Waste, and Environmental Stewardship: Appearance before the Standing Committee – March 19, 2024
Contaminated sites
Q1. What is the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP)?
The Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP) is the Government’s core program for managing federal contaminated sites. It was established in 2005.
The program was renewed from 2020-2035 and provided $1.16B in funding from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
This program reduces risks to Canadians and the environment. It also supports other government priorities such as skills development, training and employment of Canadians, including in Indigenous communities and in northern and rural areas.
19 federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations currently receive funding under the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan.
Q2. How is the Government addressing contaminated sites affecting Indigenous Peoples?
Through the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP), the Government is addressing federal contaminated sites affecting Indigenous peoples including sites on reserve lands and in the territories.
When the Government renewed the FCSAP in 2019 it expanded program parameters to accelerate the clean-up of federal sites located on Indigenous reserves and in the territories.
The renewed program supports reconciliation by:
Reducing on-reserve contamination and associated liability;
Increasing engagement and participation of Indigenous peoples regionally and locally in prioritizing and planning remediation projects; and
Providing greater opportunities for Indigenous workers and businesses in service-delivery contracts with the federal government.
The Prime Minister’s Mandate Letter to ECCC is challenging the government to do even more to identify and prioritize the clean-up of contaminated sites in areas where Indigenous, racialized and low-income Canadians live. Options are being explored to determine how best to address contaminated sites affecting these groups of Canadians.
Q3. What is the role of Environment and Climate Change Canada with respect to contaminated sites?
ECCC has three roles; it:
serves as the Secretariat for the horizontal Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan providing government-wide leadership and guidance for federal contaminated sites and their custodians, along with Treasury Board Secretariat;
provides expert technical support and advice to federal custodians; and
assesses and remediates contaminated sites under its responsibility.
Q4. How are contaminated sites managed in the Territories?
The Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan provides funding to federal organizations that have contaminated sites in the territories.
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) provides overall leadership for federal contaminated sites in the territories.
CIRNAC’s Northern Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program, approved in 2019, addresses the 8 largest and highest-risk abandoned mines in the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, which include the Faro and Giant Mines.
Q5. What is the Government doing to address the G&R Recycling site in Kanesatake, Quebec?
The Federal Government is working closely with the Kanesatake First Nation to find a path forward to remediate the site.
Indigenous Services Canada is leading these efforts, with scientific and technical support from Environment and Climate Change Canada in areas related to its mandate and expertise.
Q6. What progress has been made to address federal contaminated sites?
The Government of Canada is committed to protecting our environment and reducing human health risks from federal contaminated sites. We are acting on our commitment.
There are more than 24,000 identified federal contaminated sites – since 2005, more than 18,000 have been “closed,” meaning they no longer pose a risk.
Elk Valley
Q1. What is the government doing to address pollution from coal mines in the Elk Valley?
The Government of Canada is committed to preventing and managing pollution from industrial sectors.
On March 26, 2021, following an investigation by Environment and Climate Change Canada, Teck Coal Limited was ordered to pay a total of $60 million in fines and monetary court orders after a guilty plea was entered on two counts of unlawfully depositing a deleterious substance into waters frequented by fish, contrary to S.36 (3) of the Fisheries Act. Two million dollars of the fine was paid to the Receiver General, and $58 million was directed to the Environmental Damages Fund, which will be used for priority projects that benefit fish and fish habitat in the Elk Valley and Kootenay Region. In addition to the penalty, the company must also comply with a Fisheries Act Direction, which requires the development of various measures to prevent further pollution. This sentence is the highest ever imposed by a court for pollution in violation of the Fisheries Act.
The Government of Canada is developing the Coal Mining Effluent Regulations (CMER) under the Fisheries Act. The proposed Regulations are targeted for publication in the Canada Gazette, Part I in fall 2024, for a 60-day consultation period, with final regulations following about a year later.
The CMER will manage threats to fish and fish habitat from coal mining effluent by setting national effluent quality standards.
Q2. What is the relationship between the possible regulations and the Ktunaxa Nation Council’s request for an International Joint Commission reference?
The Government of Canada is dedicated to ensuring Canada’s freshwaters including boundary and transboundary waters, are treated as precious resources that deserve protection and careful stewardship.
We know that concerns have been raised by the Ktunaxa Nation, on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, and by U.S. federal and state officials regarding transboundary water pollution from coal mines in the Elk Valley. Along with interest in the proposed regulations, these parties have also requested a joint Canada-U.S. reference to the International Joint Commission (IJC).
