Archived: Departmental Results Report 2016 to 2017, Department of Environment, chapter 3

Environment and Climate Change Canada is the lead federal department for a wide range of environmental and climate change issues. It plays a stewardship role in achieving and maintaining a clean environment by minimizing threats to Canadians and their environment from pollution; a safe environment by equipping Canadians to make informed decisions on weather, water and climate conditions; and a sustainable environment by conserving and restoring Canada’s natural environment. The Department’s program focus reflects that a clean environment and a strong economy go hand in hand.

Under the Department of the Environment Act, the powers, duties and functions of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change extend to matters such as:

• the preservation and enhancement of the quality of the natural environment, including water, air and soil quality, and the coordination of the relevant policies and programs of the Government of Canada;
• renewable resources, including migratory birds and other non-domestic flora and fauna;
• meteorology; and
• the enforcement of rules and regulations.

The Department delivers its mandate through other acts and regulations, such as the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999), the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act, the Federal Sustainable Development Act, the Species at Risk Act, the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, the Canada Wildlife Act, and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act.

The Department works closely with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and Parks Canada – its ministerial portfolio partners – to achieve many common goals. In addition, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change has secondary or shared responsibility for delivering on other federal departments’ mandates, including the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act (Transport Canada, Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, and Natural Resources Canada), the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act (Natural Resources Canada), and the Emergency Management Act (Public Safety Canada).

For more general information about the Department, see the “Supplementary information” section of this report. For more information on the Department’s organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Minister’s mandate letter.