Horizontal initiatives: 2021-2022 Departmental Results Report

Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan

General information

Name of horizontal initiative

Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP)

Lead department

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) with support from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS).

Federal partner organization(s)

Indigenous Services Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, Correctional Service Canada, Defence Construction Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Health Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated, Marine Atlantic Inc., National Capital Commission, National Defence, National Research Council of Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Parks Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Transport Canada, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, VIA Rail Canada

Start date of the horizontal initiative

The FCSAP was approved in 2005, as a 15-year program. It followed after the two-year Federal Contaminated Sites Accelerated Action Plan program which began in 2003.

End date of the horizontal initiative

FCSAP has been extended to March 31, 2035

Description of the horizontal initiative

The FCSAP provides a long-term mechanism to address the highest priority federal contaminated sites. Although responsibility for the management and remediation of federal contaminated sites rests with responsible custodial departments, the FCSAP program is administered by ECCC with support from TBS.

Governance structures

The Federal Contaminated Sites Assistant Deputy Ministers Oversight Board is supported by the Director Generals Advisory Committee, the National Planning and Tracking Working Group and the ECCC’s FCSAP Secretariat, which provides overall program coordination.

Total federal funding allocated from start to end date (dollars)

$6,228,062,532 from April 1, 2003, to March 31, 2025 (Phase I, II, III and IV).

Total federal planned spending to date (dollars)

Not Applicable

Total federal actual spending to date (dollars)

$5,033,315,923 from April 1, 2003 to March 31, 2022

Date of last renewal of the horizontal initiative

The FCSAP Horizontal Initiative was renewed in 2019 until March 31, 2035

Total federal funding allocated at the last renewal and source of funding (dollars)

$1,404,058,413

• $1,353,191,618 Budget 2019
• $50,866,795 additional funding received after the last renewal (Budget 2015)

Additional federal funding received after the last renewal (dollars)

Not Applicable.

Total planned spending since the last renewal

$503,312,225

Total actual spending since the last renewal

$446,882,957

Fiscal year of planned completion of next evaluation

Evaluation led by Environment and Climate Change Canada to begin in 2022–23 and be concluded in 2024–25.

Performance Highlights

Shared outcome of federal partners: Reduce risks to human health and the environment from federal contaminated sites and decrease associated environmental liability in the Public Accounts of Canada.

Performance Indicator: Percentage of FCSAP eligible sites (based on the FCSI, as of March 31st 2020) closed or in long-term monitoring (Highest Step Completed (HSC>=9)
Target: 60%
Result to date: 61%
Date to achieve target: March 31, 2025

Performance Indicator: Reduction of total environmental liability (in dollars) by implementing remediation at FCSAP funded sites that have existing risk reduction plans (HSC≥7)
Target: $554 million
Result: $152 million cumulative result after the first two years of Phase IV
Date to achieve target: March 31, 2025

Theme 1 outcome: More efficient spending leads to a more timely program delivery

Performance Indicator: Percentage increase in average allocated annual assessment, remediation, and expert support funding that is spent in Phase IV is higher than in Phase III.
Target: 5%
Result: 1% cumulative result after the first two years of Phase IV
Date to achieve target: March 31, 2025

Theme 2 outcome: Whole-of-government collaborative solutions lead to improved spending

Performance Indicator: Percentage decrease in average annual funding surpluses in Phase IV compared to Phase III
Target: 4%
Result: 1% cumulative result after the first two years of Phase IV
Date to achieve target: March 31st, 2025

Contact information

FCSAP Secretariat
Contaminated Sites Division
17th floor, Place Vincent Massey
351 St. Joseph Blvd
Gatineau, QC, K1A 0H3
FCSAP.PASCF@ec.gc.ca

Horizontal initiative framework: departmental funding by theme (dollars)

Horizontal initiative: Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan (FCSAP)

Shared outcomes: Reduce risks to human health and the environment from federal contaminated sites and decrease associated environmental liability in the Public Accounts of Canada

Name of theme	Risk Reduction	Collaborative Governance	Internal Services*
Theme outcome(s)	Remediated contaminated sites reduce risks posed to human health and environment	Efficient program delivery and implementation is achieved by whole-of-government collaborative solutions	Not applicable
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada	4,781,725	337,020	0
Canada Border Services Agency	1,239,275	0	0
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada	181,812,194	2,447,376	0
Indigenous Services Canada	213,430,736	13,548,485	366,520
Correctional Service Canada	1,653,117	721,783	0
Defence Construction Canada	0	0	0
National Defence	353,232,609	10,063,106	0
Environment and Climate Change Canada	156,407,805	13,862,919	2,187,135
Fisheries and Oceans Canada	118,426,974	4,374,380	0
Health Canada	12,504,662	0	1,199,450
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada	965,000	606,870	0
Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Incorporated	49,571,896	0	0
National Capital Commission	19,381,548	488,790	0
National Research Council of Canada	3,627,000	0	0
Natural Resources Canada	2,511,107	0	26,441
Parks Canada	28,013,650	2,542,478	787,805
Public Services and Procurement Canada	86,553,929	3,667,109	0
Transport Canada	102,026,190	7,627,124	609,508
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat	N/A	2,786,469	246,000
VIA Rail Canada	4,865,087	0	0

*The Internal Services figure is included in the total allocation amounts for each theme.

Planning information

Horizontal initiative overview

Name of horizontal initiative	Total federal funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Actual spending	Horizontal initiative shared outcome(s)	2021-22 Performance indicator(s)	2021-22 Target(s)	Date to achieve target	2021-22 Actual results
Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan	1,404,058,413	268,971,367	224,757,258	Reduce risks to human health and the environment from federal contaminated sites	Percentage of FCSAP eligible sites (based on the FCSI, as of March 31st 2020) closed or in long-term monitoring (Highest Step Completed (HSC>=9)	60%	March 31st, 2025	61% cumulative result after the first two years of Phase IV.
				Reduction in environmental liability due to implementation of risk reduction plans at FCSAP funded sites during Phase IV	Reduction of total environmental liability (in dollars) by implementing remediation at FCSAP funded sites that have existing risk reduction plans (HSC≥7)	$554 million	March 31st, 2025	$152 million cumulative result after the first two years of Phase IV.

Theme 1 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Theme target(s)	Date to achieve theme target	2021-22 Actual results
Risk Reduction	1,340,984,504	256,390,315	213,052,039	More efficient spending leads to a more timely program delivery	Percentage increase in average allocated annual assessment, remediation, and expert support funding that is spent in Phase IV is higher than in Phase III.	5%	March 31st, 2025	1% cumulative result after the first two years of Phase IV.

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal.

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal.

Theme 2 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Theme target(s)	Date to achieve theme target	2021-22 Actual results
Collaborative Governance	63,073,909	12,581,052	11,705,218	Whole-of-government collaborative solutions lead to improved spending	Percentage decrease in average annual funding surpluses in Phase IV compared to Phase III	4%	March 31st, 2025	1% cumulative result after the first two years of Phase IV.

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal.

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal.

Total spending, all themes

Theme	Total federal funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Total federal planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Total federal actual spending (dollars)
Theme 1 – Risk Reduction	1,340,984,504	256,390,315	213,052,039
Theme 2 – Collaborative Governance	63,073,909	12,581,052	11,705,219
Total, all themes	1,404,058,413	268,971,367	224,757,258

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal.

Nature Legacy for Canada

General information

Name of horizontal initiative

Nature Legacy for Canada

Lead department

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Federal partner departments

Parks Canada (PCA); Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO); Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)

Nonfederal‑ and non‑governmental partners

Not applicable

Start date of the horizontal initiative

2018-19

End date of the horizontal initiative

2022-23

Description of the horizontal initiative

Natural spaces will be protected by establishing and expanding protected areas, managing them to high standards, and linking them through a well-connected network of protected lands, inland water and coastal and marine areas. Species will be conserved by developing and implementing, in collaboration with partners, protection and recovery measures for multiple species and ecosystems through collaborative action on priority places, species, sectors, and threats, and to address risks; and the rights and responsibilities of Indigenous Peoples in conserving species and spaces will be respected and supported.

Governance structures

A senior management committee (Senior Oversight Committee), chaired by ECCC, was established at the ADM level with representation from ECCC, PCA, DFO and NRCan to guide the initiative, address any issues, and overcome any roadblocks that become apparent. The Oversight Committee developed for Nature Legacy will be combined with Enhanced Nature Legacy to ensure consistency between initiatives.

The Committee meets at least once a year to consider a status report on the implementation of the Nature Legacy for Canada.

Total federal funding allocated (from start to end date) (dollars)

$1,168,087,505 from June 2018 to March 2023

Total federal planned spending to date (dollars)

$535,444,284

Total federal actual spending to date (dollars)

$521,306,856

Date of last renewal of the horizontal initiative

Not applicable

Total federal funding allocated at the last renewal, and source of funding (dollars)

Not applicable

Additional federal funding received after the last renewal (dollars)

$46,500,000 (Off cycle funding decision providing Southern Mountain Caribou (SMC).

Total planned spending since the last renewal

Not applicable

Total actual spending since the last renewal

Not applicable

Fiscal year of planned completion of next evaluation

2022-23 for the Species at Risk and Habitat Conservation and Protection Programs

Performance highlights

In 2021-22, the fourth year of this funding, the Government of Canada has been working closely with provinces and territories, Indigenous Peoples, Canadians, international partners and other stakeholders, to make significant progress towards our objectives under exceptional circumstances during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some key highlights include:

Species at risk:

