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Federal, provincial, and territorial relations

Note

This information was current as of November 2015.

Provincial and Territorial Overview

Canada, as a geographically large federation divides up distinct powers assigned to the federal government and provinces based, for the most part, on the Canadian Constitution. Protection of the environment is not, however, specifically addressed under the Constitution. It has become an area of concurrent jurisdiction as governments have taken action according to their respective authorities. Constitutional jurisprudence continues to evolve in this area.

The constitutional authority of the federal environmental legislation is founded on criminal law, as well as the principles of peace, order and good government and on federal constitutional powers such as international borders, international relations, trade and commerce, navigation and shipping, seacoasts, and fisheries.

Provincial environmental laws are based on provincial constitutional powers, such as over municipalities, local works and undertakings, property and civil rights, provincially owned (public) lands and natural resources. Territorial governments exercise delegated powers under the authority of the Parliament of Canada. The devolution of powers, or the transfer of province-like responsibilities from the federal government to territorial governments, is ongoing with agreements finalized in Yukon (2001) and in the Northwest Territories (2014), and an Agreement-in-Principle currently under negotiation with Nunavut.

Every jurisdiction has an environmental ministry or agency, but environmental responsibilities can be widely shared within each government. Some jurisdictions (e.g., Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick) have distinct departments/ministries that are responsible for some aspects of wildlife management and conservation. The separation of mandates can be very subtle: in British Columbia for example, the Ministry of Environment is the lead on the invasive species file and the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations delivers invasive plant management programs. As with the federal government, other departments or ministries’ mandates can also have a significant environmental component such as those responsible for natural resources, fisheries or health.

Given the shared responsibilities and authorities among levels of governments on environmental issues, close federal, provincial and territorial collaboration is essential to achieving meaningful results on the environment and for successfully delivering on Environment Canada’s strategic priorities.

Environment Canada’s role

Environment Canada officials maintain direct links with provincial/territorial counterparts bilaterally or multilaterally through Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) working groups addressing specific issues of common interest. FPT meetings on technical matters happen throughout the year at all levels–working level officials through to Ministerial. Environment Canada’s science expertise is an important resource for the PTs, bringing together a critical mass of research and analysis that supports many PT initiatives and is particularly welcomed by jurisdictions of limited capacity in many areas.

FPT Ministers with common interests or portfolios are often organized in councils which meet on a regular basis, ensuring sharing of information and best-practices. The main federal/provincial/territorial body addressing national environmental issues is the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). CCME is comprised of the environment ministers from the federal, provincial and territorial governments. These 14 ministers normally meet at least once a year to discuss national environmental priorities and determine work to be carried out under the auspices of CCME. The Council seeks to achieve positive environmental results, focusing on issues that are national in scope and that require collective attention by a number of governments. For example, the last meeting in Winnipeg in June addressed issues such as climate change, air quality, and plastic microbeads. Additional information regarding CCME is provided under Tab 1 – d.

The department also enters into agreements (Memoranda of Understanding, administrative agreements, equivalency agreements, collaboration agreements–e.g., Species at Risk) with provincial or territorial governments to streamline the administration and management of environmental regulations.

Provinces and territories are also addressing environmental issues through other multilateral and regional fora. For example, several discussions have recently taken place on environmental issues by the Premiers within the Council of the Federation and in ad-hoc meetings, such as the Summit on Climate Change, convened by Quebec in April 2015.

Although the federal government formally represents Canada in international environmental negotiations, provinces and territories are regularly involved in negotiations that relate to issues  within their jurisdiction. British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Nunavut were all represented at the ministerial level at the last meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Lima in December 2014. Provinces will also regularly send representatives to other international environment fora such as the Convention on Biological Diversity or the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). As only national governments are usually members of international organizations (the IUCN is one exception), provincial and territorial delegates normally act in an observer capacity.

Provinces and territories are diverse in terms of population, area, and resources, and thus they can face unique challenges with regard to environmental issues. Environment Canada monitors environmental events and policy developments in provinces and territories, provides analysis where required and maintains information factsheets or provincial/territorial data relevant to the environment.

