Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) consists of the 14 federal, provincial, and territorial ministers with the environment in their portfolios. This intergovernmental forum meets at least once a year to discuss collective action on national and international environmental issues.
2022 Meeting of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
On August 31, Yukon’s Minister of Highways and Public Works and Minister of the Environment, the Honourable Nils Clarke, hosted the Council of Ministers (COM) meeting. Ministers convened in Whitehorse, Yukon, making it the first in-person meeting in three years due to the pandemic.
Prior to the COM meeting, ministers met with leaders from Yukon First Nations and the Assembly of First Nations, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, the Métis National Council and the Native Women’s Association of Canada to discuss climate action, including the role of youth in climate leadership. An observer from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) also attended the meeting. Ministers look forward to continuing to hear Indigenous perspectives at next year’s meeting.
At the COM meeting, ministers shared how their respective jurisdictions are working towards a circular economy, facing the challenges in dealing with the impacts of our changing climate and how they can continue collaborating to achieve emissions reduction targets. They also received a presentation on the health effects and costs of air pollution, and the importance of continued collaboration on the Air Quality Management System. Representatives from Yukon presented on the benefits of CCME guidance in managing permafrost and transition zones, which will support remediation efforts in the community of Old Crow.
The ministers released A Roadmap to Strengthen the Management of Single-use and Disposable Plastics (PDF; 653 kB) (the roadmap) as part of CCME’s continued implementation of the Canada-wide Action Plan on Zero Plastic Waste. Ministers also noted the importance of jurisdictions measuring progress for diversion, including repair, remanufacture, refurbishment and recycling to guide industry efforts towards zero plastic waste by 2030.
Minister Guilbeault shared with his counterparts that the Government of Canada’s approach informed by provincial and territorial climate and economic priorities in preparation for international discussions at the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in November 2022. He also provided an update on Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy and committed to working in close collaboration with provinces and territories to advance climate change resiliency across the country.
At the end of the meeting, Minister Clarke transferred the CCME presidency to Ontario’s Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, the Honourable David Piccini, who will host the 2023 meeting.
Related information
Page details
- Date modified: