Environment committee  It's a good thing when we build roads and municipal infrastructures. Eco-conditional support for rainwater management in a context of climate change, where there will be droughts and flooding, is an excellent way for the government to be involved in managing rainwater.

Environment committee  This year's programs include supporting Environment Canada scientists studying the impact of climate change on polar bears, rebuilding habitat in the Southern Norfolk Sand Plain for American badgers, creating a wetland in Vancouver and reintroducing the Oregon spotted frog, and acquiring land and studying the migration patterns of wood thrush in Quebec.

Environment committee  My thanks to all the witnesses. My first question goes to Ms. Simon. You mentioned the climate change that is affecting Canada's north. Climate change is absolutely real and obvious. It is affecting the permafrost and the biodiversity. You mentioned the polar bear, as well. You are presently working with a network called ArcticNet that studies the impacts of climate change.

Environment committee  Lawrence River is dropping and all waterways in Canada are affected. There are a number of reasons for that. You have climate change, evaporation, vegetation being cut down along the water because we want to be close to the water—people always want to be close to the water. This has a negative effect. We want to channel more and more.

Environment committee  I think it is important that there also be research done on the impacts of climate change, which is affecting municipalities, and everybody, without our knowing what all the impacts are. There should also be research on what's happening with our urban forests and the emerald ash borer.

Environment committee  Regional tables have also been created in all regions of Quebec to create viable development plans that respect the capacity to support ecosystems while fighting urban sprawl and climate change. First and foremost, we need to move toward being independent from gas and see if we can strengthen that independence in Quebec in the next 20 or 25 years.

Environment committee  There have been other diseases, like Dutch elm disease. Every plant species in the urban environment that can help fight climate change is attached by an insect, a parasite or a fungus. So when we develop monocultures in cities, we have to expect a shock wave, expect to lose our plants and our forest canopy. We are doing a lot of work on that.

Environment committee  There will be a percolation of water in the ground, a decrease in greenhouse gases and, as a result, a drop in climate change. The temperature will be milder in the winter and in the summer. The natural environments are there to be integrated. If the Government of Canada wanted to do something, it should fund projects that truly are green and well adapted to society and to city dwellers in Canada.

Environment committee  When there is high water in the spring, the flow rate can reach up to 800 m3 or 900 m3 of water per second. That started in 2001. Wetlands are affected by climate change, deforestation, the channeling of streams, the filling in of the shores, the artificialization of the banks and the loss of flood plains along the waterways. Flood plains are another type of wetland.

Environment committee  I was wondering if you had any specific recommendations in terms of how we can incorporate climate change into a conservation strategy or how it can be taken into account.

Environment committee  It needs to be a living document that can accommodate additions and revisions as the landscape changes, such as with global warming and climate change, and we should continually look for opportunities to generate revenue and save money while doing good things for the environment. One suggestion is having multi-year contribution agreements.

Environment committee  We have responsibility for the Meteorological Service of Canada, the national weather service. We have responsibilities, as you know, for climate change, mitigation on one hand and reduction of greenhouse gases, but also adaptation to those changes, which are already taking place and will continue to take place, we expect. There are a great many sublevels of scientific focus within Environment Canada with, I can tell you, wonderful people who are eager to fulfill their individual mandates and to ensure that Environment Canada maintains its international reputation as a world-class regulator.

Environment committee  Our stand is as it has been since our government took office and since the Prime Minister signed the Copenhagen accord. It is to achieve a new international climate change regime which includes all of the world's major emitters of greenhouse gases. That includes countries that were considered developing countries in the 1990s but which today have very strong and vital emerging economies and very significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.

Environment committee  On World Water Day, there was an announcement about protecting the Great Lakes. It was 0.7% of what was needed to protect them. I'm going to start with climate change. Canada was a founding member of the new Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-lived Climate Pollutants. Why is there the willingness to address the short term versus the long term?

Environment committee  We continue to be interested and have scientists look at the role ozone plays in the overall health of the atmosphere, because this is important to other issues, such as climate change. The interactions and impact of ozone, and the ozone level just in the atmosphere generally, are important to us. Charles, did you want to add something more?