• In collaboration with the provinces and territories, Indigenous Peoples, stakeholders, and other partners – ECCC continued implementation of the Pan-Canadian Approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada (Pan-Canadian Approach) for terrestrial species through collaborative action for identified priority places, species, sectors and threats to improve conservation outcomes for species at risk and other wildlife.
• Across 11 Priority Places – places with significant biodiversity, concentrations of species at risk, and opportunities to advance conservation efforts – funded 117 projects (Canada Nature Fund) to engage partners and stakeholders, establish governance frameworks, initiate collaborative multi-species and ecosystem-based conservation action planning, and implement priority actions on-the-ground.
• Continued to support a suite of 18 complementary Community-Nominated Priority Places for Species at Risk (3 new places were added in the territories in 2021-22; Canada Nature Fund) that support multi-partner initiatives in priority places where there are opportunities to protect and recover species at risk and their habitat through multi-species and ecosystem-based conservation action.
• For the six Priority Species (Barren-ground Caribou, Boreal Caribou, Greater Sage-Grouse, Peary Caribou, Southern Mountain Caribou and Wood Bison), 26 new and ongoing projects were funded across the country. Progress towards collaborative planning and advancement of stewardship approaches, including the use of conservation agreements and implementation of actions continued through engagement with federal, provincial, and territorial governments, Indigenous Peoples, and other key partners and stakeholders.
• In September 2020, ECCC launched Priority Species webpages to share information and increase communication to all Canadians on progress for the six Priority Species
• Engaged partners and stakeholders to initiate co-creation of conservation action plans with the agriculture, urban development, and forest priority sectors. Established core planning teams for the agriculture and forest priority sectors to align conservation and sector policy and practice with positive outcomes for species at risk and sector sustainability. Funded 10 projects to advance the mainstreaming of species at risk (SAR) conservation into sector practices.
• Advanced relationship building with Indigenous partners through 33 new and 32 continuing multi-year projects that aim to enable Indigenous peoples’ leadership in SAR conservation by supporting capacity to implement conservation planning and action for SAR and their habitat, negotiate and implement conservation agreements for the collaborative conservation of SAR, and participate in the implementation of the Species at Risk Act (SARA), with a focus on effectively fulfilling consultation requirements.
• Decisions were made on the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assessments of SAR. These resulted in changes to Schedule 1 of the SARA, further reducing the backlog of on species listing decisions. With the addition of 22 SAR, 622 species were listed on Schedule 1 as of March 31, 2020. DFO also put forward three populations of aquatic SAR, which were reclassified from threatened to endangered.
• Published 13 recovery strategies, five management plans, and two action plans for SAR under the responsibility of ECCC, bringing the number of required recovery documents to 93% compliance with the requirements of SARA.
• Published two bi-annual reports on the steps taken by provinces and territories, and through federal action, towards the of protection critical habitat for terrestrial species.
• In 2021-22 ECCC funded 10 projects delivered by federal land managers to contribute to the recovery of SAR and the conservation of critical habitat on federally-administered lands.
• To date seven protection orders under s58.5 of SARA for seven SARA listed species on federal lands (excluding reserve lands)
• One Emergency Protection Order under s80.1 of SARA for Western Chorus Frog, a SARA listed species
• 43 Gazette statements were published for 43 SARA listed species which led to a 77% compliance for critical habitat on federally protected lands
• Parks Canada added 2 more site-based, multi-species action plans for a total of 23 plans that identify recovery measures for more than 254 species of conservation concern (including over 213 SARA-listed species). Parks Canada is on track to achieve the Nature Legacy target of implementing 50% of recovery measures in SARA action plans by 2023. As of March 2021, 44% are complete.
• In 2020-2021, Parks Canada has legally protected critical habitat for 11 species at risk in 17 Parks Canada-administered places. In total, completing 9 critical habitat descriptions in the Canada Gazette, 1 protection statement, and 2 Ministerial Orders. Some species can have more than one legal instrument used to protect its critical habitat.
• DFO participated along with Transport Canada and PCA in the Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) initiative to address the threats of prey availability and physical and acoustic disturbance to these whales. This was done by: enhancing existing recovery measures; developing a suite of new management measures - including creation of marine sanctuaries - by engaging in Indigenous and stakeholder consultations in support of the creation of marine sanctuaries; and by enhancing compliance and enforcement measures.
• Of note, in 2019, DFO in collaboration with Transport Canada, signed a conservation agreement under section 11 of SARA with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) and six other industry member organizations to the Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program led by the VFPA. This 5-year agreement helps support recovery of the SRKW and has served to highlight the value of such an approach toward implementation of measures to help reduce threats to the endangered SRKW. An annual report summarizing progress from May 2019 - May 2020 is published, and a second annual report covering May 2020 - May 2021 is pending.
• DFO led or provided support on measures to reduce threats to North Atlantic Right Whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and identified with the Province of British Columbia a plan to respond to declines of Thompson and Chilcotin Steelhead on an urgent basis.
• The Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk (CNFASAR) aims to build relationships with Indigenous Peoples, provinces and territories, industry and other partners for aquatic SAR by supporting and encouraging stewardship actions through the implementation of multi-species, threat, and place-based approaches to recovery and protection.
• CNFASAR is funding over 56 projects over five years that target over 75 populations of aquatic species at risk in seven priority freshwater places and over 70 populations of aquatic species at risk associated with two marine threats. These projects advanced work to recover and protect species at risk in priority places, addressed priority threats, and advanced Indigenous partnerships and collaboration with provincial partners.
• As of March 31, 2021, 86% of aquatic species listed under SARA had a proposed recovery strategy or management plan published on the Species at Risk Public Registry, surpassing the 2023 established target of 80%.
• DFO has steadily decreased the backlog of both overdue proposed and final management plans, recovery strategies, action plans and Critical Habitat Orders from 72 in 2014 to 25 as of January 2021.
• 96% of listed aquatic species with critical habitat identified in a final recovery strategy or action plan have a Critical Habitat Order in place. In the last two years, DFO has increased the number of Critical Habitat Orders from 13 to 48 between 2018 and the end of 2020-21.
• Nature Legacy funding also enabled increased implementation of on-the-water measures identified in recovery documents to advance population and distribution objectives for aquatic at-risk species.
• Implemented over 60 SAR recovery projects prescribed in site-based Action Plans across Parks Canada’s protected heritage areas, including 4 projects focussing on the conservation of bison and caribou signature species.
• Conducted research on the cumulative impacts of natural and anthropogenic disturbances, including climate change, to caribou habitat and populations.
• Protection and recovery of woodland caribou and their critical habitat is being enhanced through advanced relationship building with Indigenous partners by funding 5 multi-year projects that build Indigenous Peoples’ capacity to implement conservation measures for the woodland caribou habitat, a species at risk. The funding provides Indigenous Peoples with the opportunity to participate in the meaningful implementation of the SARA.
• Provided guidance in caribou habitat restoration to resource managers through collaboration, sharing of expertise, and developing strategies and tools

Protected areas:

• Implemented 20 initiatives to conserve ecological connectivity for species and ecosystems across the boundaries of national parks and other places administered by Parks Canada throughout the country. For example, Kejimkujik, Fundy and La Mauricie National Parks are working with partners to map multi-species habitat connectivity across greater park landscapes as a basis for regional conservation planning. Other national parks, such as Kootenay, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier are working to manage transboundary connectivity for species such as Mountain Goats and Bighorn Sheep.
• The Department continued to work with partners through the Nature Legacy initiative and the Canada Nature Fund to protect and conserve 25% of Canada’s terrestrial lands and inland waters by 2025, working towards 30% by 2030.
  • By the end of 2021, 13.5% of Canada’s land and freshwater have been protected and conserved.
• Through the Canada Nature Fund’s Target 1 Challenge initiative, ECCC helped to advance protected areas work in a total of 90,556.11km² across Canada and made progress on Indigenous protected and conserved areas.
• In 2020-2021, the Indigenous Guardians Pilot, invested $600,000 in an additional 10 Indigenous guardians initiatives, bringing its total to over 80 funded proposals totalling approximately $20.4 million in funding, to support First Nations, Inuit and Metis communities in their stewardship work to protect sensitive areas and species, monitor ecological health, and maintain Indigenous cultural sites.
• ECCC continued work to establish and expand National Wildlife Areas.
  • Edéhzhíe is designed in regulations as a National Wildlife Area as of May 2022, in addition to being a Dehcho Protected Area.
  • Conversion of the Big Glace Bay Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary to a National Wildlife Area, and the expansion of the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area have been made official in June 2022.
  • Progress was made in designating St. Paul Island, Country Island and Isle Haute as NWAs
  • Three additional islands (Guyon, Hog and Seal islands) in Nova Scotia are being transferred from Department of Fisheries and Oceans in order to create the future Atlantic Archipelago National Wildlife Area.
  • Progress being made to discuss the protection of the Mount Saint-Bruno rifle range in the transfer from DND to the SÉPAQ, including PCA option for a potential urban park designation.
  • Progress being made in agreeing with the Department of Fisheries and Ocean for the transfer of lands to create the St. Lawrence Islands' future National Wildlife Areas.
• Progress on Indigenous protected and conserved areas such as:
  • An investment of $3.2 million in the Seal River Watershed Indigenous Protected Area initiative (Taiga Shield of northern Manitoba) in the traditional territories of the Cree, Dene and Inuit.
  • An investment of $1.43 million to support the creation of the Arqvilliit Indigenous protected and conserved area, a chain of 24 islands spanning 24,000 hectares in the north-eastern Tasiujarruaq (Hudson Bay), in partnership with the Inuit community of Inukjuak.
  • A joint (50/50) investment of $1.5 million by ECCC’s Canada Nature Fund and Ducks Unlimited Canada to restore 75.5 hectares of wetlands in Lake Saint-François National Wildlife, and
  • The addition of 268 hectares to the Portobello Creek National Wildlife Area in New Brunswick, bringing the total to over 3,200 hectares.
• The Canada Nature Fund invested $125 million over four years in the Natural Heritage Conservation Program. In 2021-22 $50M was invested resulting approximately 101,000 hectares conserved.
• The COVID-19 pandemic impeded collaboration with external partners, the technical work needed to monitor populations, and the establishment of protected and conserved areas.
  • A partnership has been built by the Canada Nature Fund to enable progress towards achieving Canada’s biodiversity targets for conserving land and inland waters, and advancing the protection and recovery of species at risk.
• ECCC continued to maintain ongoing capacity to protect and recover species at risk and critical habitat; increase support to others to expand and effectively manage protected areas and contribute to conservation and stewardship activities; expand and effectively manage the Department’s protected areas; and advance the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
• Further developed the concept in collaboration with key partners to prepare the way for assessing the biodiversity and bio-cultural outcomes of conservation projects funded by businesses and delivered by proven conservation organizations.
• As of March 2021, the ecological integrity of 82% of ecosystems has been maintained or improved.

Indigenous Guardians

• In January 2021, ECCC supported the Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and Métis Guardians Gathering, which took place virtually. The intention of the Gathering was to further support the historic and ongoing relationship of the Métis Nation to their traditional lands, rekindle their stewardship and reunite generations by engaging with initiatives like the Métis Nation’s Guardians and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs).
• Throughout 2021-22, ECCC partnered with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada’s (CIRNAC) Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring Program to support a series of four targeted virtual workshops for Inuit Guardians. Workshops focused on the themes of: Collection and Management of Indigenous Knowledge and Scientific Data; Adapting Monitoring and Guardianship Projects during the Covid-19 Pandemic; Youth Engagement; and Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation.
• In June 2021, the Indigenous Guardians Pilot announced $600,000 in funding to support 10 First Nations Tier 1 (new) initiatives for 2021-22.
• Budget 2021 announced up to $173 million in funding through the Enhanced Nature Legacy to support new and existing Indigenous Guardians initiatives and the development of Indigenous Guardians Networks for First Nations, Inuit and Métis. With this funding, starting in 2021-22, ECCC’s Indigenous Guardians began the transition out of the Pilot phase, while continuing to co-design, co-develop and co-deliver ongoing programming using a distinctions-based approach with First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners.

In 2021-22, three distinctions-based evaluations of the Pilot continued with each First Nations, Inuit and Métis governance bodies.

DFO

• In 2020-21, the third year of this funding, the Government of Canada has been working closely with provinces and territories, Indigenous Peoples, Canadians and international partners and other stakeholders, to make significant progress towards our objectives under exceptional circumstances during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Some key highlights include:

