bill C-57 is an example of the very hard work of the committee that came together with a unanimous report. I am very pleased to be working with parliamentarians from all parties to make sure that we move forward to a more sustainable future for our kids.

I want to give a shout-out also to members of my department who have worked very hard on this, and those across the government who support the goals of sustainable development, as well as to the change-makers whom the member opposite referenced. There are young people around the world who are really pushing for a more sustainable future, because it is their future. We have worked with indigenous peoples and all sorts of stakeholders who provided input, as well as other Canadians.

I am very happy that we have support for this bill. We will certainly be considering all amendments to strengthen it at committee. I think this fits very well with what we are trying to do as a government. We know that we need to move to a more sustainable future, and we need to do it in a thoughtful and practical way. We need to be transparent and to be held accountable, and we need to be doing it with all Canadians and ensuring that the economy and the environment go together. This is a very important step.

[Questions on the Order Paper, October 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the baseline methane emissions quoted in the analysis are based on projections from Canada’s second biennial report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

With regard to (b), Figure 1 summarizes the key impacts estimated in the cost-benefit analysis. The sources used to derive these estimates include publicly available sources, such as the National Energy Board’s Canada’s Energy Future projections and the U.S. EPA Natural Gas STAR, reports from independent contractors such as Clearstone Engineering and the Prasino Group, and data collected by western provinces under the Petrinex reporting system.

With regard to (c), the distributors were Laurentide Controls and Spartan Controls. The complete quotation from the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement is “The oil and gas industry was satisfied with the modifications that the Department offered, but continue to challenge federal regulations on the sector.” The statement is based on feedback given to Environment and Climate Change Canada during meetings held in the fall of 2016.

With regard to (d), reports included “Pneumatic Pump Alternatives for Cold Weather”, 2016, by GreenPath Energy, and “Zero Emission Technologies for Pneumatic Controllers in the USA”, 2016, by Carbon Limits. Canadian oil and gas service providers are GreenPath Energy and Cap-Op Energy.

With regard to (e), data was used from an ICF International report entitled “Economic Analysis of Methane Emission Reduction Opportunities in the Canadian Oil and Natural Gas Industries”, which was commissioned by two environmental non-governmental organizations, the Environmental Defense Fund, or EDF, and the Pembina Institute, to estimate emissions from compressors.

[Questions on the Order Paper, October 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, Environment and Climate Change Canada, ECCC, takes threats to the environment very seriously.

ECCC has opened an investigation into alleged violations of subsection 36(3) of the Fisheries Act in relation to a fish kill in the Clyde River, Prince Edward Island, that occurred on July 25, 2016. Two ECCC personnel have been involved in this investigation so far, and a report regarding the rain event is being produced.

When ECCC enforcement officers have reasonable grounds to believe a violation has occurred, they can open an investigation in order to gather evidence related to the alleged incident. As ECCC is currently investigating this matter, it would be inappropriate to provide further details at this time.

[Parks Canada, October 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Cloverdale—Langley City for his question and for his long service with Parks Canada. Our thoughts are with those impacted by the Kenow fire, which caused significant damage to Waterton Lakes National Park.

I am very pleased to report that thanks to extensive preparation and planning, and a focused response from Parks Canada, the damage to the town site was limited, and there were no human casualties.

I would like to thank Parks Canada's world-class firefighters, local firefighters, and emergency workers, and commend all of our park staff, under the leadership of superintendent Ifan Thomas, for their super management of this very difficult situation.

[The Environment, October 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, we are absolutely committed to working with the provinces, territories, and indigenous peoples on the protection and recovery of Canada's species at risk, including caribou, in a timely manner, with robust recovery plans based on the best available science and traditional knowledge.

We are working with the provinces and territories on the range-specific plans for boreal caribou by the October 2017 deadline. This was agreed upon by all parties, as laid out in the boreal caribou recovery strategy.

[Federal Sustainable Development Act, October 6th, 2017]

Mr. Speaker, I just want to note that the member's intervention had all the drama of a Shakespearean tragedy, but we are here to debate legislation. It is Bill C-57, so I have a very simple question. Does the hon. member support the bill in the end?