Environment committee  I think, if I can, Mr. Chair, that the advice to CEMA is consensus based. So all those who voted on it--and they record that--support the advice. So it was mixed. Some industries supported it; some didn't. If I recall, all the NGOs supported it. But the federal government is tryi

Environment committee  When there is a federal policy, there is a strategic environmental assessment done on that broad policy. If there is federal funding in a project, it triggers the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, so then there is a federal role in assessment. That's when Environment Canada

Environment committee  I'd have to confirm whether or not we provided direct advice to the Minister of Finance in those areas. I don't know that from my head.

Environment committee  We participate in the working groups on CEMA. CEMA was created by the Alberta government and has invited all these partners that the member has listed to be part of it. So yes, Environment Canada participates in the working groups.

Environment committee  Environment Canada participated in the working group that drafted that report and the letter. But as I said, the position of the government is that we don't want to be seen to be voting on what advice goes back to the Government of Alberta. We're there as technical advisers to pr

Environment committee  What I'm trying to say is that we don't take a position. We provide our technical information, our science, and our knowledge.

Environment committee  CEMA would have taken multiple sources of information. So our information with respect to the ecosystems working group would have been related to wildlife issues under our authority and under species at risk, migratory birds, water quality issues, air quality issues--a whole host

Environment committee  Most of the work is done by the Government of Alberta, but we also do sediment work, and Dr. Wrona could speak about that. There are issues because of the naturally occurring bitumen. I think that is the bottom line.

Environment committee  Under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, there are a number of triggers that cause the federal government to carry out an environmental assessment. It could be federal funding or it could be a river crossing or some loss of fish habitat that would trigger the review. So i

Environment committee  There have been assessments that relate to the oil sands, but my understanding is that the ponds themselves are not in fish-bearing water.

Environment committee  What the chemical management plan has done is taken the 4,300 substances of concern that were identified through an initial screening and put some into a high-priority fast track or priority analysis and put them also in a perspective of sector approach. So there is always a trad

Environment committee  Correct.

Environment committee  I think you're asking about the drinking water.

Environment committee  I think, Mr. Chair, the member is referring to a moratorium that was asked for until some work could be completed on what was called the ecosystem management framework. That was in order to keep opportunities for conservation identified. CEMA works by consensus. There are a num

Environment committee  What I can say is that CEMA is an experts-based group. There is a high degree of expertise from a number of different departments and jurisdictions, which informs CEMA's advice.