Species at risk

• In collaboration with the provinces and territories, Indigenous Peoples, and stakeholders, ECCC initiated implementation of the Pan-Canadian Approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada (Pan-Canadian Approach) for terrestrial species through collaborative action for identified priority places, species, and sectors and threats to improve conservation outcomes for species at risk.
• Across 11 federal-provincial-territorial Priority Places – places with significant biodiversity, conservation efforts – funded 64 projects (Canada Nature Fund) to engage partners and stakeholders, establish governance frameworks, initiate collaborative multi-species and ecosystem-based conservation action planning, and implement priority actions on-the-ground.
• Continued to support a suite of 15 complementary Community-Nominated Priority Places for Species at Risk (Canada Nature Fund) and that support multi-partner initiatives in priority places where there are opportunities to protect and recover species at risk and their habitat through multi-species and ecosystem-based conservation action.
• For the six Priority Species (Barren-ground Caribou, Boreal Caribou, Greater Sage-Grouse, Peary Caribou, Southern Mountain Caribou and Wood Bison), 24 new and ongoing projects were funded across the country. Progress towards collaborative planning and advancement of stewardship approaches, including the use of conservation agreements and implementation of actions continued through engagement with federal, provincial, and territorial governments, Indigenous Peoples, and other key partners and stakeholders.
• In September 2020, ECCC launched Priority Species webpages to share information and increase communication to all Canadians on progress for the Six Priority Species.
• Engaged partners and stakeholders to initiate co-creation of conservation action plans with the agriculture, urban development, and forest priority sectors. Established core planning teams for the agriculture and forest priority sectors to align conservation and sector policy and practice with positive outcomes for species at risk and sector sustainability. Funded 10 projects to advance the mainstreaming of species at risk (SAR) conservation into sector practices.
• Advanced relationship building with Indigenous partners through 20 new and 28 continuing multi-year projects that aim to build Indigenous Peoples’ capacity to implement conservation measures for SAR and their habitat, negotiate and implement conservation agreements for the collaborative conservation of SAR, and support their meaningful participation in the implementation of the Species at Risk Act (SARA).
• Decisions were made on the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) assessments of SAR. These resulted in changes to Schedule 1 of the SAR, further reducing the backlog of on species listing decisions. With the addition of 22 SAR, 622 species were listed on Schedule 1 as of March, 2022. DFO also put forward three populations of aquatic SAR, which were reclassified from threatened to endangered.
• Published 13 recovery strategies, five management plans, and two action plans for SAR under the responsibility of ECCC, bringing the number of required recovery documents to 93% compliance with the requirements of SARA.
• Published an update report on the steps taken by provinces and territories, and through federal action, towards the protection of critical habitat for terrestrial species.
• Funded 11 projects delivered by federal land managers to contribute to the recovery of SAR and the conservation of critical habitat on federally-administered lands.
• Parks Canada added 2 more site-based, multi-species action plans for a total of 23 plans that identify recovery measures for more than 254 species of conservation concern (including over 213 SARA-listed species). Parks Canada is on track to achieve the Nature Legacy target of implementing 50% of recovery measures in SARA action plans by 2023. As of March 2021, 44% are complete.
• In 2020-2021, Parks Canada has legally protected critical habitat for 11 species at risk in 17 Parks Canada-administered places. In total, completing 9 critical habitat descriptions in the Canada Gazette, 1 protection statement, and 2 Ministerial Orders. Some species can have more than one legal instrument used to protect its critical habitat.
• In 2019, DFO signed a five year conservation agreement in collaboration with Transport Canada under section 11 of SARA with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) and six other industry member organizations to the Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program led by the VFPA. This agreement helps support recovery of the Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) and has served to highlight the value of such an approach toward implementation of measures to help reduce threats to the engendered SRKW. Annual reports summarizing progress from May 2019-May 2021 are published, and a third annual reporting covering May 2021 – May 2022 is pending.
• In 2021-22, DFO hosted serval virtual and in-person information sessions on species at risk throughout the country, including hosting a series of virtual information sessions on aquatic species at risk present in Manitoba. The sessions addressed threats to species’ survival and promoted Grants and Contributions programs for aquatic species at risk. Individual sessions were held with Indigenous groups, stewardship groups, environmental organizations, academia, and other levels of governments.
• DFO also developed a mobile trailer with various outreach materials to educate the public on aquatic species, including the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale, inner Bay of Fundy Atlantic Salmon, and Leatherback Sea Turtle.
• The Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk (CNFASAR) aims to build relationships with Indigenous Peoples, provinces and territories, industry and other partners for aquatic SAR by supporting and encouraging stewardship actions through the implementation of multi-species, threat, and place-based approaches to recovery and protection.
• Since 2018, CNFASAR has allocated funding from Nature Legacy and Enhanced Nature Legacy initiatives to over 75 multispecies projects across Canada that target over 100 aquatic species at risk in nine freshwater priorities areas, to address to priority marine threats, and to support the recovery of three priority species.
• The Habitat Stewardship Program for Aquatic Species at Risk funded 34 new projects in 2021-22 that contributed directly to recovery objectives and population goals of species at risk.
• These projects advanced work to recover and protect species at risk in priority places, addressed priority threats, and advanced Indigenous partnerships and collaboration with provincial partners.
• In 2021-22, 2 final recovery strategies, 2 action plans and 5 management plans were published by DFO for aquatic SAR. As of March 31, 2021, 87% of aquatic species listed under SARA had a proposed recovery strategy or management plan published on the Species at Risk Public Registry, surpassing the 2023 established target of 80%.
• The last remaining Critical Habitat Order in DFO’s backlog was published in January 2022. This means that 100% of listed aquatic species with critical habitat in a final recovery strategy or action plan have a Critical Habitat Order in place. In the last four years, DFO has increased the number of Critical Habitat Orders from 13 to 51.
• Nature Legacy funding also enabled increased implementation of 223 on-the-water measures identified in recovery documents to advance population and distribution objectives for aquatic at-risk species.
• Implemented over 60 SAR recovery prescribed in site-based Action Plans across Parks Canada’s protected heritage areas, including 4 projects focussing on the conservation of bison and caribou signature species.
• Conducted research on the cumulative impacts of natural and anthropogenic disturbances, including climate change, to caribou habitat and populations.
• Protection and recovery of woodland caribous and their critical habitat is being enhanced through advanced relationship building with Indigenous partners by funding 5 multi-year projects that build Indigenous Peoples’ capacity to implement conservation measures for the woodland caribous habitat, a species at risk. The funding provides Indigenous Peoples with the opportunity to participate in the meaningful implementation of the SARA.
• Provide guidance in caribou habitat restoration to resource managers through collaboration, sharing of expertise, and developing strategies and tools.

Contact information

Nature Legacy Secretariat
Canadian Wildlife Service
Environment and Climate Change Canada
315 Saint-Joseph Boulevard
Gatineau QC  J8Y 3Z5

secretariatdupatrimoinenaturel-naturelegacysecretariat@ec.gc.ca

Horizontal initiative framework: departmental funding by theme (dollars)

Shared outcomes: Canada’s species at risk are recovered and Canada’s ecosystems, landscape and biodiversity are protected

Name of theme	Species at Risk	Protected Areas	Internal Services
Theme outcome(s)	Protection and recovery action for 230 species at risk is enhanced	Canada’s network of protected areas, OECMs and IPCAs is expanded and strengthened	Not applicable
Environment and Climate Change Canada	ECCC: $331,173,996	ECCC: $452,632,353	$22,194,340
Parks Canada	PCA: $58,667,050 including IS ($3,891,941)	PCA: $162,010,390 including IS ($11,237,574)	PCA: 15,129,515
Fisheries and Oceans Canada	DFO: $159,183,716 and $14,600,000 ongoing	n/a	DFO: $13,647,819
Natural Resources Canada	$4,420,000	n/a	n/a

*These amounts include Internal Services costs.

Performance information

Horizontal initiative results overview

Name of horizontal initiative	Total federal funding allocated from start to endFootnote 1  (dollars)	2021-22 Federal planned spendingFootnote 1 (dollars)	2021-22 Federal actual spendingFootnote 1 (dollars)	Horizontal initiative shared outcome(s)	Performance indicator(s)	Target(s)	2021-22 Results
Nature Legacy for Canada	$1,168,087,505	$251,186,951	$252,997,222	Canada’s species at risk are recovered	Percentage of species at risk for which changes in populations are consistent with recovery and management objectives	60% by May 2025	41% (as of May 2021)
				Canada’s ecosystems, landscape and biodiversity are protected	Percentage of total terrestrial territory (land and inland water); and coastal and marine areas that are conserved through networks of protected areas, other effective conservation measure (OECMs) and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)	17% of total land is conserved by 2020; and 10% of total coastal and marine areas are conserved by 2020	13.5% as of Dec 2021 13.9% as of Dec 2021

Theme 1 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated from start to endFootnote 2  (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme planned spendingFootnote 1 (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme actual spendingFootnote 1 (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Performance indicator(s)	Theme Target(s)	Date to achieve theme target	2021-22 Results
Species at risk	$553,444,762	$133,165,635	$128,389,318	Protection and recovery action for 230 species at risk is enhanced	Percentage of 230 species at risk for which protection or recovery actions are being implemented through action for priority places, species, and threats	100%	2023	129% (as of March 31, 2021) Priority Species: While recovery of species at risk is a long-term endeavour and further work will be needed, protection or recovery actions continue to be implemented for all six priority species across the country, with actions benefiting multiple other species. 19 projects were implemented for the six priority species in 2020-21. Priority Places: 254 species at risk are expected to benefit from actions implemented by partners in the 11 Priority Places and the 18 projects implemented in Community Nominated Priority Places in 2020-21. DFO: 260% (78/30 aquatic species at risk) as of March 31, 2022) DFO has exceeded the target of 30 aquatic species (out of the 230) for the total of 78 aquatic species at risk where protection or recovery actions are being implemented through actions for priority places, species and threats.

Theme 2 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated from start to endFootnote 5  (dollars)	2021-22 federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Performance indicator(s)	Target(s)	2021-22 results
Protected areas	$614,642,743	$118,021,316	$124,607,904	Canada’s network of protected areas, OECMs and IPCAs is expanded and strengthened	Number of protected areas, OECMs and IPCAs with demonstrable progress toward establishment or expansion	15 protected areas by 2023	Results will be available in September 2022. Regions are still collecting the annual reports required for this result.
						20 Indigenous Protected Conservation Areas (IPCAs) by 2023	Results will be available in September 2022. Regions are still collecting the annual reports required for this result.
						10 Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) by 2023	Results will be available in September 2022. Regions are still collecting the annual reports required for this result.
					Percent of existing ECCC and PCA protected areas where overall ecological condition or management effectiveness is maintained or improvedFootnote 6	78% by 2023	ECCC: N/A. This indicator was not helpful in fulfilling the purpose that we created it for and we were unable to find a workable methodology. It has not been included in the Enhanced Nature Legacy TB Sub and we have proposed retiring it. PCA: As of March 2021, the ecological integrity of 82% of ecosystems has been maintained or improved.

Total spending, all themes

Theme	Total federal funding allocated from start to end (dollars)	2021–22 total federal planned spending (dollars)	2021–22 total federal actual spending (dollars)
Theme 1 – Species at Risk	$553,444,762	$133,165,635	$128,389,318
Theme 2 – Protected Areas	$614,642,743	$118,021,316	$124,607,904
Total, all themes	$1,168,087,505	$251,186,951	$252,997,222

[*This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.]

Enhanced Nature Legacy for Canada

General information

Name of horizontal initiative

Enhanced Nature Legacy for Canada

Lead department

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Federal partner organization(s)

Parks Canada Agency (PCA), Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Infrastructure Canada (INFC)

Start date

2022-23

End date

2025-26

Description

The objectives of the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative are that: 1) Canada’s species at risk are recovered and 2) Canada’s ecosystems, landscapes and biodiversity are protected.

Work to meet these objectives will be conducted in ways that a) also advance reconciliation through support for Indigenous leadership and engagement in nature conservation, wildlife management and sustainable resource practices; and b) enhance the well-being of Canadians through employment, natural infrastructure and increased access to nature.

Governance structure

Continuing the model from the 2018 Nature Legacy, ECCC will convene a Horizontal Initiative Oversight Committee, chaired by the Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) of the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS), and including the Vice-President of Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation at PCA, the ADM of Aquatic Ecosystems at DFO, and the ADM of Policy and Results, INFC. The Oversight Committee developed for Nature Legacy will be combined with Enhanced Nature Legacy to ensure consistency between initiatives. The Oversight Committee will be responsible for ensuring that the initiative is properly managed. To that end, it will meet at least yearly during the life of the initiative—on an ad hoc basis when useful—and will guide effective and efficient implementation of the initiative, ensure coordination, and support timely and accurate reporting on results. It will also be responsible for resolving any disputes related to implementation of the Enhanced Nature Legacy.

A Director General-level Steering Committee chaired by ECCC and involving PCA, DFO and INFC, will support the Oversight Committee. It will maintain flexibility to use existing and/or establish new horizontal working groups, including to facilitate regional coordination, as required. These working groups, established at the Director or senior advisor level, will operate under terms of reference approved by the Oversight Committee.

Total federal funding allocated from start to end date (dollars)

$2,326,443,834

Total federal planned spending to date (dollars)

$257,959,638

Total federal actual spending to date (dollars)

$162,256,642

Date of last renewal of initiative

Not applicable

Total federal funding allocated at last renewal and source of funding (dollars)

Not applicable

Additional federal funding received after last renewal (dollars)

Not applicable

Total planned spending since the last renewal

Not applicable

Total actual spending since the last renewal

Not applicable

Fiscal year of planned completion of next evaluation

Not applicable

Performance highlights

The Enhanced Nature Legacy Initiative builds on and extends selected element of the 2018 Nature Legacy initiative, and deliver on the Governments nature agenda as set out in the 2020 and 2021 Speech from the Throne. The Speech from the Throne in 2021 committed Canada to conserve 25% of our country’s land and 25% of our country’s oceans by 2025 and work toward 30% of each by 2030. In 2021-22, we continued to develop an ambitious plan to achieve these targets. Recognizing that the loss of nature is a global issue requiring global action, the Prime Minister also advocated in September 2020 that countries around the world set a “high ambition” of 30% conservation for 2030.This enhanced plan also supports the creation of new protected areas, such as national parks, national wildlife areas and freshwater national marine conservation areas, the recognition of areas that are currently achieving the conservation of biodiversity and the effective management of existing and new areas to achieve biodiversity objectives.

Work under this horizontal initiative to support the recovery of Canada’s species at risk, the conservation of migratory birds and the protection of Canada’s ecosystems, landscapes and biodiversity continued to be a priority for ECCC in 2021-22. A key tool to advance progress will be the negotiation of Nature Agreements with provinces and territories, led by ECCC. The nature agreements will advance shared interests in a more integrated approach to conserving nature, establish more protected areas, protect and recover species at risk and their habitat, while at the same time advancing Indigenous reconciliation. The agreements will also help support a green recovery by ensuring the coordinated delivery of nature-based solutions to climate change. Federal coordination will be required between ECCC and Parks Canada Agency, and other departments as required.

ECCC continued to advance partnerships with Indigenous peoples to support First Nations, Inuit, and Métis leadership as a means to advance reconciliation, and to support conservation planning and action led by Indigenous peoples’ that reflects their unique priorities, needs, and rights related to lands and wildlife. This work will be measured by the overall number of Indigenous led projects.