Canada is actively engaging on the Prime Minister and President of the United States Leaders’ statement committing to reach an agreement in principle to mitigate the impacts of water pollution in the Kootenay watershed, in partnership with Tribal Nations and Indigenous peoples.
ECCC is developing Coal Mining Effluent Regulations (CMER) under the federal Fisheries Act. The Regulations will manage threats to fish and fish habitat from coal mining effluent by setting national effluent quality standards. Once finalized, the proposed CMER would limit the release of deleterious substances from coal mines in Canada, including in the Elk Valley, and require data collection. Concerns leading to calls for an IJC reference are broader in scope than what CMER proposes to address, and officials are in discussions with partners regarding those concerns.
ECCC is engaging with the Ktunaxa Nation Council (KNC) on key provisions of the regulatory proposal for the Elk Valley and will continue collaborative work to address water quality issues in the region.
Environmental justice & right to a healthy environment
Q1. What would Private Member’s Bill C-226 National Strategy to Assess, Prevent and Address Environmental Racism and Advance Environmental Justice do? Would it meet the Minister’s mandate letter commitment to “introduce legislation to require the development of an environmental justice strategy”?
The Bill, if passed, would create a new Act requiring the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to develop a national strategy to promote efforts across Canada to advance environmental justice and to assess, prevent and address environmental racism. This would be done in consultation with interested parties, and in a manner consistent with Canada’s recognition of the rights of Indigenous peoples.
The Bill’s approach aligns with the Minister’s mandate letter commitment and the Government has indicated its support of the Bill.
Q2. What is a right to a healthy environment?
For the first time in a federal statute in Canada, CEPA recognizes that every individual in Canada has a right to a healthy environment as provided under the Act.Having a right to a healthy environment means having an environment that is clean, healthy, and sustainable.
As the right is a new concept in federal law and policy, Bill S-5 required that the right be elaborated in an implementation framework to be developed within two years from the date of Royal Assent.The implementation framework, which will be developed in consultations with Canadians, will ensure that the right is meaningful in the CEPA context.
Q3. How will the right to a healthy environment impact individuals in Canada?
It will establish a new lens for decision making under CEPA by introducing a requirement to consider the right as programs that aim to prevent harm from pollution, make decisions about how to assess the risks, implement actions to address them, report and monitor on the results. The goal is to complement existing mechanisms and provide for meaningful implementation and continual, progressive improvement in protecting all individuals in Canada and the environment.
Q4. How will a Right to a Healthy Environment implementation align with the development of the proposed National Strategy to Assess, Prevent and Address Environmental Racism and Advance Environmental Justice?
Private Members Bill C-226 was introduced in February 2022 and once passed, would require the development of a National Strategy to Assess, Prevent and Address Environmental Racism and Advance Environmental Justice.
That strategy is separate from a Right, which applies specifically to CEPA, and which will consider environmental justice as a key principle in the development of the implementation framework.
As officials engage on the development of implementation framework under CEPA, feedback and input received may also be used to inform the development of the national strategy on environmental justice.
Potential oil sands mining effluent regulations
Q1. Is the government developing regulations to allow oil sands mines to release effluent to the Athabasca River?
Oil sands mines generate process water and tailings that are stored in tailings ponds. These tailings ponds are continually growing and over time will reach their capacity and create challenges for land reclamation.
The Government of Canada is exploring options to manage the accumulation of oil sands mine water from oil sands operations in tailings ponds. One of the options under consideration is the development of regulations to allow releases of treated effluent to the Athabasca River and its tributaries.
If regulations were to be developed, they would impose strict protective standards based on the best available scientific information and Indigenous knowledge.
ECCC is also exploring alternatives to the release of treated effluent to ensure that all options are considered before a decision is made on the path forward.
Q2. Are Indigenous communities being consulted on the regulations?
Environment and Climate Change Canada has launched a Crown-Indigenous Working Group with nine First Nations and Métis communities in the oil sands region.
Through this group, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Indigenous communities are working together to develop materials and recommendations towards establishing a potential regulatory approach for oil sands mining effluent regulations, including assessment of alternatives to effluent release.
Recommendations on potential regulations will ensure that they are protective of the environment and human health and minimize or avoid potential impacts to Indigenous rights.
Environment and Climate Change Canada is also engaging with Indigenous groups bilaterally to discuss potential impacts to Treaty and Aboriginal rights.
Single-use plastics
Q1. What are single-use plastics?
Single-use plastics are designed to be used once or for a short period of time before they are discarded. They will often lose their functionality, capacity or quality if used multiple times. The term “disposable plastic” is used interchangeably with “single-use plastic”.
