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Section III.
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Intra-Governmental Coordination
Regional and Local Government Authority
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National Authority
Background
Canada is a federal parliamentary democracy. Its parliament is composed of an elected House of Commons, which initiates most legislation, and a nominated Senate. Government is essentially led by the prime minister, who is generally the leader of the party holding a majority in the House of Commons.
While the Constitution Act of 1867 does not specifically mention the environment, authority is inferred from other provisions, such as those pertaining to state lands, fisheries, and criminal law. The Constitution assigns considerable authority to provincial legislatures; implementation of many national policies, including fulfilling international treaty obligations, requires extensive consultations between the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. The 1988 Environmental Protection Act authorizes the federal environment minister to enter into agreements with provincial governments in order to reduce duplication of efforts. Agreements have been signed with Alberta and Saskatchewan and are being negotiated with all other provinces.
Environment Canada
The Canadian environmental ministry, Environment Canada, has primary but not exclusive responsibility for the country's environmental policy. This includes directly managing several statutes relating to the environment, as well as coordinating the development of federal policies and the actions of other departments with respect to the environment.
Environment Canada was created in 1971 through the Department of Environment Act, which combined several federal entities responsible for various aspects of the environment. Its stated objective is "to foster a national capacity for sustainable development in cooperation with other governments, departments of government, and the private sector." (19) Environment Canada is directly responsible for administering 15 environmental statutes, and has partial responsibility for many others. Its three main program areas are:
- Atmospheric Environment: Deals with meteorology and hydrology as well as the broad area described as "understanding of the impact of human activity on the environment." (20)
- Environmental Protection: Environment Canada leads government development of long-term environmental strategies (policies, regulations, etc.) to deal with issues such as chemical pollution and the cleanup of contaminated sites.
- Environmental Conservation: Deals with wildlife conservation, water, and wetlands. The ministry is authorized to take the lead in "building shared sustainability strategies for Canada's biodiversity and large, nationally significant ecosystems." (21)
Environment Canada coordinates actions with other branches of the federal government and provincial governments. On the federal level it is responsible for leading the development of environmental policies and for providing technical advice on the environmental aspects of government operations. These duties are especially important due to a new amendment to the Auditor General Act that requires all federal departments to prepare sustainable development plans for their operations. On the sub-national level, Environment Canada coordinates federal and provincial policies through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment.
In recent years Environment Canada has been under tremendous financial stress, as have all sectors of the Canadian government. Cuts announced in February of 1995 will reduce its budget by approximately 30 percent. The annual budget will drop from C$730 million in 1994-95 to C$503 million in 1997-98, forcing a 25 percent workforce layoff and a reduction of offices from 72 to 17.
Click HERE to visit Environment Canada's home page.
Natural Resources Canada
The Department of Natural Resources was created in 1993 through the consolidation of two federal entities, the Department of Forestry and the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources. Its stated mandate is "to promote the sustainable development of Canada's mineral, energy and forestry resources, and to develop an understanding of Canada's landmass." With an annual budget of C$1 billion (1994-95), the department is divided into seven sectors:
- Canadian Forest Service (CFS)
- Energy Sector (ES)
- Mining Sector (MS)
- Geological Survey of Canada (GSC)
- Mineral and Energy Technology Sector (METS)
- Geomatics Canada (formerly Surveys, Mapping and Remote Sensing
- Sector)
- Corporate Services Sector (CSS)
Click HERE to visit the home page of Natural Resources Canada.
Other federal departments with environmental authority include:
- Department of Canadian Heritage: This newly created department was given jurisdiction over the Canadian Parks Service, which had formerly been managed by Environment Canada.
- Fisheries and Oceans: Responsible for fish habitat.
- Agriculture and Agri-food: Responsible for agricultural pollution and soil conservation.
- Transport: Responsible for vehicle emissions, dangerous cargos, noise, and ship discharges.
- Indian Affairs and Northern Development: Responsible for environmental management in northern regions and aboriginal reserves.
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Federal Intra-Governmental Coordination
Beginning with the Green Plan of 1990, the federal government has been moving to better coordinate the environmental aspects of its various departments. The newest and most significant action is an amendment to the Canadian Auditor General Act that created a Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to monitor the government's environmental performance. The amendment also requires all government departments to present sustainable development strategies and action plans within two years of the act's proclamation. Government departments had already begun this planning process according to guidelines set out in the Green Guide to Government, which was approved by the prime minister and cabinet in the summer of 1995.