For species at risk, under the Enhanced Nature Legacy initiative, ECCC continued to emphasize and work towards improved outcomes. This is measured by the number of species where changes in population status are consistent with recovery strategy, action plan and management plan population and distribution objectives. Building on Nature Legacy 2018, this initiative enables participating departments to increase the total number of species at risk that should benefit from conservation and recovery efforts.

In 2021-22, ECCC continued to advance conservation outcomes for the six federal-provincial-territorial priority species through increased investment and ambition providing for enhanced collaboration with partners, governance, and action implementation. Parks Canada also continued to support the recovery of Southern Mountain Woodland Caribou in Jasper National Park. ECCC will explore opportunities to identify new terrestrial priority species with partners, including Indigenous peoples. ECCC will continue to advance collaboration, governance, conservation action planning, and action implementation in priority places through increasing investments in existing priority places and will explore opportunities to expand the boundaries of existing priority places and establish new ones, ECCC will also continue to advance implementation of Community-Nominated Priority Places for species at risk and continue to implement the multi-year workplan for the priority places initiative.

Federal departments will also continue to invest in nature conservation and natural infrastructure where the majority of Canadians live through supporting the creation of national urban parks, ecological corridors and natural infrastructure.

Protected areas

• Further developed the concept in collaboration with key partners to prepare the way for assessing the biodiversity and bio-cultural outcomes of conservation projects funded by businesses and delivered by proven conservation organizations.
• In 2021-22 86 ecological gifts were completed, conserving more than 4,700 hectare of land, valued at over $52M.
• ECCC continued work to establish and expand National Wildlife areas:
  • Six additional islands in Nova Scotia are in the process of being transferred from the Department of Fisheries and Ocean to ECCC in 2022-2023 to create the potential Atlantic Archipelago National Wildlife Area
  • Efforts continue to achieve marine protection for Qikiqtait and Sarvarjuaq (the Canadian portion of the Pikialasorsuaq/North Water Polynya). DFO is working closely with other Federal Departments to ensure a Whole-of-Government approach. ECCC is participating in these negotiations with an interest in marine, terrestrial, and coastal conservation of Qikiqtait and marine conservation in Sarvarjuaq through a NWA or s.7 Agreement under the Canada Wildlife Act.
• ECCC invested $3.5 million to secure 306.5 hectares of forested habitat plus a 100 ha timber reservation. This investment is a down payment on early actions under the Bilateral Nature Agreement between ECCC and BC.

Indigenous Guardians

• Budget 2021 announced up to $173 million in funding through the Enhanced Nature Legacy to support new and existing Indigenous Guardians initiatives and the development of Indigenous Guardians Networks for First Nations, Inuit and Métis. With this funding, starting in 2021-22, ECCC’s Indigenous Guardians began the transition out of the Pilot phase, while continuing to co-design, co-develop and co-deliver ongoing programming using a distinctions-based approach with First Nations, Inuit and Métis partners.
• In 2021-22, ECCC’s Indigenous Guardians invested early funding through the Enhanced Nature Legacy for 21 new and existing Guardians initiatives.

DFO

To date, the Ghost Gear Fund has provided $16.7M in funding to 49 projects in Canada and internationally. In total, 1261 tonnes of marine debris and ghost gear has been retrieved and approximately 300 jobs have been created by the fund.

Building on the momentum of the Nature Legacy funding, the Enhanced Nature Legacy allows DFO to further support in-the-water, multi-species approaches to protect and recover aquatic species at risk through Indigenous engagement and partnerships.

Expanded priorities for the Canadian Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk (CNFASAR) include new priority areas (Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Arctic); new priority species (Atlantic salmon, Pacific salmon and North Atlantic Right Whales); and capacity funding to support the consideration of Indigenous knowledge in conservation efforts. Under Enhanced Nature Legacy, CNFASAR launched a Call for Proposals in 2021-22, selecting for multi-species projects across Canada that can help to protect and recover aquatic species at risk in nine freshwater priority areas, to address two priority marine threats, and to support the recovery of three priority species.

Funding also supports an interactive public web-based aquatic species at risk mapping tool which is an important resource for those who conduct projects near water in order to help protect aquatic species at risk. The SAR Mapping Tool is one of the most visited webpages of the Department. In 2021, Critical Habitat data and Distribution Data for Species at Risk were among the top 10 DFO datasets downloaded from Canada’s Open Data Portal.

In addition to increasing the total number of flights hours contributing to surveillance of the North Atlantic right whale, in 2021-22, DFO Science acquired satellite imagery to test its usefulness in informing population abundance and distribution for at least two at-risk species (Walrus and Beluga of which there are multiple populations). This test application will help to determine whether this methodology could be useful to add to our repertoire of techniques in future.

PCA

• Parks Canada initiated discussions towards co-designation of IPCA’s with Indigenous Nations in four different provinces / territories.
• Parks Canada continued negotiations with the Sylix People of the Okanagan Nation as represented by the Osoyoos Indian Band and the Lower Similkameen Indian Band, toward the establishment of a national park reserve in the south Okanagan-Similkameen region.
• A Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Epekwitk Assembly of Councils to establish a new national park reserve in Pltuamkek/Hog-Island.
  • Once established, these protected areas will bring the percentage of represented terrestrial regions by 84.6%
• Discussions have been initiated with provinces / territories and Indigenous governments on five different new national park projects across the country.
• Exploratory work to access the potential for national urban park sites has begun in: Victoria, BC; Edmonton, AB; Saskatoon, SK; Winnipeg, MB; Windsor, ON; Halifax, NS, and discussion also begun in Montreal, Qc.
• Parks Canada, through the National Program for Ecological Corridors, provided funding via two contribution agreements to acquire land adjacent to two protected areas (Gatineau Park and La Mauricie National Park) to improve the areas’ ecological connectivity.
• Parks Canada also implemented 34 ecological connectivity initiatives that engage partners to advance connectivity conservation mapping, monitoring connectivity and developing strategies to address challenges. For example, Kejimkujik, Fundy and La Mauricie National Parks are working with partners to map multi-species habitat connectivity across greater park landscapes as a basis for regional conservation planning. Other national parks, such as Kootenay, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier are working to manage transboundary connectivity for species such as Mountain Goats and Bighorn Sheep.
• As of March 2022, the ecological integrity of 79% of ecosystems has been maintained or improved.

INFC

• Data not available – 2021-22 was the first year of the initiative’s implementation. INFC is currently accepting project applications

Contact information

Nature Legacy Secretariat
Canadian Wildlife Service
Environment and Climate Change Canada
315 Saint-Joseph Boulevard
Gatineau QC  J8Y 3Z5

secretariatdupatrimoinenaturel-naturelegacysecretariat@ec.gc.ca

Horizontal initiative framework: departmental funding by theme (dollars)

Horizontal initiative: Enhanced Nature Legacy for Canada

Shared outcomes: 1) Canada’s species at risk are recovered and 2) Canada’s ecosystems, landscapes and biodiversity are protected.

Name of theme	Species at Risk	Protected and Conserved Areas	Indigenous led Conservation and Stewardship	Canadians and Nature	Internal Services
Theme outcome(s)	Protection and recovery action for species at risk is enhanced.	Canada’s terrestrial lands and inland waters are protected.	Indigenous People are engaged in conservation.	Increased co-benefits to Canadians and nature	Not applicable
Environment and Climate Change Canada	ECCC: $449,103,220 including IS ($11,876,029)	ECCC: $604,203,118 including IS ($21,210,279)	ECCC: $342,835,579 including IS of ($4,889,194)	n/a	ECCC: $37,975,502
Fisheries and Oceans Canada	DFO: $121,629,639 (includes ISS of) ($21,117,421)	n/a	DFO: $51,361,569 (includes ISS of) ($8,384, 813)	n/a	DFO: $29,502,234
Parks Canada	PCA: $23,774,006 including IS ($1,385,267)	PCA: $280,341,424 including IS ($15,139,065)	PCA: $61,653,366 including IS ($3,573,510)	PCA: $191,541,913 including IS ($8,154,204)	PCA: $28,252,046
Infrastructure Canada	n/a	n/a	n/a	INFC : $200,000,000 including IS ($7,800,000)	INFC : $7,800,000

Planning information

Horizontal initiative overview

Name of horizontal initiative	Total federal funding allocated from start to end (dollars)	2021-22 Federal planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Federal actual spending (dollars)	Horizontal initiative shared outcome(s)	Performance indicator(s)	Target(s)	Date to achieve target	2021-22 Results
Enhanced Nature Legacy	$2,326,443,834	$257,959,638	$162,256,642	Canada’s species at risk are recovered.	Percentage of species at risk for which changes in populations are consistent with recovery and management objectives	TBD by March 2023, pending updates to the methodology7	March 2025	The results from 2020-21 were 42%. The results from 2021-2022 were 41%.
				Canada’s ecosystems, landscapes and biodiversity are protected.	Percentage of total i) terrestrial territory (land and inland water) and ii) coastal and marine areas that are conserved through networks of protected areas and Other Effective Conservation Measures (OECMs)Footnote 8	25% of total land and inland water is conserved 10% of total coastal and marine areas are conserved	March 2025 March 2023	13.5% as of Dec 2021 13.9% as of Dec 2021

[*This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.]

Theme 1 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated from start to endFootnote 9  (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme planned spendingFootnote 7  (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme actual spendingFootnote 7  (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Theme target(s)	Date to achieve theme target	2021-22 Results
Species at risk	$594,506,865	$86,108,057	$55,213,569	Protection and recovery for species at risk is enhanced.	Number of species at risk for which protection or recovery actions are being implemented through action for priority places, species and threats	350	March 2023Footnote 10	NA

[*This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.]

Theme 2 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated from start to end (dollars)	2021-22 federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Theme target(s)	Date to achieve theme target	2021-22 results
Protected and Conserved Areas	$884,544,542	$88,999,200	$89,324,256	Canada’s network of protected areas, OECMs and IPCAs is expanded and strengthened.	Number of protected areas, OECMs and IPCAs with demonstrable progress toward establishment or expansion	ECCC and PCA : 15 IPCAs: 20 OECMS: 10	March 2023	Results will be available in September 2022. Regions are still collecting the annual reports required for this result. PCA: Parks Canada initiated discussions towards co-designation of IPCA’s with Indigenous Nations in four different provinces / territories.

[*This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.]

Theme 3 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated from start to end (dollars)	2021-22 federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Theme target(s)	Date to achieve theme target	2021-22 results
Indigenous Conservation	$455,850,514	$29,936,505	$10,805,112	Increased Indigenous leadership and participation in conservation efforts	Percentage enhanced nature legacy contribution agreements that are Indigenous-led	TBD once baseline is established by March 2023	2025-26	N/A first reporting year will be 2022-23.

[*This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.]

Theme 4 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated from start to end (dollars)	2021-22 federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Theme target(s)	Date to achieve theme target	2021-22 results
Canadians and Nature	$391,541,913	$52,915,876	$6,913,705	Increased co-benefits to Canadians and nature	Access to nature indicator placeholder. Indicator to be developed within the next 18 months, based on QOL indicator guidance	TBD by 2022-23	TBD by 2022-23	N/A first reporting year 2022-23
					Number of direct jobs created	2,000	December 2025	N/A first reporting year 2023-24

[*This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.]

Total spending, all themes

Theme	Total federal funding allocated from start to end (dollars)	2021–22 total federal planned spending (dollars)	2021–22 total federal actual spending (dollars)
Theme 1	$594,506,865	$86,108,057	$55,213,569
Theme 2	$884,544,542	$88,999,200	$89,324,256
Theme 3	$455,850,514	$29,936,505	$10,805,112
Theme 4	$391,541,913	$52,914,876	$6,913,705
Total, all themes	$2,326,443,834	$257,958,638	$162,256,642

[*This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.]

Federal Leadership Towards Zero Plastic Waste

General information

Name of horizontal initiative

Federal Leadership Towards Zero Plastic Waste

Lead department

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Federal partner organization(s)

Department of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard (DFO), Transport Canada (TC), Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC)

Start date of the horizontal initiative

2019-20

End date of the horizontal initiative

2021-22

Description of the horizontal initiative

The Federal Leadership towards Zero Plastic Waste initiative will advance federal actions to deliver on Canada’s goal of zero plastic waste by 2030; it will gather evidence to inform decision-making; support targeted actions to divert plastic waste from landfills and the environment; and lay the groundwork to instigate change by industry, provincial/territorial partners, Indigenous peoples and communities.

Governance structures

Environment and Climate Change Canada has a cascading oversight accountability and reporting structure that consists of three governance committees: Deputy Minister, Assistant Deputy Minister and Director General interdepartmental oversight committees.

