Ottawa, September 29, 2005 -- On behalf of the Government
of Canada, Federal Environment Minister Stéphane Dion today welcomed
the 2005 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
(CESD). “My Cabinet colleagues respect and value the Commissioner’s
advice,” Minister Dion said. “We are listening and taking action.
In fact, work has already started on some of the recommendations that she has
just made.”
Recommendations made by the CESD this year deal mainly with Canada’s
Oceans Action Plan, Canada’s National Parks, the safety of drinking water,
and federal strategies on sustainable development. The Minister feels that
the Government has made significant progress this year in environmental matters.
He highlighted the creation of the Ad Hoc Committee of Cabinet on Sustainability
and the Environment, the fact that Project Green is now in operation, and the
updated Climate Change Plan, “Moving Forward on Climate Change
2005: A Plan for Honouring our Kyoto Commitment”, is being implemented.
Project Green includes action plans to improve energy efficiency and waste
management, conserve biodiversity, protect water, clean up contaminated
sites, ensure cleaner and healthier air and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Project
Green is designed to unite Canada’s economic strategy with its environmental
policy.
In responding to the CESD report, the Minister acknowledged that much remains
to be done in the specific areas analyzed by the Commissioner. He also
made the point that moving forward on Canada's sustainability agenda
requires action in other areas. In many of these, much environmental progress
has
been achieved
over the last year. Examples include:
To preserve marine ecosystems and biodiversity, the government recently passed
Bill C-15, an Act to amend the Migratory Birds Convention Act and the Canadian
Environmental Protection Act. The Act, which came into force in June, substantially
enhances Canada’s ability to deal with oil deposited into the
marine environment by extending its enforcement regime to the outward
edge of the
Exclusive Economic Zone.
To protect the ecological integrity of Canada’s national parks, Budget
2005 allocated $269 million in additional funds. This is good news for the
preservation of the natural environment, and good news for the economy. National
Parks are not only a magnificent part of Canada’s heritage, they also
contribute $1.2 billion to Canada’s GDP - the equivalent of 38,000 full
time jobs. The Parks are an essential source of revenue for Canada’s
tourist industry, for many communities and for Canada’s aboriginal
people.
The Government of Canada's agenda for water is also substantial. It includes
the five-year Water Management Strategy to improve water and wastewater services
for First Nation reserve communities; the $28 million that Budget 2005 devoted
to the first phase of the government's Oceans Action Plan; and the Canada-wide
management strategy for municipal wastewater effluents currently in development.
Recently, the Prime Minister asked the Environment Minister to provide leadership
and guidance in the preparation of sustainable development strategies by federal
departments and agencies. As part of this new role, the Minister will work
with his Cabinet colleagues to ensure greater coherence and integration of
sustainable development priorities and activities across the government.
Minister Dion feels that this new mandate strengthens the Government of Canada's
commitment to both environmental sustainability and economic competitiveness. “Through
the enhanced coordination now taking place within Project Green, our action
plans for clean air, water, nature, contaminated sites and climate change will
provide enormous benefits for Canadians. They will also be linked by an improved
decision-making process – a new framework for competitiveness and environmental
sustainability. We are moving forward, and I am confident that future reports
will chart the progress we are making.”
For more information, please contact:
Brigitte Caron
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
(819) 997-1441
Sébastien Bois
Media Relations
Environment Canada
(819) 953-4016