For more information on the amendments to the Auditor General Act, please visit the Policy Implementation page.
Click HERE to view the full text of the Guide to Green Government, provided by Environment Canada.
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Consultation Process
Consultations involving the government, interest groups, and the general public play a uniquely large role in Canadian environmental policy. One reason for this alternative form of policy development is many Canadians' long-standing dissatisfaction with the national government's ability to handle environmental matters. (Please see the Environmental History page for more information.) Another reason is that Canada has an exceptionally loose federal structure, and sectoral and regional consultations help to strengthen consensus on national policies. For example, the Green Plan of 1990 was viewed by many Canadians with suspicion because it was a federal government plan, developed and implemented primarily by one political party. To truly create a sense of "ownership" for a sustainable development strategy, it was recognized that the entire nation, not just the federal government or a political party, must be involved in developing a national consensus.
Environmental stakeholders, including businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and aboriginals, are a large and diverse group. For example, Canada has approximately 2,000 environmental NGOs, with membership totaling about 1 million. (22) These organizations, including 30 national groups, coordinate views and actions through the Canadian Environmental Network. Many trade unions also have environmental committees.
At the core of Canada's consultation process are the round tables, forums that allow all the stakeholders involved in specific issues to meet together as equals and propose policy initiatives or directions to the government. The round tables were first created in response to public meetings held in Canada by the UN's World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) in 1986. (Please see the Environmental History page for more information.) Following the publication of the Brundtland Commission's report in 1987, Canada began to convene round tables to advise various levels of government. By 1990, round tables had been established for the federal government, for all provinces and territories, and for many communities. Unfortunately, broad-based consultation in itself is not sufficient for effective government policy. Round tables at all levels have often been criticized for holding very lengthy discussions resulting in little concrete action. This section will primarily discuss the national impacts of the round tables. Please see the section on "Regional and Local Government Authority" for a discussion of the other round tables.
Creation of the round tables was not mandated by the government, nor are there any fixed guidelines for their structure or authority. However, all the round tables are similar in their basic form and tasks. In 1993, the round tables endorsed a set of ten guiding principles for using the consensus process in sustainable development planning. Some of the more important principles are:
Inclusive, not exclusive, participation: "All parties with a significant interest in the issue should be involved in the consensus process." Round table members generally include representatives of government, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations representing social as well as environmental concerns.
Equal opportunity: "All parties must have equal access to relevant information and the opportunity to participate effectively throughout the process." In practical terms, this raises the question of how much governments should compensate participants for their time. In general, expenses are paid for nonprofit organizations but not for private sector participants.
Accountability: "The parties are accountable both to their constituencies and to the process that they have agreed to establish." The document laying out the guidelines discusses the need for participants to regularly consult with the groups they represent. There has been some criticism, however, that the round tables are becoming an elite group.
The National Round Table was asked by the conservative government to prepare its own national sustainable development strategy to serve as the basis for the successor to the Green Plan. Full meetings of the National Round Table, called national assemblies, are convened periodically. Otherwise, the round table operates through its 13 separate program areas. Examples include:
- The Economic Instruments Collaborative: Composed of environmental organizations and businesses; focuses on developing economic instruments to deal with acid deposition, climate change, and ground-level ozone.
- The Forest Round Table: Has convened environmental groups, labor unions, industry representatives, and aboriginal groups to devise a set of 26 "common principles," as well as action plans, for forest policy. (For more information on forestry issues, please visit the Concerns page.)
- Consensus Decision-Making: Developed the ten common principles for decision-making (see above) through consultations among national, provincial, and territorial round tables.
- Sustainable Reporting: Presented a list of proposed sustainability indicators to the prime minister in 1993.
- Sustainability and Prosperity: Concerned with the greening of industry and reforming harmful economic and trade policies. (For more information on economic instruments, please visit the Policy Implementation page.)
- Task Force on Education: Developed a program called Learning for a Sustainable Future; collaborated with the SustainABILITY initiative to develop a social marketing campaign.
For more information , click HERE to visit Projet de Société.
An important nonprofit organization involved in policy development is the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), established in 1991 and supported by the federal government and the government of Manitoba. (Click HERE to visit IISD's home page.)
Click HERE for this year's calendar of environmental consultations.
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Governmental Review
Recently, several initiatives have been passed to improve the review of government actions with respect to the environment. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act requires assessments for all projects in Canada over which the government has decision-making authority. Further regulations are to extend this requirement to projects outside Canada, on aboriginal lands, and for (federal- or provincial-owned corporations. An amendment to the Auditor General Act created a Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, who will report to Parliament and the auditor general on the government's environmental performance. (For more information on the amendment, please visit the Policy Implementation page.)
Various programs also monitor environmental quality conditions. Environment Canada's State of the Environment Directorate publishes a yearly State of Canada's Environment report detailing developments in major environmental media, such as atmosphere, land, and oceans; regional case studies; and "current issues" such as climate change and solid waste. The directorate also produced a preliminary set of sustainable development indicators in 1991, in conjunction with Canada's Green Plan. Statistics Canada publishes a yearly report entitled Human Activity and the Environment, with data on areas such as environmental media, population, natural resources, and economic impacts on the environment. In addition, the National Round Table has proposed a new set of sustainable development indicators (see section above ).
Enforcement of environmental and conservation regulations is a major concern for Environment Canada, and projects are underway to review enforcement activities. The department has pledged to establish an electronic enforcement activity tracking system by March of 1996. A series of annual reports to the public on compliance is also planned. Environment Canada is currently preparing the first of these, an overview of state compliance on six environmental regulations. (For more information on enforcement, please visit the Policy Implementation page.)
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Regional and Local Authority
Canada is divided administratively into ten provinces and two territories (both will be referred to as "provincial" governments in this study). The nation has a very loose federal structure, so considerable authority is vested in the provincial governments. Canada's indigenous peoples, referred to as "aboriginals," have particular authorities over their lands, although they are often involved in disputes over the scope of their authority with federal and provincial governments.
Provincial governments have considerable environmental powers based on interpretation of the 1867 Constitution Act. While the Constitution does not specifically discuss the environment, provincial authority is derived from other enumerated powers, such as jurisdiction over provincial Crown lands (50 percent of the nation), resources (provinces control 80 percent of productive forest land), property and civil rights, and local works and undertakings. (23) Each province has its own ministry of the environment (these are titled "departments of renewable resources" in the two territories), with executive power over pollution control, conservation, and (sometimes) natural resources. The scale of these ministries can be considerable. Quebec's Ministry of the Environment and Wildlife, for example, had a staff of about 3,800 in 1995; Environment Canada employed approximately 5,700. (24) Coordination of federal and provincial policies is mostly through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). The CCME brings federal, provincial, and territorial environment ministers together at least twice a year. Other such councils responsible for environmental policies include:
- Wildlife Ministers of Canada
- Federal-Provincial Parks Council
- Canadian Council of Forest Ministers
- Canadian Council of Energy Ministers
- Federal, Provincial and Territorial Agricultural Ministers Conference
Local, or municipal, governments are created by the provinces and generally vested with considerable powers. These include land-use functions such as zoning, road-building, and water and sewer facilities. Most provinces also have some form of regional planning involving cooperation among municipal councils. The provincial and aboriginal governments, as well as some local governments, have been responsible for a substantial number of actions on sustainable development issues.
Provincial Level
The government of Alberta may have been the first to act on sustainable development planning; in 1975 it adopted an Integrated Resource Planning System for the development of resource-use plans. Many other jurisdictions were prompted to act in response to the IUCN 1980 World Conservation Strategy. Prince Edward Island developed the first conservation strategy in 1987.
The Yukon Conservation Strategy, completed in 1990, deals with broader aspects of sustainable development, such as industrial, historical, and cultural issues, as well as resources and environmental protection. As its introduction states: "Conservation also means using and managing our resources for our economic and social well-being. This concept, known as sustainable development, is at the heart of a conservation strategy." (25) The strategy, released by the Yukon's Ministry of Renewable Resources, was developed in cooperation with a multistakeholder forum. It provides direction for policy by outlining principles, establishing goals, and stating commitments by the government, though it does not contain quantifiable targets or timetables.
All provinces and territories are developing, or have developed, their own sustainable development strategies. British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia have completed their strategies; policies or "vision statements" on development have been developed for Alberta and the Northwest Territories. In Newfoundland and Quebec, the provincial round tables have been charged with developing strategies.
Provincial sustainable development strategies can be of high quality. An example is the New Brunswick plan, which recommends 38 actions and spells out strategies for specific environmental and economic sectors, such as water, rural and urban land development, mining, and fisheries. Strict timelines and requirements are included, such as a commitment to develop a forest code of practice specifying the size of clearcuts, dimensions for setback zones, and public reporting for activities on provincial Crown lands.