Total federal funding allocated from start to end date (dollars)

$68,180,154 ($59,101,686 new funding + $9,078,468 existing funding) from 2019 to 2022

Total federal planned spending to date (dollars)

$68,180,154

Total federal actual spending to date (dollars)

$48,797,499 and $5,000,000 (NSERC)^{Footnote 14}

Date of last renewal of the horizontal initiative

Not applicable

Total federal funding allocated at the last renewal and source of funding (dollars)

Not applicable

Additional federal funding received after the last renewal (dollars)

Not applicable

Total planned spending since the last renewal (dollars)

Not applicable

Total actual spending since the last renewal (dollars)

Not applicable

Fiscal year of planned completion of next evaluation

2021-22

Performance highlights

The Government of Canada will continue to implement key initiatives along the six themes of the Federal Leadership Towards Zero Plastic Waste initiative. These concerted actions aim to set Canada on course to achieve its 2030 goal of keeping all plastics in the economy, and out of the environment.

• Theme I: Promoting sustainable design, production and after-use markets: we will pursue voluntary government and industry standards and initiatives to instigate change in plastic product design and production practices. These changes aim to prolong the useful life of plastic products, render them recyclable, reduce the impact of their production, and ensure there are markets for their recycled form. For example, we will develop recycled content standards, and propose regulatory measures to implement the government’s commitment to ban harmful single-use plastics where supported by science and warranted.
• Theme II: Invest in collection, management and systems infrastructure: we will work with provinces through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) to develop guidance for harmonized extended producer responsibility programs to increase plastic waste collection rates and improve end-of-life management practices. The aim is to increase the supply of plastic that is collected and diverted back into the economy by producers and other economic actors.
• Theme III: Promote sustainable lifestyles and education: Federal government campaigns will encourage employees to produce less plastic waste, in order to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated by federal operations.
• Theme IV: Support science, innovation and new technologies: The Canadian Plastics Science Agenda (CaPSA) will fund research to further our understanding of the impacts of plastics on human health, the environment and in the North, and to develop harmonized methods and standards for the detection of plastics and assessing the impacts of plastic pollution. With Statistics Canada we will develop a methodology for measuring plastic usage and plastic waste through surveys to establish baseline waste data and track progress over time.
• In addition a second Plastics Innovation Challenge will fund solutions to address plastic waste in the following areas:
  • Alternatives to single-use plastics
  • Textiles and microfibers
  • Automotive plastics
  • E-waste
• Theme V: Support coastal and shoreline action: The Zero Plastic Waste Initiative (ZPWI) will fund projects aimed at providing local solutions to prevent waste from entering the environment, or to capture and remove plastic pollution.
• Theme VI: Engage domestic and international stakeholders on the circular economy by hosting the 2020 World Circular Economy Forum in Canada: The Forum, to be held in September 2020, will promote awareness of economic and environmental opportunities associated with a circular economy.

Contact information

Susan Young
Environment and Climate Change Canada
Environmental Protection Branch
Plastics and Waste Management Directorate
Plastics and Marine Litter Division
Tel: 819-639-2728
susan.young@ec.gc.ca
351 Saint-Joseph Boulevard, Gatineau, QC  K1A 0H3

Horizontal initiative framework: departmental funding by theme (dollars)

Shared outcomes: Actions are taken to reduce plastic waste by governments; industry and citizens, and baseline information is collected to inform the next phase of Canada’s approach to achieving zero plastic waste.

Name of theme	I. Sustainable design, production and after-use markets	II. Collection, management, other systems, and infrastructure	III. Sustainable lifestyles and education	IV. Science, Innovation and New Technologies	V. Coastal and Shoreline Action	VI. Laying the Foundation for a Circular Economy	Internal Services*
Theme outcome(s)	I. Targeted measures drive sustainable design, production and after-use markets within Industry and federal operations	II.A. Targeted sectors adopt measures to increase plastic waste collection rates and improve end-of-life management practices II.B. Targeted actions divert plastic waste and ghost fishing gear from aquatic sources	III. Federal employees in targeted buildings produce less plastic waste	IV.A. Scientific and socio-economic information on the distribution and impacts of plastics throughout their lifecycle is available IV.B. Government funding drives technological innovation to reduce plastic waste	V. Plastic pollution is diverted from aquatic environments	VI. 2020 World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) attendees are more informed about opportunities for a circular economy	Not applicable
ECCC	$8,100,520	$6,239,872	N/A	$14,780,294 $5,000,000 (NSERC)Footnote 16	$5,349,059	$4,227,120	$2,197,459
DFO	N/A	$15,000,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1,537,256
TC	N/A	$791,066	NA	NA	$312,223	NA	$109,878
PSPC	$1,229,000	$3,980,000	$671,000	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
CIRNAC	N/A	N/A	N/A	$2,500,000	N/A	N/A	$42,000

* The Internal Services figure is included in the total allocation amounts for each theme.

Planning information

Horizontal initiative overview

Name of horizontal initiative	Total federal funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Actual spending (dollars)	Horizontal initiative shared outcome(s)	Performance indicator(s)	Target(s)	Date to achieve target	2021-22 Results
Federal Leadership Towards Zero Plastic Waste	$68,180,154	$23,459,398	$20,374,308	1. Scientific and socio-economic information on plastics throughout their lifecycle is available to inform policy	PI1. # of pre-identified information gaps on science, socio-economic and best practices addressed	At least 4	March 31, 2022	Over $10 million invested to address knowledge gaps identified by the Canadian Plastics Science Agenda including: 7 projects via the Plastics Science for a Cleaner Future (PSCF) program to detect, characterize and assess plastic pollution; 6 projects through the Increasing Knowledge of Plastic Pollution (IKPP) initiative to better understand the impacts of plastic pollution; and 20 projects through CIRNAC’s Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) to address plastic pollution knowledge gaps in the North. 125 best practices or tools developed to prevent and reduce plastic pollution through the Zero Plastic Waste Initiative (ZPWI). Data and socioeconomic knowledge gaps filled through publication of StatCan’s Pilot Physical Flow Account for Plastic Materials (PFAPM).
				2. Plastic is diverted from landfills and the environment	PI2. Weight (kilograms) of plastics diverted	At least 300,000 kg plastic waste is diverted from landfills and the environment	March 31, 2022	325,279 kg of plastic litter captured or removed from the environment (through the ZPWI).

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.

Theme 1 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021–22 Federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Target(s)	2021-22 Results
Sustainable design, production and after-use markets	$9,329,520	$3,610,342	$4,033,135	Targeted measures drive sustainable design, production and after-use markets within Industry and federal operations	Adoption rates of targeted measures within targeted sectors	100% of targeted sectors by March 2022	Studies, tools, pilots and roadmaps for reducing plastic waste developed in all four targeted sectors: textiles, automotive, health care, and agricultural plastics. Work advanced with the Bureau de normalisation du Quebec (BNQ) on the development of a national standard on compostable plastics. A roadmap for Canadian jurisdictions to manage single-use and disposable plastics developed through CCME, for publication in Fall 2022. Standardized language regarding sustainable packaging and durability of goods piloted for purchase requirements for federal government procurement. Waste audits and PPE recycling in Crown-owned buildings instituted as part of the Real Property Waste Action Plan.

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.

Theme 1 horizontal initiative activities

Departments	Link to the department’s Program Inventory	Horizontal initiative activity (activities)	Total federal funding allocated to each horizontal initiative activity since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Planned spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Actual spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity expected result(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity performance indicator(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity target(s)	2021-22 Results
ECCC	Substances and Waste Management	1.1 Establish a scientific and socio-economic knowledge base to inform regulation, including producing a science assessment	$8,100,520	$327,351	$329,956	1.1 The Government of Canada has access to a scientific and socio-economic knowledge base to inform regulation	1.1 # of science, socio-economic and policy reports and peer-reviewed publications used to inform regulations	At least 3 by March 2022	Single-use Plastic Prohibition Regulations (SUPPR) informed by over 60 science, socio-economic and/or policy reports and peer-reviewed publications The Science Assessment of Plastic Pollution published in October 2020
		1.2.1 Develop National standards / performance requirements for sustainable plastics and alternatives		$1,911,627	$2,741,220	1.2. Partnerships and voluntary instruments are in place to drive sustainable design, production and after-use markets in targeted Industry sectors	1.2.1 Published National Standards and performance requirements	National Standards and performance requirements published by March 2022	Through a collaboration with Quebec’s BNQ, work advanced towards the publication of a national standard for compostable plastics, and a recycled content verification standard, with publication expected in 2023 Regulatory proposal on recycled plastic content published for consultation
		1.2.2 Develop industry partnerships and voluntary agreements in targeted sectors not covered by EPR programs to improve plastic product design, production and/or after-use markets		$738,240	$744,115		1.2.2 % of targeted industry not cover by EPR having signed partnerships and voluntary agreements	100% of targeted sectors by March 2022	Funding agreements signed with all four targeted industry sectors: textiles, automotive, healthcare, and agricultural plastics.
		1.2.3 Develop a roadmap for single-use and disposable plastic products		$0	$0		1.2.3 Published roadmap for single-use and disposable plastic products	Roadmap for single-use and disposable plastic products published by March 2022	A Roadmap on Single-use and Disposable Plastic Products developed through CCME, with publication in Fall 2022.
		1.3 Establish federal plastic waste reduction purchasing requirements (with TBS and PSPC)		$216,124	$217,844	1.3 Federal organizations have access to new plastic waste reduction purchasing requirements	1.3 % of government organizations having received the new plastic waste reduction purchasing requirements	100% By March 2022	Standard procurement language for sustainable packaging and durability of goods piloted, with purchasing requirements to be completed in 2022-23.
PSPC	Federal Accommodation and Infrastructure	1.4 Develop and implement pilot fit-ups that support the sustainable use of plastics and plastic waste reduction	$1,229,000	$417,000	$0	1.4 Pilot fit-up projects produce solutions to reduce plastic waste within fit-up projects	1.4 # of solutions to reduce plastic waste identified from pilot project findings	A minimum of five solutions are confirmed (which may include a combination of performance criteria, design specifications, and procurement strategies for both furniture and fit-up materials) by March 2022	Feasibility study completed that provides national level guidance on office fit-up projects. Preliminary fit-up recommendations integrated into the draft federal Sustainable Furniture Guideline

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.

Theme 2 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Theme target(s)	2021-22 Results
Collection, management, other systems, and infrastructure	$26,010,938	$10,934,350	$9,283,635	A. Targeted sectors adopt measures to increase plastic waste collection rates and improve end-of-life management practices	A. Adoption rates of measures by targeted sector	100% of targeted sectors	Studies, tools, pilots and roadmaps that included recommendations to increase plastic waste collection rates and/or improve end-of-life management completed for five targeted sectors (textiles, automotive, health care, agricultural plastics and packaging)
				B. Targeted actions divert plastic waste and ghost fishing gear from aquatic sources	B. Weight (kilograms) of fishing nets processed for recycling	TBD	460 tonnes of fishing nets (excluding rope and buoys) and 127 km of rope retrieved from aquatic sources to be processed for recycling (DFO)

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.

