Table of contents

The following briefing material was provided to Minister Catherine McKenna following her swearing in as Minister of Environment and Climate Change on November 4, 2015. The material provides an overview of the mandate of the Department, the parliamentary environment, key relationships, and departmental sectors and their mandates. Environment and Climate Change Canada is providing this information on its website as part of a proactive approach to sharing information with Canadians.

In accordance with both the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act, a limited amount of text within these documents may not be disclosed, mainly for reasons of privacy, of economic interests to Canada, of national security and of Cabinet Confidences.

Environment Canada: An introduction

1. Portfolio and mandate of the Minister of the Environment
   1. Overview of the portfolio
   2. Parliament’s constitutional jurisdiction over the environment
   3. Mandatory duties and authorities of the Minister of the Environment
   4. Mandate and summary of legislation
2. Federal, provincial, and territorial relations
   1. Provincial and territorial overviews
   2. Ministers of Environment
   3. Ministers of Wildlife
   4. Federal-provincial-territorial engagement mechanisms
3. International cooperation
   1. International overview
   2. International organizations
4. Key issues
   1. Climate change
   1. Climate change science
   2. Domestic climate change mitigation
   3. International climate change negotiations
   4. International climate change financing
   5. Climate change adaptation
   6. Oil sands
   2. Conservation and biodiversity
   3. Air quality
   4. Water
   5. Chemicals Management Plan
   6. Meteorological Services
   7. Federal Sustainable Development Strategy
   8. Enforcement
   9. Scientific monitoring and research
   10. Environmental emergencies
5. Overview of the Department
   1. Environment Canada’s people
   2. Environment Canada’s financial resources
   3. Executive team
6. Key contacts and stakeholders
   1. Industry associations and non-governmental organizations
   2. National aboriginal organizations

Additional resources

• Infographic: Providing a clean, safe, sustainable environment for all Canadians
• Map of Environment Canada’s main office locations