Q2. Why did Canada ban or restrict certain single-use plastics?
In October 2020, the Government of Canada released a Science Assessment of Plastic Pollution. The Science Assessment presents a thorough scientific review of the occurrence and potential impacts of plastic pollution on human health and the environment. The Assessment found that plastic pollution is everywhere - in the air, water, and land - and macroplastic pollution (greater than 5mm in size) harms wildlife and damages habitats. The Science Assessment concluded that, in accordance with the precautionary principle, action is needed to reduce plastics that end up in the environment.
Single-use plastic items and packaging are of the most common plastic pollution items found littering shorelines and beaches in Canada and around the world. Plastic packaging is also the largest contributor of plastic waste globally and in Canada representing more than half (52%) of Canada’s plastic waste in 2019.
Canadians also called for the Government to take action on plastic pollution. In 2020, a survey by Abacus Data indicated that 86% of Canadians supported a federal ban on harmful single-use plastics, an increase from the 81% support rate from the previous year (2019).
Prevention is the most effective way to reduce plastic waste and pollution. That is why as part of Canada’s evidence-based and comprehensive plan to reduce plastic pollution and move towards a circular plastics economy, the Government took preventative action by eliminating certain single-use plastics that are commonly found in the environment as pollution, pose a threat to wildlife and their habitats, are difficult to recycle and have readily available alternatives.
Q3. How does the recent Federal Court decision affect the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations; are they still in force?
On November 16, 2023, the Federal Court retroactively declared the 2021 Order adding “plastic manufactured items” to the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 invalid and unlawful.
On December 8, 2023, the Government of Canada filed an appeal of the Federal Court’s decision and on January 25, 2024, the Federal Court of Appeal granted a stay motion. The stay motion prevents the court ruling of November 16, 2023, from taking effect while the Government’s appeal is ongoing.
The Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations remain in force.
In 2022, as part of Canada’s evidence-based and comprehensive plan to reduce plastic pollution, the Government introduced the Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations to phase-out six categories of single-use plastics that are commonly found in the environment as pollution, pose a threat to wildlife and their habitats, are difficult to recycle and have readily available alternatives.
The Regulations have spurred businesses across Canada to elevate their efforts and successfully transition to sustainable alternatives, including the adoption of reusable items.
Plastic pollution is harming wildlife and their habitats. The Government of Canada will continue to advance actions to prevent plastic pollution and waste, and Environment and Climate Change Canada remains committed to implementing a comprehensive and science-based approach to reduce plastic pollution and move toward a circular economy.
Q4. What else is the Government of Canada doing to address the environmental harm from single-use plastics?
The Government will continue to conduct and support plastics science and monitor Canadian pollution data and other sources of information to inform actions and measure progress over time. We will continue to work with partners and stakeholders to identify additional areas where action is needed.
The Government of Canada works with provincial and territorial governments, through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), towards its shared vision of a zero plastic waste future where plastics stay in the economy and out of the environment. Together we developed a Canada-wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste and Action Plan and are implementing targeted actions to reduce plastic waste and pollution.
As part of this work, we, along with our provincial and territorial counterparts through the CCME, published A Roadmap to Strengthen the Management of Single-Use and Disposable Plastics. This document is another tool to guide the prioritization and management of single-use and disposable plastic items.
Q5. What else is the Government of Canada doing to address plastic pollution at large?
The Government of Canada is implementing an ambitious, evidence-based and comprehensive plan to reduce plastic pollution and move towards a circular plastics economy through a range of complementary actions across the plastics lifecycle.
The comprehensive plan includes conducting and investing in science to inform actions and measure progress over time, including through the development of a federal plastics data inventory to provide consistent and robust plastic data.
The Government of Canada is taking targeted action, in alignment with the waste hierarchy, to improve how plastics are made, used, and managed to keep them in the economy and out of the environment. This includes enabling innovations and sector, product, and value chain-based solutions for a systematic shift towards a circular economy; greening operations and procurement; and addressing plastic pollution, including through the prevention and removal of ghost gear.
By reducing plastic pollution and keeping plastics in the economy and out of the environment, we can strengthen sustainable economies, grow jobs, help fight climate change, and protect biodiversity and the environment.
The Government of Canada is also developing a Federal Plastics Registry that will require producers to report annually on the quantity and types of plastic they place on the Canadian market, how it moves through the economy, and, most importantly, how it is managed at its end-of-life. The Federal Plastics Registry sets a clear pathway to collect critical information that will inform and support the implementation of Canada’s evidence-based and comprehensive plan and help measure progress over time to prevent plastic pollution and protect the environment.