Theme 2 horizontal initiative activities

Departments	Link to the department’s Program Inventory	Horizontal initiative activity (activities)	Total federal funding allocated to each horizontal initiative activity since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Planned spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Actual spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity expected result(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity performance indicator(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity target(s)	2021-22 Results
ECCC	Substances and Waste Management	2.1.1 Develop a consistent Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) model program for plastics, with the provinces via CCME.	$6,239,872	$823,062	$916,539	2.1 Tools and agreements for increased plastic waste diversion and value recovery are in place	2.1.1 % P/T governments that have committed to implementing model EPR program	100% of 13 P/T governments by March 2022	Guidance to Facilitate Consistent EPR Policies and Programs for Plastics endorsed by all 13 provinces and territories, published by CCME in August 2022.
		2.1.2 Develop a national roadmap to increase remanufacturing and refurbishing.		$571,345	$821,213		2.1.2 Published national roadmap	One national roadmap for remanufacturing and refurbishing published by March 2022	The Socioeconomic and Environmental Study on the Canadian Remanufacturing Sector and Other Value-Retention Processes (VRPs) in the Context of a Circular Economy published in June 2021. Building on this foundational work, a roadmap will be developed on VRPs, focusing on reuse and repair, in 2022-23.
		2.1.3 Conclude performance agreements with industry sectors not covered by EPR programs that would set specific plastic waste reduction and recycled content objectives.		$639,752	$354,550		2.1.3 % of targeted industry sectors not covered by EPR programs having signed performance agreements outlining specific plastic waste reduction and recycled content objectives	100% by March 2022	Four targeted sectors (textiles, automotive, agricultural plastics, and health care) engaged in preparatory work towards potential performance agreements; additional market studies completed for reuse, recycling and industrial, commercial and institutional sectors
DFO	Fisheries Management	2.2 Expand abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) reporting requirements under the Fisheries Act and engage industry in collection efforts.	$15,000,000	$7,104,698	$6,912,852	2.2.1 Stakeholder-led retrieval of abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is increased	2.2.1 Total # of recipientsFootnote 17  with signed contribution agreements participating in gear retrieval efforts	4 by March 2022	37 agreements signed with recipients for retrieval efforts, with all activities now completed.
						2.2.2 Indigenous participation in retrieval of ALDFG is expanded	2.2.2 # of eligible Indigenous groups represented in agreements involving retrieval of ALDFG	1 by March 31, 2022	5 projects carried out by Indigenous groups, with all activities now completed.
						2.2.3 Technologies to reduce ALDFG are piloted and/or implemented	2.2.3 # of recipients2 with signed contribution agreements piloting and/or implementing technologies to reduce ALDFG	3 by March 31, 2022	4 recipients funded to undertake work related to improving gear technology to reduce ALDFG, with all activities now completed.
	Small Craft Harbours	2.3.1 Equip Small Craft Harbours in coastal communities as port reception facilities for plastic waste and ghost fishing gear from aquatic sources: Net recycling on the Pacific coast				2.3.1 A system for recycling of fishing nets at DFO Small Craft Harbours at end-of-life on the coast of BC is developed	2.3.1 % of targeted DFO Small Craft Harbours (SCH) in British Columbia with access to a net recycling support system based on the results of the feasibility study	While all core harbours (100%) in the province are covered by the business plan’s proposed system, the % of actual HAs that will have access to the system will depend on the funding granted to the project in 2022-23.	Business plan developed that outlines how the fishing net recycling system in British Columbia’s harbours will operate. Implementation of this plan, which outlines how Steveston Harbour Authority will operate as a recycling hub, is dependent upon funding the Steveston Net Recycling Initiative will receive in 2022-23.
		2.3.2 Equip Small Craft Harbours in coastal communities as port reception facilities for plastic waste and ghost fishing gear from aquatic sources: ALDFG and marine litter reception locations.				2.3.2 Locations to dispose of ALDFG/marine litter are provided	2.3.2 % of targeted locations that are equipped to receive marine litter/ALDFG	25% by March 2022	100% - all 36 targeted locations equipped for the disposal of marine litter and ALDFG.
TC	Protecting Oceans and Waterways	2.4 Develop marine sector assessments that support plastic waste reduction	$791,066	$0	$0	2.4.1 Information on best practices and opportunities for plastic waste diversion in the marine sector is available	2.4.1.1 number of identified best practices to reduce plastic waste from the marine sector	At least one best practice by March 2022 Target date has been pushed back to March 2023.	Activity postponed to 2022-23 due to insufficient resources
							2.4.1.2 number of identified opportunities to reduce plastic waste from the marine sector	At least one opportunity by March 2022 Target date has been pushed back to March 2023.	Activity postponed to 2022-23 due to insufficient resources
				$165,493	$259,356	2.4.2 Opportunities to enhance/improve waste reception and treatment capacity within Canadian ports are identified.	2.4.2 number of identified opportunities	At least one opportunity by March 2022	Study completed that assessed opportunities for waste management and treatment within Canadian ports
PSPC	Federal Accommodation and Infrastructure	2.5 Implement the Real Property Waste Action Plan to reduce plastic waste	$3,980,000	$1,630,000	$19,125	2.5 Results from waste audits within applicable PSPC buildings and leased space are available to inform plastic waste reduction plans	2.5.1 % of applicable Crown-owned buildings for which PSPC is the custodian and leased space in which audits have been completed	100% of applicable Crown-owned buildings for which PSPC is the custodian will have completed waste audits and waste reduction plans by March 2022	46% of applicable Crown-owned buildings audited (126 out of a total of 273 buildings). Leased spaces were not audited due to nil occupancy. Implementation delayed as PSPC buildings and leased spaces remained mostly unoccupied due to pandemic.
							2.5.2 % of applicable Crown-owned buildings for which PSPC is the custodian that have confirmed baselines for plastic waste diversion, and plastic waste generation per capita	100% of applicable Crown-owned buildings for which PSPC is the custodian with confirmed baselines by March 2022	37% of applicable Crown-owned buildings have confirmed baselines (result obtained in 2019-20, prior to the pandemic). Waste audits completed during the pandemic not representative baselines due to low or nil occupancy levels. Audit data from 2020-21 show a 25% plastic diversion rate and a 5kg/capita/yr generation rate of plastic waste sent to landfill. This is comparable to 2019-20 when plastic diversion was 22% and 4.7kg/capita/yr. PSPC also reached out to industry to identify new service trends and long-term solutions for diversion of hard to recycle plastics in Federal operations. Results are coming in with a report due in December 2022

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.

Theme 3 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021–22 Federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Target(s)	2021-22 Results
Sustainable lifestyles and education	$671,000	$340,000	$121,965	Federal employees in targeted buildings produce less plastic waste	% of plastic waste diversion achieved as measured through waste audits of targeted PSPC buildings	75% diversion rate for plastics by 2022	N/A as office-based engagement activities were paused during the pandemic. Instead, PSPC focused on new, virtual methods of engagement using digital tools. PSPC is now targeting teleworking employees to raise their plastic waste awareness and engage employees. Study completed to identify the best digital tools for virtual occupant engagement. These tools will be applied to the virtual engagement program planned for a December 2022 pilot launch, followed by a national program.

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.

Theme 3 horizontal initiative activities

Departments	Link to the department’s Program Inventory	Horizontal initiative activity (activities)	Total federal funding allocated to each horizontal initiative activity since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Planned spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Actual spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity expected result(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity performance indicator(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity target(s)	2021-22 Results
PSPC	Federal Accommodation and Infrastructure	3. Deliver awareness and educational initiatives to federal employees and partners on plastic waste reduction measures in federal operations	$671,000	$340,000	$121,965	3.1 Federal employees are aware and engaged in reducing plastic waste in federal operations	3.1 % of employees reached by occupant awareness and engagement initiatives in pilot buildings	75% employees engaged via survey results and participation rates in pilot buildings by March 2022	0% employees as office-based engagement activities were paused during the pandemic. Study completed to identify the best digital tools for virtual occupant engagement. These tools will be applied to the virtual engagement program planned for a December 2022 pilot launch, followed by a national program. Participation in the Occupant Sustainability Survey dropped from 7% in 2019-20 to 1% of applicable occupants in 2021-22. However, the occupants’ rating of their “general sustainability awareness” continues to be high at 77% in 2021-22. It was 76% in 2019-20. “Waste management and diversion”, as well as “plastics reduction” were top-ranking priorities for occupants.
						3.2 Plastic waste is reduced in buildings for which PSPC is the custodian where occupant awareness and engagement pilots are implemented	3.2 % of plastic waste diverted in buildings reached by occupant awareness and engagement pilot to be measured through the completion of waste audits pre and post pilots	50% of plastic waste in buildings reached by the occupant awareness and engagement pilots is diverted by March 2022	14% of plastic waste diverted during pandemic conditions (2020-21), compared to 22% in the pre-pandemic operations (2019-20). Operational constraints from increased disinfecting and cleaning operations combined with the low occupancy rate meant more plastic going to landfill. In some cases, recycling programs were suspended because minimum volume levels could not be met in which led to all waste going to landfill.

Theme 4 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021–22 Federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Target(s)	2021-22 Results
Science, Innovation and New Technologies	$22,280,294	$6,572,436	$4,945,986	A. Scientific and socio-economic information on the distribution and impacts of plastics throughout their lifecycle is available	A. % of scientific and socio-economic information gaps addressed	A. 100% of sought knowledge gaps by March 2022	Over $10 million invested to address knowledge gaps identified by CaPSA including: • 7 projects via the Plastics Science for a Cleaner Future (PSCF) program to detect, characterize and assess plastic pollution; • 6 projects through the Increasing Knowledge of Plastic Pollution (IKPP) initiative to better understand the impacts of plastic pollution; and • 20 projects through CIRNAC’s Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) to address plastic pollution knowledge gaps in the North. Data and socioeconomic knowledge gaps filled by publication of StatCan’s Pilot Physical Flow Account for Plastic Materials (PFAPM).
				B. Government funding drives technological innovation to reduce plastic waste	B. # of prototypes developed	B. At least 2 by March 2022	Four Phase 1 (proof of concept) and one Phase 2 (prototype development) Canadian Plastics Innovation Challenge (CPIC) projects completed in such areas as textiles and alternative materials. Second Phase 2 project completed in Q1, 2022-23.

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.

Theme 4 horizontal initiative activities

Departments	Link to the department’s Program Inventory	Horizontal initiative activity (activities)	Total federal funding allocated to each horizontal initiative activity since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Planned spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Actual spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity expected result(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity performance indicator(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity target(s)	2021-22 Results
ECCC	Substances and Waste Management	4.1.1 Implement Canada’s Plastics Science Agenda: Allocate contribution Funds for research projects to eligible organizations (in collaboration with Health Canada)	$2,313,486 $5,000,000Footnote 18  (NSERC)	$1,060,466	$1,068,905	4.1.1 Information on the exposure and impacts of plastics on human health is increased	4.1.1 % of information gaps on the impacts of plastics on human health addressed	100% of identified information gaps by March 2022	Target areas scoped for the “health impacts” stream of the Increasing Knowledge on Plastic Pollution (IKPP) initiative. Funded projects addressed gaps in: (i) Uptake, translocation and fate of microplastics in the gastrointestinal and respiratory track including the physical characteristics that influence bioavailability, tissue distribution and toxicity; (ii) potential effects of microplastics-associated biofilms in drinking water; (iii) effects of plastics as vectors for chemical or biological contaminant exposure for plastic-derived chemicals (e.g. leached chemicals) and/or environmental pollutants.
		4.1.2 Implement Canada’s Plastics Science Agenda: Allocate contribution funds to eligible organizations to increase understanding of plastics in the North and research on the eco-toxicological effects of plastic pollution				4.1.2 Information on plastics in the North and on eco-toxicological effects of plastic pollution is advanced	4.1.2 % of information gaps with respect to the North and on the eco-toxicological effects of plastic pollution addressed	100% of sought information gaps by March 2022	Knowledge base expanded on distribution and movement of plastic pollution in the North and its eco-toxicological effects through the Northern Contaminants Program (CIRNAC) and Canada’s contribution to the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Progamme (AMAP)
		4.1.3 Implement Canada’s Plastics Science Agenda: Allocate funding for targeted research on priority knowledge gaps relating to methods and standards development for detection of plastics and assessing impacts of plastic pollution				4.1.3.1 Methods and standards for detecting, quantifying and characterizing plastics increase our understanding of the impacts of plastics pollution	4.1.3.1 Methods and standards for detecting plastics and assessing the impacts of plastic pollution are shared amongst Canadian scientists	Methods and standards disseminated (e.g., number of papers, conferences/posters, technical reports) by Fall 2021	IKPP supported projects concluded March 31, 2022; publications from these projects are not yet available for sharing/distribution 12 projects that developed methods for detecting and assessing plastics in the environment (through the ZPWI) shared or disseminated (e.g., through website, journal articles, training)
						4.1.3.2 Non-academics participate in Research projects	4.1.3.2 % of projects in which non-academics are collaborators	50% by March 31, 2021	100% of all 7 research projects funded under the Plastics Science for a Cleaner Future (PSCF) initiative with NSERC worked with non-academic collaborators.
ECCC	Substances and Waste Management	4.2 Administer Canadian Plastics Innovation Challenge	$7,207,682	$1,887,508	$851,529	4.2.1 Government funding for Plastics Innovation Challenge gives way to innovative solutions to address plastic waste	4.2.1.1 # of proof of concepts developed	4 proof of concepts developed by March 31, 2022	Four Phase 1 (proof-of-concept) projects completed in textiles and alternative materials
							4.2.1.2 # of prototypes developed	2 prototypes developed by March 31, 2022	One Phase 2 prototype developed; the second delayed due to Covid 19 but completed in Q1 2022-23.
ECCC	Substances and Waste Management	4.3 Develop methodology for measuring plastic usage and plastic waste through StatsCan surveys	$5,259,126	$2,409,462	$1,997,617	4.3 Data on plastic material and waste flows is available to Canadians and policy-makers	4.3 StatsCan methodology related to data outputs and indicators is published	Methodology is published by March 31, 2021	Pilot PFAPM published by StatsCan in March 2022, as well as high-level methodology within StatsCan’s Integrated Meta Database
CIRNAC	Northern and Arctic Environmental Sustainability	4.4 Implement Canada’s Plastics Science Agenda: Monitor plastics and microplastics pollution in the Arctic through the Northern Contaminants Program (NCP)	$2,500,000	$1,215,000	$1,027,935	4.4 Information on the geographic and ecological distribution of plastic pollution in the North is available through monitoring and research	4.4.2 # of datasets established as baselines for long-term monitoring of plastic pollution in the North	10 by March 31, 2022	Foundations laid for establishing baselines for long-term monitoring of ten environmental compartments: freshwater fish, sea-run arctic char, seabirds, (northern fulmars, thick-billed murre, common eider and black-legged kittiwake), air, snow, ice, fresh water, sea water, sediments and mammals (beluga, polar bear and ringed seal).

