Environment

Rx: Strengthen and Apply Diligently:
The Canadian Environmental  Protection Act (1999, c. 33)

Date:                  2008
Chair:                 Hon. Tommy Banks (AB)
Deputy Chair:    Hon. Pierre Claude Nolin (QC)
Downloads:       Click here

Summary:
The original Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) was passed in 1988. In 1994 and 1995, it was the subject of a comprehensive parliamentary review that resulted in significant amendments. This report constitutes a statutory review of the changes to CEPA 1999. Although it concludes that the principles enunciated in CEPA 1999 are fundamentally sound, the report calls upon the government to increase its effectiveness through better implementation and enforcement.  In addiition, it reviews regulatory treatment of two specific substances (mercury and PFCs) and recommends various changes to enhance environmental outcomes.

Impact:
On April 8, 2008, representatives from Environmental Defence and the Canadian Environmental Law Association appeared before the Committee to address Bill C-298.  In the course of their testimony, they endorsed recommendations in Rx: Strengthen and Apply Diligently that deal with virtual elimination and bioaccumulation.


Water in the West: Under Pressure

Date:                  2005 (Interim)
Chair:                 Hon. Tommy Banks (AB)
Deputy Chair:    Hon. Ethel Cochrane (NL)
Downloads:       Click here

Summary:
The report identifies an urgent need for action on a national water management strategy, especially in the dry Western provinces. “The cost of not responding to emerging water challenges,” the Committee says, “would likely dwarf the cost of addressing them, and failure to respond will jeopardize life as we know it.”  The report makes 5 recommendations urging the federal government to ensure that

     *  all of Canada’s major aquifers are mapped by 2010;

     *  it works with other governments to develop a standard
        methodology for collecting and reporting water-related data;

     *  funding be restored for longitudinal water studies;

     *  it bolsters its support for the National Water Research Institute
        and the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration; and

     *  it creates a National Water Council to identify and address key
        water issues that require Government of Canada attention.

Impact:
On December 4, 2007, a representative from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) advised the Committee that the government is mapping 'key' aquifers in collaboration with provincial partners.  Roughly 30 aquifers have been identified as key (out of hundreds across Canada) and 9 have been completed to date.  The department anticipates completing its current mapping program by 2015 or so.  

Pollution Probe undertook a nation-wide consultation on water in 2006 which members of the Senate Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources supported.  The Walter J. Gordon Foundation issued a blueprint for federal action on freshwater resources in 2007.  Called Changing the Flow, it also calls for additional resources to support NRCan's groundwater mapping program and the National Water Research Institute.  


Northern Parks – A New Way

Date:                  2001
Chair:                 Hon. Ione Christensen (YK)
Deputy Chair:    Hon. Ethel Cochrane (NL)
Downloads:       Click here

Summary:
The Committee studied economic opportunities available to Aboriginal peoples in relation to national parks in northern Canada. The report pays particular attention to the issue of negotiating land claim agreements that include special usage of park lands. It makes 8 recommendations to improve and expand opportunities for Aboriginal peoples.

Impact:
Parks Canada references Northern Parks – A New Way in describing its management plans for the Kluane and Vuntut National Parks.
.

Protecting People and Places: Conserving Canada’s Natural Heritage

Date:                  1996
Chair:                 Hon. Pat Carney (BC)
Deputy Chair:    Hon. Colin Kenny (ON)
Downloads:       Click here

Summary:
The report identifies obstacles to be overcome and opportunities to be exploited in completing a protected areas network across Canada. The report includes 20 recommendations with a focus on resources for protected areas, job conversion strategies, interim protection measures, First Nations involvement, and importance of the human dimension in protected areas.

Impact:
With 9.6% of Canada’s land mass protected, Canada places 13th out of 29 OECD nations, below the OECD average of 12.6%, according to a 2001 University of Victoria report.  The World Resources Institute puts the percentage at 6.3%, compared to a world-wide average of 10.8%, as of 2003.  A consortium of environmental groups issued Tomorrow, Today on March 7, 2008.  It issued a call to action on a number of fronts, including protected areas:  "… in the face of rapidly accelerating climate change and other threats, Canada needs to move fast to secure [its] natural legacy by permanently protecting a minimum of 50% of our remaining wild areas."