Peter Kent

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2012]

Again, Mr. Chair, my colleague is speaking as though this is a regulatory process. Journalists do not file complaints with non-compliance. Some of them are understandably upset if they do not get immediate satisfaction to their request, but, as I said, we enable many thousands of interviews across government with no complaints.

I would assure my colleague that the complaints are relatively few and far between.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, again, and I will try to be very clear for my colleague's benefit, the media protocol is public.

Journalists of one sort or another, whether scientific journalists or general news journalists, contact the department when they see an item, a paper or a statement that they would like to address. The communications department of Environment Canada, as in other government departments and in most private sector companies, processes the request. In 99% of the cases it enables the interview to take place.

With regard to the two incidents referenced by my friend, the circumstances simply did not work out to enable those interviews at that specific time.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, I would remind my colleague that any large organization that does not have a communications policy is out of touch with modern realities.

With regard to the polar conference, it was a very successful conference at which we enabled any number of interviews on location, with a number to come in the future. We ensured that our scientists spoke to the science of their projects and that ministers spoke to policy.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, again I go back to my colleague's preamble. In consultation with my counterpart in the British Columbia government, there has been recognition that the decision to consolidate offices from six to two and the provisions to continue our environmental service to lead agencies with regard to spill has been accepted as a sound and logical decision.

With regard to the second part of the question, our government believes that taxpayer-funded scientists should focus their efforts on taxpayer-funded research. We do enable thousands of interviews across government every year with our scientists, with reasonable media requests.

However, we believe that a demand to meet a 60 minute deadline by an individual reporter is simply not acceptable. We will continue to work with the media on reasonable requests. Again, I would expect many thousand more interviews in the year ahead.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, first, my colleague is asking a hypothetical question. In a perfect world, there would be no additional, or possibly fewer, spill incidents to respond to.

With regard to the contents of the legislative material before us, the responsible resource development and the jobs, growth and prosperity legislation, we can not breach cabinet confidence to consult. I did consult immediately after the tabling of the legislation and immediately after the details were released.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, first, to correct my colleague, of those 1,050 instances, the vast majority were very small and were contained by local or provincial agencies.

With regard to the legislation before us and the possible development of major projects, in budget 2012 we provided $35.7 million, for example, over two years to further strengthen Canada's tanker regime, again depending upon projects and tanker routes as they would be approved.

With regard to major pipeline projects, there has been provision for far greater inspection and oversight of any new completed project.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, I can give my colleague an approximate number. The total number of events, spills or releases of pollutants was approximately 1,500.

Here is the exact number. In 2010-11, there were 1,050 pollution incidents to which Environment Canada provided technical support. Of these events, though, Environment Canada personnel attended only approximately 10%.

I remind my colleague that Environment Canada staffers are not first responders. They very seldom attend unless there is a compelling reason, either in the magnitude of the event or in the scientific complexity, that requires their on-location presence.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, by the time this legislation comes into effect there will be additional information with regard to the regulatory side that complements the legislation itself.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, yes I could.

My colleague is quite right, schedule 2 does allow the government to add to the environmental effects which are listed in section 5. Only effects within federal jurisdiction are relevant. The law could evolve and at some point in the future we might have other areas that would constitute federal jurisdiction.

[Business of Supply, May 16th, 2012]

Mr. Chair, in short, they are practices that will, in the very least measure, have significant negative environmental impacts and those actions and measures which would be taken to mitigate that possible impact.