Theme 5 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021–22 Federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Target(s)	2021-22 Results
Coastal and shoreline action	$5,661,282	$2,002,270	$1,989,587	Plastic pollution is diverted from aquatic environments	A. Amount of plastic litter by source and/or location collected by funded initiative	A. Over 300,000 kg captured or removed by the initiative by December 2021	325,279 kg of litter captured or removed from the environment (through the ZPWI).
					B. Approved options for adapting the measures found in the IMO Action Plan to address marine plastic litter from ships within the Canadian context are implemented	B. # of implemented options (TBD upon completion of report)	Result delayed as the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Action Plan study was begun in January 2022, with results to be assessed at the end of 2022-23.

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.

Theme 5 horizontal initiative activities

Departments	Link to the department’s Program Inventory	Horizontal initiative activity (activities)	Total federal funding allocated to each horizontal initiative activity since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Planned spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Actual spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity expected result(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity performance indicator(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity target(s)	2021-22 Results
ECCC	Substances and Waste Management	5.1 Deliver funding for community-led clean-up and citizen science initiatives	$5,349,059	$1,800,000	$1,777,386	5.1.1 Effective plastic pollution capture and collection solutions are deployed in targeted communities	5.1.1.1 # of kg of plastic litter diverted (captured or collected) from water bodies	5.1.1 At least 300,000 kg kg of plastic litter based on region and amount of pollution by March 31, 2022	325,279 kg of litter captured or removed from the environment (through the ZPWI).
							5.1.1.2 # of participating organizations	5.1.2 At least 10 by March 31. 2022	415 organizations participated in or contributed to ZPWI-funded community-led clean-up and citizen science projects.
						5.1.2 Citizen science information is available to the public	5.1.2 One citizen science sharing platform mechanism identified	5.1.2 One citizen science protocol published by March 31, 2021	Protocols developed through support from the ZPWI: Citizen science protocol developed to monitor PPE litter • Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup protocol in place and data published on their website Protocol developed by Acadia University for northern and remote communities and academic journal article published with preliminary results • Protocol published by University of Saskachewan and the Canadian Wildlife Health Consortium (CWHC); module developed on plastic pollution within CWHC’s platform • Citizen science protocol developed by University of Toronto to assess debris collected by Seabins and LittaTraps in the Great Lakes. Data sharing platform launched "The Great Lakes Plastics Cleanup" and toolkits for capture devices and assessments deployed to communities. • Citizen science protocol developed by Ocean Diagnostics to assess microplastics in surface waters
						5.1.3 The Government of Canada knowledge of plastic pollution sources is available	5.1.3 # of modules, science reviews to identify plastic sources and distribution	5.1.3 At least 2 by March 31, 2022	Stocktaking of domestic science expertise conducted with nearly 200 records, and survey of plastic pollution capacity completed by 143 participants Annotated bibliography developed of domestic plastic pollution science with over 100 articles reviewed
						5.1.4 Targeted plastic pollution prevention activities are identified	5.1.4 # of best practices or guidance reports/tools developed	5.1.4 At least 2 March 31, 2022	125 best practices or tools developed to prevent and reduce plastic pollution, including educational materials (through ZPWI)
TC	Protecting Oceans and Waterways	5.2 Conduct an assessment of the measures under the International Maritime Organization Action Plan to Address Marine Plastic Litter from Ships	$312,223	$202,270	$212,201	5. Options for adapting measures (taken within the IMO Action Plan to address marine plastic litter from ships) within the Canadian context are identified.	5.2 # of identified options	At least two options identified March 31, 2022	Result delayed as the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Action Plan study was begun in January 2022, with results to be assessed at the end of 2022-23

Theme 6 details

Name of theme	Total federal theme funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021–22 Federal theme planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Federal theme actual spending (dollars)	Theme outcome(s)	Theme performance indicator(s)	Target(s)	2021-22 Results
Laying the foundations for a circular economy	$4,227,120	$0	$0	2020 World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) attendees are more informed about opportunities for a circular economy	% of invited participants who report increasing their knowledge and/or networks on the circular economy	60% of respondents to post-event survey by December 2020	84% of WCEF2021 respondents to a post-event survey agreed or strongly agreed that their knowledge on the circular economy had increased.

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.

Theme 6 horizontal initiative activities

Departments	Link to the department’s Program Inventory	Horizontal initiative activity (activities)	Total federal funding allocated to each horizontal initiative activity since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Planned spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Actual spending for each horizontal initiative activity (dollars)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity expected result(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity performance indicator(s)	2021-22 Horizontal initiative activity target(s)	2021-22 Results
ECCC	Substances and Waste Management	6. Engage domestic and international stakeholders on the circular economy by hosting the 2020 World Circular Economy Forum in Canada	$4,227,120	$0	$0	The WCEF has been hosted in Canada in 2021	WCEF event	WCEF event by December 2021	WCEF2021 held from September 13-15, 2021 as a virtual event. WCEF2021 was co-organized by ECCC and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, in collaboration with 15 partner organizations. It featured 95 speakers representing 27 countries, and attracted over 4,000 live participants from 134 countries.

Total spending, all themes

Theme	Total federal funding allocated since the last renewal* (dollars)	2021-22 Total federal planned spending (dollars)	2021-22 Total federal actual spending (dollars)
Theme 1	$9,329,520	$3,610,342	$4,033,135
Theme 2	$26,010,938	$10,934,350	$9,283,635
Theme 3	$671,000	$340,000	$121,965
Theme 4	$22,280,294	$6,572,436	$4,945,986
Theme 5	$5,661,282	$2,002,270	$1,989,587
Theme 6	$4,227,120	$0	$0
Total, all themes	$68,180,154	$23,459,398	$20,374,308

* This amount includes any additional funding received after the last renewal. Where the initiative is new (with no renewal), insert the initial total allocation approved.

Addressing Air Pollution

Horizontal initiative close-out report

Name of horizontal initiative: Addressing Air Pollution

Start date: April 1, 2016

The Addressing Air Pollution Horizontal Initiative (AAPHI) is a continuation of previous work to address air pollution conducted under the Clean Air Regulatory Agenda (CARA), which was in place from 2006-07 to 2015-16.

The AAPHI received funding in Budgets 2016 and 2017. Budget 2016 provided funding for the science and reporting activities for five years and ongoing, and provided funding for policy and analysis, mitigation activities for outdoor air, and indoor air quality activities for two years (2016-17 to 2017-18).

Budget 2017 provided funding for policy and analysis activities for four years and ongoing. It also provided funding for mitigation activities for outdoor air, and indoor air quality activities for four years and ongoing.

Ongoing funding began on April 1, 2022. The AAPHI partners continue to work together to address air pollution in Canada.

End date: This initiative is ongoing.

Lead department: Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Number of times renewed: 0

Partner departments: Health Canada (HC) and National Research Council Canada (NRC)

Other non-federal partners: The AAPHI includes elements of the Air Quality Management System (AQMS), a framework to address air pollution in Canada, which is implemented collaboratively by federal, provincial and territorial governments, with involvement of, and in consultation with, Indigenous peoples, health and environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and industry.

Description of the horizontal initiative:

Air pollution threatens the health of Canadians, degrades the environment, and can reduce economic productivity. It is linked to increased incidences of stroke, heart disease, and acute respiratory diseases, and it exacerbates conditions such as asthma and diabetes, with subsequent increases in hospital admissions, emergency room visits, and premature mortality. Outdoor air pollution also affects wildlife, ecosystems and vegetation, and structures, and leads to reduced visibility. Indoor air pollution exposure is also of particular concern given Canadians spend approximately 90% of their time indoors.

This initiative aims to reduce air pollution to improve air quality in Canada, and to provide Canadians with the tools to make informed decisions regarding their exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollutants to protect their health.

Activities undertaken include:

1. Scientific and reporting activities to provide the foundation for credible, relevant, and timely policy and regulatory development, administration, and enforcement; and to provide air quality information to Canadians, including on the health risks of air pollution.
2. Policy and analysis activities to provide the strategic advice and economic and health benefit analyses necessary to develop effective policy and regulatory measures; to continue to work with provinces, territories, and other stakeholders to address domestic air pollution; and to continue working with the U.S. under the bilateral Air Quality Agreement and other countries in international fora including the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution to reduce transboundary air pollution.
3. Mitigation actions for outdoor air quality, which include developing and administering regulatory and non-regulatory instruments to reduce emissions from industrial sectors and equipment types, vehicles, engines, and fuels, and consumer and commercial products.
4. Activities to improve indoor air quality including communication and outreach activities through HC’s and NRC’s indoor air quality programs to inform Canadians of the health risks of indoor air pollution and encourage personal actions to reduce these risks in homes and buildings, including at schools and workplaces.

Going forward this program will continue to aim to improve air quality, reduce impacts of air pollution on health and the environment and provide Canadians with the tools to make informed decisions to reduce their exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollutants.

Expenditures

Total federal funding from start to end date (authorities and actual)

Department/Agency	Authorities	Actual spending	Variance(s)
Environment and Climate Change Canada	$412,820,858	$389,493,645	$23,327,213
Health Canada	$170,339,995	$142,262,660	$28,077,335
National Research Council	$12,376,596	$12,287,006	$89,590
Totals	$595,537,450	$544,043,311	$51,494,139

Results

Performance indicators and trend data for shared outcomes

Performance indicators	Results and trend data
Shared outcome 1 Canadians have clean air Indicator 1a) Percentage of Canadians living in areas where air quality standards are achieved Target 1a) 85% of Canadians live in areas that meet Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) in 2030 (from a baseline of approximately 60% in 2005-2007, based on 2020 CAAQS values)	Based on 2017-2019 data, the most recent data available, the percentage of Canadians living in areas where the Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS)* were achieved, was 71%. This represents an improvement from 68% in the previous reporting year and an improvement from the baseline. ECCC and HC will continue to monitor air pollutants in collaboration with provinces and territories and will continue to undertake policy and mitigation activities to towards the 2030 target of 85% of the population living in areas where air quality standards are achieved. Air pollution from wildfire smoke could continue to impact the achievement of the target. Air quality across western Canada was negatively affected by large wildfires in 2018. The federal government will also continue to work with provinces, territories, industry, Indigenous peoples, and non-governmental organizations to implement the Air Quality Management System (AQMS). The AQMS is a collaborative approach to addressing air pollution that includes CAAQS to drive continuous improvement in local air quality, industrial emissions requirements, provincial and territorial air zone management, inter-jurisdictional airshed management, collaboration to reduce emissions from mobile sources, and reporting to Canadians on the state of their air. The CAAQS are established as environment- and health-based objectives under sections 54 and 55 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act for outdoor concentrations of air pollutants. Under the AQMS, they provide an important indication of where further action on air quality might be needed across the country. They are to be implemented by provinces and territories. Over the course of the horizontal initiative, new CAAQS were established for sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) for 2020 and 2025, a review of the 2020 ground-level ozone standard resulted in a more stringent standard for 2025, and a review of the 2020 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) standard was undertaken. *Note: The CAAQS percentages are calculated using 3-year average concentrations.
Shared outcome 2 Adverse impacts on human health and ecosystems are reduced Indicator 2a) Change in number of deaths per year attributable to air pollution Target 2a) Decrease in number of deaths per year attributable to air pollution (from a baseline in 2017 of 42 per 100,000) by 2030	Exposure to outdoor air pollutants, even at low levels, has an impact on human health. It leads to disease, increased hospitalizations, and even premature death. Exposures to PM2.5, NO2, and ground-level ozonehave been found to result in significant population health impacts in Canada and are used to estimate the number of premature deaths associated with air pollution. In 2021, Health Canada estimated that the number of premature deaths per year attributable to air pollution in Canada was 42 per 100,000 Canadians. Since first reported in 2017, the number of deaths per year attributable to air pollution has remained relatively constant. Moving forward this metric will be calculated every 3 years. In 2021, the total economic value of adverse air pollution health impacts in Canada was estimated to be $120 billion per year, up from $114 billion in 2019.
Indicator 2b) Area of exceedance of ecosystem critical loads of acidity Target 2b) Decrease in the area of exceedance of ecosystem critical loads of acidity from a baseline (to be established)	Outdoor air pollution can have adverse impacts on lakes, rivers, soil, vegetation and fish and wildlife populations as a result of processes such as acid deposition. Acid deposition occurs when sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and ammonia emissions react with water, oxygen and/or other chemicals in the air and these newly created chemicals – known as secondary pollutants – are deposited to land and water. To measure this impact of acid deposition, the amount of pollutants deposited are compared to the critical load of acidity. The critical load of acidity is the amount of acidity a particular ecosystem can receive before damage occurs. Deposition that is in exceedance of the critical load can indicate an unhealthy ecosystem. Progress in determining critical loads for aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems has been made and critical loads for acidity have been updated. Further data collection and analyses for the deposition of acidifying substances are needed to finalize the development of the indicator and establish a baseline. Ongoing progress in achieving the target will be assessed using three-year averages based on operational air quality forecasts and monitoring data.

