Environment committee  Sure. Thanks. I think the targets that are put in the ministers' mandate letters are achievable. You heard from Kevin Stringer from DFO that these targets have actually ignited a lot of passion and enthusiasm within DFO and across the country among conservation groups, indigenous communities, and different levels of government that are going to work to achieve them.

Environment committee  Yes.

Environment committee  I echo Aran. It would be the scientists saying that these targets are necessary to sustain the ecosystems on which human and natural life depends. Oceans provide climate regulation, the oxygen we breath, food and food security. They are a source of wonder, culture, and spiritual strength.

Environment committee  Yes, the science is incredibly important. There's no doubt about it whatsoever. What I was saying is that there has been a lot, a lot, a lot of science done in the marine field identifying important areas that are worthy of protection, and we can go fast by speeding up the designation, because the science is there.

Environment committee  Yes, it wasn't covered in the brief. You're right. The brief focused more on the Oceans Act marine protected areas. A national marine conservation area is a really important tool. As you know, the southern Strait of Georgia proposed NMCA is under way, and it could move more quickly toward designation.

Environment committee  I think there are legislative changes that can speed up our progress. You have heard that the marine side lags far behind the terrestrial side, so I think it's more urgent to address legislative renewal for the marine side of our protected areas equation.

Environment committee  I don't know if you actually need to put the numerical targets into the law. I think you need to put their conservation objectives into the law. I think you need to put timelines for completion of things into the law. I think we could do a better job of creating legislated procedures that would get us past this painful, laborious one-by-one site selection that can drag on for 10 or 20 years.

Environment committee  Thanks for the question. I think you've heard from other witnesses that the IUCN currently has a task force looking at these other effective area-based conservation measures, and it should be reporting soon. The Canadian Council on Ecological Areas has provided a lot of input into the IUCN task force.

Environment committee  The written brief provides a lot of information on this topic. I think we can put conservation objectives directly into law. We can put the ecological overriding goal directly into law for the marine side of the equation. It is there in the Canada National Parks Act, but is not there in the Oceans Act or the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act, so there are things we can do to use our law to make sure that ecological integrity is protected, and I urge you to look at the written brief for more examples.

Environment committee  I will indeed. I will finish up by saying that government can act quickly when the will is there. There are numerous examples of speedy parliamentary action on protected areas. We have listed some of those in the brief. Where there's a will, there's a way. Law can be a force for change.

Environment committee  The legal targets are binding. We are a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Aichi targets that you've heard so much about are a legal commitment. We also have commitments under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Article 192 requires all states “to protect and preserve the marine environment”, with no qualification to that duty.

Environment committee  When Canada signs a treaty, it means it to have legal effect in Canada. The Oceans Act is one of our vehicles for translating international commitments into law in Canada.

Environment committee  Yes, that is correct, but even if the targets are not put into our legislation, the fact that we've committed to them in international treaties does make them binding on us.

Environment committee  Okay. MaPP received the transformative award at the Vancouver Aquarium's 21st Annual Coastal Ocean Awards dinner this past February. It's an example of indigenous reconciliation in the oceans as well, and we commend you for deciding to focus part of your study on indigenous mechanisms for conservation, because there's a great opportunity in Canada to increase our marine protected areas using mechanisms such as indigenous community and conserved areas, or ICCAs.

Environment committee  Thank you very much. Thank you to all the members of the committee for running back and being back with us. I'm pleased to be here to speak with you today on this critical topic, and I commend the committee for tackling this issue. West Coast Environmental Law is an environmental public interest non-profit organization, and we've been operating in Vancouver since 1974.