Sustainable development strategies have been formulated through provincial round tables. The structure, and quality, of these round tables varies. Provincial round tables are generally headed by environment or economic ministers, while the national round table has an independent chair. Particularly good results have come out of the New Brunswick, Ontario, and British Columbia round tables. After producing their strategies, some round tables have moved on to research and monitor implementation, while others have disbanded. For example, the British Columbia Round Table was allowed to die out after producing its plan, but the province did establish an independent, statutory Commission on Resources and the Environment (CORE) in 1992 to advise the government on land use, resource, and environmental issues. (Click HERE to visit CORE's home page.)
In its annual Agenda 21 "report card" released in June 1995, the Sierra Club graded the provincial governments on their progress on sustainability issues. British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec showed improvement on biodiversity and global warming issues, each receiving a C+. Alberta received failing grades, partly because of its energy-driven economy. (26)
State of the environment reports have been prepared for British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec, and are being developed for Ontario, the Yukon, and Alberta. The provinces are working together to harmonize reporting structures and allow comparisons between the provinces. They are also developing a core set of environmental indicators.
Most of the provincial governments or their round tables provide information on the Internet:
- Alberta: http://www.gov.ab.ca
- British Columbia: http://www.gov.bc.ca
- Manitoba: http://www.gov.mb.ca/manitoba.html
- New Brunswick: http://www.gov.nb.ca/
- Nova Scotia: http://www.cfn.cs.dal.ca/Government/NovaScotia/NS-Home.html
- Ontario: http://www.gov.on.ca
- Prince Edward Island: http://www.gov.pe.ca/index.html
- Quebec: http://www.gouv.qc.ca/
- Saskatchewan: http://www.sasknet.sk.ca/saskgov.html
Local Government
Many communities and regions within Canada have undertaken sustainability initiatives, with or without assistance from provincial governments. Local round tables have been established in most provinces; the most developed are in Manitoba, Ontario, and British Columbia (though only the Manitoba provincial government provides any funding). Some cities have officially integrated sustainable development strategies into their planning system. Examples include:
- The Royal Commission on the Future of the Toronto Waterfront was an initiative sponsored by the federal and provincial governments to make recommendations on the entire Toronto metropolitan area and its watershed (which contains one-sixth of Canada's population). The commission's mandate was to "make recommendations with respect to all land-use, environmental, transportation, jurisdiction, and legislative concerns including the quality of life of all of the people" in the region. (27) It was led by a former mayor of Toronto, and was composed of working groups (of government officials and consultants) charged with developing focus books on various issue areas. The final recommendations, produced after public hearings on the focus books, were adopted by the national, provincial, and regional governments and by most of the municipalities in the metropolitan area.
- The Vancouver City-Plan grew out of an "ideas fair" sponsored by the city in 1992. Four thousand public submissions were incorporated into 12 theme areas and published in a workbook of ideas and issues. Citizens are invited to fill out these workbooks by choosing from lists of alternatives for various decisions. The end product will be six alternative visions of the city, to be presented to the public.
Aboriginal Societies As of 1994, Canada had 573,657 "registered indians" (aboriginals officially recognized under the Indian Act). All registered indians who belong to official Indian Bands are entitled to live on one of Canada's 2,370 reserves. The reserves are largely controlled by the bands, which have elected bodies and generally define membership rules governing residency. (28) There are two types of aboriginal land claims. Specific claims are based on federal or provincial responsibilities regarding treaties, the Indian Act, or other agreements. Comprehensive claims derive from traditional use and occupancy of lands and resources that are not regulated by treaty or other legal means. These arise in the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Labrador, British Columbia, and northern Quebec. Since 1976, ten comprehensive claims have been settled in such areas as land title, financial compensation, and fishing and trapping rights.
Environmental aspects of aboriginal lands are regulated by the federal Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND), which sets environmental requirements for the leases, licenses, and permits relating to land use. The Indian Act, which created DIAND, allows some devolution of authority to aboriginal nations. They can also increase their authority through various other means, such as negotiated self-government agreements and treaty entitlements. (For more information on DIAND, click HERE to visit its home page.)
The Inuit people have been particularly successful in sustainable development planning. In 1986, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) developed an Inuit regional conservation strategy containing an action plan and mechanisms for consensus-building and environmental training. The plan was the first conservation strategy prepared by an aboriginal people, and the first Canadian strategy with both regional and international aspects. In 1995, the Inuit were given an award by the World Conservation Union for establishing national parks and protected areas in northern Canada.
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