Brief explanation of performance

Science research, modelling, monitoring and reporting:

• ECCC maintains monitoring networks, some in conjunction with provinces and territories, such as the National Air Pollution Surveillance program (NAPS) and the Canadian Air and Precipitation Monitoring Network (CAPMoN).
  • Data from the National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) program are or were used to:
    • provide the historical record on levels and trends for establishing and reporting on Canadian Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS)
    • publish the daily Air Quality Forecast and Air Quality Health Index (AQHI)
    • develop a new Population Exposure indicator for the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) program
    • inform the abolishment of the Drive Clean Program in Ontario
    • develop a regulation on the use of fireplaces and wood burning stoves in the City of Montreal
    • conduct screening of about 150 air pollutants to prioritize substances for the development of new Health-based Air Quality Objectives by Health Canada.
• ECCC published over 20 scientific papers on the characterization, transformation, transport, and fate of emissions from Canada’s oil sands region.
• ECCC worked with First Nations partners to establish community-based air quality monitoring in the Alberta oil sands region.
• ECCC published the first State of Knowledge Report for Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds (PACs) in Canada to inform development of risk management measures.
• ECCC provided timely scientific advice and expertise to develop Canada’s positions for the:
  • United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP)
  • Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
  • Minimata Convention on Mercury
  • Canada-U.S. Air Quality Agreement
• ECCC provided monitoring and analysis results on trends in wet deposition of acidifying and eutrophying compounds for the 2020 UNECE LRTAP Ammonia Assessment Report.
• ECCC worked with the National Research Council and Transport Canada’s Innovation Centre to quantify in-use emissions from ships and locomotives and evaluate the performance of zero-emissions vehicles and low-emitting alternative fuels.
• ECCC performed testing in collaboration with the U.S. EPA on small, medium and heavy-duty engines as well as light duty vehicles to inform development of Canadian and U.S. air pollution regulations.
• ECCC developed FIREWORK, an air quality forecast system to predict emissions from, and the downwind concentration of, air pollution (i.e. smoke) from wildfires.
• ECCC produced and refined inventories, such as the Air Pollutant Emissions Inventory (APEI) and the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI), to monitor progress, meet domestic and international reporting requirements and to support the AQHI prediction models and public forecasts.
• ECCC produced and annually reported air pollutant emissions projections and will continue to publish them in Canada’s Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollutant Emissions Projections reports as well as in the international submissions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC Fourth Biennial Report) and the United Nations Economic Convention for Europe (UNECE).
• ECCC analyzed the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on air quality in major Canadian cities. ECCC and HC collaborated with federal, provincial, and territorial partners to publish an analysis of satellite-derived NO₂ data showing significant reductions for the COVID-19 lockdown period, due in large part to reduced transportation activity.
• HC published 45 research papers in scientific journals and 13 health assessments/guidance documents related to the adverse health effects of air pollution and the health burden attributable to air pollution and individual sources such as on-road vehicles. HC conducted a prioritization exercise to identify emerging indoor air pollutants.
• ECCC and HC provided the evidence base for the successful prosecution of Volkswagen resulting in an order to pay $196.5 million to the Environmental Damages Fund for importing vehicles that did not comply with Canada’s emissions regulations.
• HC researched and assessed the health effects of air pollution in the areas of wildfire smoke, transportation, as well as estimated the health burden of outdoor air pollution in Canada to inform evidence-based integrated policy decision-making.

Policy and analysis:

• ECCC worked to advance the federal elements of the Air Quality Management System (AQMS), including CAAQS. With HC, ECCC established CAAQS for SO₂ and NO₂ for 2020 and 2025 and a more ambitious standard for ground-level ozone to be met in 2025. The standards for PM_2.5 are under review and new standards will be put in place if warranted. Comprehensive human health risk assessments for SO₂, NO₂, and PM_2.5 developed by HC provided the evidence-based health rationale for development of CAAQS for these pollutants. ECCC developed and published several guidance documents to facilitate implementation of the AQMS and support CAAQS achievement.
• ECCC published the results of the Evaluation of the Addressing Air Pollution Horizontal Initiative, which included recommendations on communication and outreach; advancing commitments on base-level industrial emissions requirements; better integration of air quality and climate change policies; engagement and consultation with Indigenous peoples; as well as an increased focus on indoor air quality. Deliverables responding to these recommendations, due during the lifetime of the horizontal initiative, were all completed.
• ECCC with the support of HC continued to develop Regulatory Impact Analysis Statements, emissions and economic projections, cost-benefit analyses, valuation, competitiveness analyses, and other analyses to support the development of regulatory and non-regulatory mitigation measures.
• Canada ratified the Gothenburg Protocol in November 2017 and achieved its indicative 2020 reduction targets for emissions of SO₂, NO₂, PM_2.5 and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• ECCC worked with international partners under the Canada-U.S. Air Quality Agreement and Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution to further address transboundary air pollution in Canada, the U.S, and Europe, including by launching reviews of both agreements and carrying out substantial work to advance them.
• ECCC provided technical reviews on air pollution issues in impact assessments (IAs), regulations, and other air-related environmental protection matters. ECCC also developed internal guidance on application of the AQMS to IAs, including guidance on how to evaluate air quality modelling results and baseline air quality in the context of CAAQS, air zones and airsheds.
• HC provided technical reviews on air pollution, worked with IA proponents on air quality matters and served as expert witnesses at IA hearings as part of their obligations in the IA process.

Mitigation activities for Outdoor Air Quality:

• ECCC put in place and administered regulatory and non-regulatory measures establishing base-level industrial emission requirements for several pollutants, including through the Multi-Sector Air Pollutants Regulations (boilers and heaters, stationary spark-ignition engines, cement) and regulations addressing VOC emissions from the upstream oil and gas sector and the petroleum sector.
• ECCC developed, amended, and administered multiple measures to reduce emissions of air pollutants from vehicles, engines, fuels, and consumer and commercial products, building on previous work under the Clean Air Regulatory Agenda.
  • Published the Notice of Intent to renew the federal agenda for the reduction of VOC emissions from consumer and commercial products.
  • Published the Volatile Organic Compound Concentration Limits for Certain Products Regulations. The regulations establish concentration limits for VOCs in products used by consumers every day.
  • Published the Off-road Compression-Ignition (Mobile and Stationary) and Large Spark-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations. The regulations set new emission standards and requirements in alignment with the U.S. EPA’s standards for stationary compression-ignition and large-spark ignition engines and maintain standards for mobile compression-ignition engines.
  • Published the amendments to the Sulphur in Gasoline Regulations which limit the sulphur content of gasoline to 12 mg/kg on January 1, 2020.
• HC disseminated information on outdoor air pollution, impacts on health, and how to minimize risks to health through outreach and engagement activities and collaboration with external stakeholders.
• HC and ECCC increased awareness and use of the AQHI among individuals who are more vulnerable to the health impacts of air pollution through distribution of information kits to health professionals, enabling them to educate vulnerable patients about how to use the AQHI to protect their health.
• ECCC adapted the WeatherCAN weather app to facilitate Canadians’ access to information about current air quality and alerts including the addition of a user-configurable notification feature.

Mitigation Activities to improve Indoor Air Quality:

• HC published a variety of science-based documents to inform internal and external stakeholders, as well as Canadians, on strategies to reduce exposure to indoor air contaminants. HC published Residential Indoor Air Quality Guidelines for acetaldehyde, acrolein, carbon dioxide and guidance for use in non-residential indoor environments (Cleaner Air Spaces during Wildfire Smoke Events, Best Practices for Improving Air Quality in Ice Arenas). HC also published Indoor Air Reference Levels for 25 VOCs.
• HC supported and participated in the annual National Radon Action Month, participated in over 180 outreach events, responded to 2,995 public enquiries and distributed over 3.2 million radon outreach materials across Canada.
• HC updated and published the Guide for Radon Measurements in Public Buildings on Health Canada web pages.
• HC provided funding for 14 community-based radon outreach projects through the Radon Outreach Contribution Program.
  • HC Published the Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations. The regulations put in place limits on allowable formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products to reduce potential risks to the health of Canadians.
• NRC created knowledge, advanced testing capabilities, and evaluated more than 25 solutions to reduce Canadian’s long-term exposure to radon indoors, including radon barriers, passive stack systems, and ventilation strategies.
• NRC advanced knowledge to mitigate under-ventilation and improve respiratory health in the North.
• NRC improved knowledge about volatile emissions from building and consumer products.
• NRC advanced knowledge for use in numerical models aiming at preventing mould growth in cold climates.

Programs receiving ongoing funding

Program	Ongoing funding	Purpose
Environment and Climate Change Canada	$67,827,508	Continue to develop and provide air quality science (research, monitoring and modelling), analysis and advice. Continue to develop and provide air pollutant emissions inventory data, projections and reporting. Provide policy, technical and economic analysis and advice necessary to develop measures to mitigate air pollution. Continue to implement the federal Air Quality Program, including establishing a federal air strategy. Implement the federal elements of the Air Quality Management System working with provinces and territories including undertaking a stocktake of the system. Manage and support Canadian participation in bilateral and international transboundary air agreements. Continue to develop, amend, and administer regulatory and non-regulatory measures to address air pollutant emissions from industry, vehicles, engines, and fuels, and consumer and commercial products. Continue to report and predict daily AQHI values and make enhancements to extend reach.
Health Canada	$28,389,999	Continue to develop and provide air quality science (assessment, research and exposure science), analysis, advice and outreach for outdoor air pollution. Provide policy, technical and economic analysis and advice in support of risk mitigation. Develop Health-Based Air Quality Objectives for a broader suite of pollutants (arsenic, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, benzene, PM10). Support continued implementation of the Air Quality Management System. Through the National Radon Program, continue research, radon education and awareness activities to encourage testing and mitigation to reduce radon exposure. Develop science and advise to improve indoor air quality.
National Research Council	$2,300,000	Continue to support the National Radon Program by demonstrating the efficacy of radon solutions and the impact of energy efficient building design on radon ingress Evaluate ventilation and indoor air quality technologies and solutions to reduce harmful exposure to key indoor air pollutants, focusing on airborne pathogens Create scientific evidence to support the development of standards, practice guides, and building regulations related to key indoor air pollutants such as radon, airborne pathogens, mould and harmful emissions from building products. Advance knowledge and improve the health of Canadians living in Northern communities by evaluating novel and resilient ventilation solutions and promoting the uptake of verified technologies
Total Ongoing Funding	$98,517,507	-

Fiscal year of planned completion of next evaluation: 2025-26

Clean Growth and Climate Change

The Clean Growth and Climate Change Horizontal Initiative Supplementary Table is undergoing final review and confirmation across implicated federal departments. The table will be published on this web page as soon as it is finalized. Please check here later for further updates, or reach out to ECCC’s Climate Change Secretariat at SecretariatCC@ec.gc.ca for more information.