Environment committee  Thank you very much for the question. I'm actually going to quote a young person I know. When he was eight or nine, sitting in Rouge National Urban Park with the meadow around him, he said, “It's so quiet here.” He didn't have a screen in front of him. He didn't have anything that he was playing with.

Environment committee  Rouge National Urban Park was established by legislation, which guaranteed ecological integrity. It starts from that point; then you do your management plan. That's what Windsor is asking for. They're asking for legislation that guarantees ecological integrity. While it is an amendment to the geography, it would be added to the Canada National Parks Act, which guarantees ecological integrity.

Environment committee  Rouge National Urban Park has been growing ever since its creation, and I'm the chair of its advisory committee, so that's how I know that it's an ongoing process. I think it shares more similarities than differences, because it too is made up of unconnected or separate parcels of land.

Environment committee  Yes, I think it's a matter of the conversations. Some of it was excised from the park. For example, Highway 401 is not actually inside the park, but just adjacent to it, and it's been excised from it. That's part of the conversation that you have in the park management plan and its creation, while other pieces—like agriculture, for example—are part of Rouge National Urban Park, where you can do things in a way that are actually moving you in a more positive direction on ecological integrity.

Environment committee  Yes. We call this Canada's ecological hot spot, because it is where biodiversity loss is at its peak. It's also where climate change is being felt. You have the microclimates there. The city of Windsor is routinely suffering from flooding and heat events. Preserving these areas will actually be your buffer against climate change.

Environment committee  I'm sorry, MP Masse. What was that question again, just so I get—

Environment committee  Yes, I think Bill C-248 allows us to move forward quickly, but also you have the consultation that happens around the park management plan. That's an ongoing process [Technical difficulty—Editor] in Rouge National Urban Park and [Technical difficulty—Editor] situation here, where it will be an ongoing process to manage that park management plan.

Environment committee  Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to speak. My name is Janet Sumner. I am the executive director for Wildlands League. Wildlands is a not-for-profit charity that has been working in the public interest to protect public lands and resources since 1968. At Wildlands, we have extensive knowledge of land use in Ontario and across Canada.

Environment committee  Thank you.

Industry committee  Thank you very much for the question. You're quite right. I am very familiar with the park, having worked on the creation of it, and with many of the interests around the park, including some of the farmers who are currently overlapping with the park and are just adjacent to it.

Industry committee  I actually think it's a very good idea to be looking at national marine conservation areas in the Great Lakes. When we talk about a national marine conservation area, most people think that, because of the word “marine”, we're talking about salt water, but in fact, that tool can be used in a freshwater system because it's international waters.

Industry committee  Certainly, if it was partnered, as well, with terrestrial protection, I think that you could do an amazing job in the Leamington area. Having grown up in London, I know Leamington quite well, so I think that just off the shores of Lake Erie would be an amazing place for a new NMCA.

Industry committee  You raise some very good points. I think right now we are in a place of learning from nature. As climate change is affecting our environments and shifting ecosystems, and in fact, as ecosystems are under pressure and there is less area for species perhaps to be in locations where they normally would have been, we have to start learning from species and from nature.

Industry committee  What we have right now is a good start. It's the promise of investments in building new urban protection and near-urban protection, a tree-planting program, investments in nature-based solutions, and an ability to hopefully see more natural infrastructure investments. I would suggest that the piece that is missing is how to be more intentional about these.

Industry committee  Yes, I quite agree with you, MP Masse. In the Rouge, for example, I know that they've employed over 100 students to help monitor but also to work on the reintroduction of species that are native to the area. Those summer jobs are more than just tree planting. That's the other thing.