Early actions book

Table of contents

Proactive disclosure

1. Early mandate actions for the portfolio

2. Proposed outreach

• Provincial territorial counterparts
• Indigenous organizations
• International counterparts
• Non-governmental organizations
• Private sector organizations

3. Active Litigation – *redacted*

4. Near term priority files

• Climate change
  • Climate change
  • 25th Conference of the Parties
• Nature
  • Species at risk
  • Post-2020 global biodiversity framework
  • Freshwater
• Weather services
  • Extreme weather events
• Environmental protection and emergencies
  • Environmental emergencies
  • Canadian Environmental Protection Act
  • Compliance with Wastewater Systems Effluent Regulations
  • Plastics
• Environmental and wildlife enforcement
  • Enforcement overview
• Impact assessment
  • Impact Assessment Agency of Canada
  • Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion Project
• Parks Canada
  • Parks Canada Agency
• Corporate
  • Phoenix Pay System
  • Federal Sustainable Development Strategy

Proactive disclosure

The Access to Information Act

The Access to Information Act lays out proactive disclosure and publication requirements for Ministers’ offices to follow. The relevant provisions of the Act are:

• That Ministers proactively disclose briefing materials upon assuming office (within 120 calendar days of appointment).
• That Ministers proactively disclose the titles and tracking numbers of memoranda (briefing notes) prepared for the Minister within 30 days of their receipt by a Minister’s office.
• That Question Period notes, as prepared by a government institution for the Minister are proactively disclosed within 30 calendar days following last sitting day in June and December.
• That briefing materials for parliamentary appearances by the Minister be proactively disclosed within 120 calendar days after their appearance.

Proactive publication does not require the release of information that would normally be withheld in response to an access to information request.

Proactive disclosure

The proactive disclosure and publication requirements will affect all the contents of this transition Early Actions Book and the accompanying transition materials the Minister will receive on his/her date of appointment. In the past, the Department has published transition material on the internet and the Environment and Climate Change Canada website to make it available to the public.