Environment profiles

Ministers of Environment

British Columbia
Mary Polak
Minister of Environment
Alberta
Shannon Phillips
Minister of Environment and Parks
Saskatchewan
Herb Cox
Minister of Environment
Manitoba
Thomas Nevakshonoff
Minister of Conservation and Water Stewardship
Ontario
Glen R. Murray
Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
Quebec
David Heurtel
Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, and the Fight Against Climate Change
New Brunswick
Brian Kenny
Minister of Environment and Local Government
Nova Scotia
Andrew Younger
Minister of Environment
Prince Edward Island
Robert J. Mitchell
Minister of Communities, Land and Environment
Newfoundland and Labrador
Dan Crummell
Minister of Environment and Conservation
Yukon
Wade Istchenko
Minister of Environment
Northwest Territories
J. Michael Miltenberger
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources
Nunavut
Johnny Mike
Minister of Environment

Ministers of Wildlife

British Columbia
Mary Polak
Minister of Environment
Alberta
Shannon Phillips
Minister of Environment and Parks
Saskatchewan
Herb Cox
Minister of Environment
Manitoba
Thomas Nevakshonoff
Minister of Conservation and Water Stewardship
Ontario
Bill Mauro
Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry
Quebec
Laurent Lessard
Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks
New Brunswick
Denis Landry
Minister of Natural Resources
Nova Scotia
Lloyd Hines
Minister of Natural Resources
Prince Edward Island
Robert J. Mitchell
Minister of Communities, Land and Environment
Newfoundland and Labrador
Dan Crummell
Minister of Environment and Conservation
Yukon
Wade Istchenko
Minister of Environment
Northwest Territories
J. Michael Miltenberger
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources
Nunavut
Johnny Mike
Minister of Environment

Federal-Provincial-Territorial Engagement Mechanisms

Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment

The Canadian Council of Minsters of the Environment (CCME) is the major intergovernmental forum in Canada for Ministerial discussion and joint action on environmental issues of national and international concern. Membership on the Council of Ministers is comprised of the federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for the Environment. The current form of CCME was established in 1989 as a formal mechanism to promote effective intergovernmental cooperation and a coordinated approach on environmental issues such as air, water, and soil.

CCME has identified consensus decision-making as one of its fundamental operating principles. It is a process that attempts to recognize and account for the differing, legitimate interests of its 14 member governments. Consensus building takes time and effort but CCME has had some important accomplishments, including the development of the Canada-wide Strategy for the Management of Municipal Wastewater Effluent (2009), and agreement to implement the Air Quality Management System (2012).

CCME is supported by the independent, not-for-profit CCME Secretariat located in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 2015-2016, funding for the CCME Secretariat was comprised of $375,000 (down from $500,000 in 2011-2012) from the federal government and a total of $1,000,000 from provinces and territories allocated roughly on a per capita basis. From 2009-2014, the federal contribution was delivered through a five-year contribution agreement. Since 2014-2015 federal contributions are being delivered through one-year contribution agreements.

CCME Ministers usually meet once a year to discuss national environmental priorities and provide direction regarding work to be carried out. The last Ministerial meeting was held on June 22-23, 2015, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, while the date for the 2016 Ministerial meeting in Quebec has yet to be determined. The agenda will be developed over the course of the year by officials to follow on Ministerial direction from the June 2015 meeting in Winnipeg, and is likely to include, among other issues, discussions on climate change, spills, air quality, and waste.

In September 2014, Ministers agreed that climate change would be on the agenda of CCME moving forward on an ongoing basis, which led to their decision at the June 2015 meeting to establish a new Climate Change Committee to facilitate this work.

Both Deputy Ministers and representatives of the Environmental Planning and Protection Committee (Assistant Deputy Minister/Director General level) meet face-to-face once or twice annually and hold teleconferences on a regular basis.

The role of CCME chair rotates between the 14 participating jurisdictions on a pre-determined, annual basis. The current CCME chair is Quebec and next year it will be British Columbia. Environment Canada is scheduled to chair in 2017-2018.

Canadian Councils of Resource Ministers

The Canadian Councils of Resource Ministers (CCRM) is an ad hoc umbrella organization, comprised of five councils, designed to address national cross-cutting priorities, mainly invasive alien species, stewardship, biodiversity science and information, and biodiversity status and trend reporting.

The Minister of the Environment is the federal lead and permanent co-chair for CCRM and three of its councils. The councils responsible for endangered species and wildlife respectively, met last in 2006, CCRM in 2007, and the council responsible for parks, in 2014. In 2009, it was decided to discontinue holding joint CCRM meetings unless a joint meeting was specifically requested by one of the participating councils or by the provincial co-host.

The last meeting of the Ministers responsible for conservation, wildlife and biodiversity was held in Ottawa in February 2015 and aimed to continue to advance key issues related to species at risk. Ministers agreed to a work plan addressing species at risk and invasive alien species. They also agreed to meet again within 12 to18 months to review progress on the work plan.

Officials are continuing to advance the 2015 ministerial work plan, through collaboration from the Assistant Deputy Minister-level Conservation, Wildlife and Biodiversity Steering Group.

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