Speech

I’m extremely pleased to be here today.

It’s particularly nice to be in Vancouver after all the icy bluster back in Ottawa... and I’m not talking about the weather, by the way.

The weather, of course, is just one of Environment Canada’s many files. On that one--as with all others--our work is rooted in science, measurement, monitoring, analysis and the enforcement of rigorous rules and standards.

Glamorous as it sounds, the technical, process-driven nature of our departmental mandate isn’t always well understood. So, I’m delighted to be in the company of those who toil in the same field, albeit in different corners of it.

Through your presence and participation here at Globe 2012, you’re directly engaged in something vital: the discussion of and search for practical, business-oriented solutions to the environmental challenges we face today and tomorrow.

Whether you’re part of the impressive trade show that’s taking place in conjunction with this conference or attending a session on building a sustainable economy... greening corporate culture... or next-generation biofuels, such focus on proactive innovation is imperative.

I’m the first to admit that when you think of environmental regulation, “innovation” is probably not the first term that comes to mind. But we are out to change all of that.

At Environment Canada, we are convinced that our status as a world-class regulator requires us to innovate at all levels of our operations, all the time.

It’s the only way for us to stay at the top of our game... to be effective and efficient... rigorous and responsive. And it’s the only way to manage increasingly complex files at a time when change is constant and timelines are compressed.

There are broader, practical considerations as well--especially given the impact that environmental rules and standards have on the economy.

As Canada’s Environment Minister, it is my job to serve as regulator and make decisions that protect Canadians through the safeguarding of air quality, water quality and biodiversity among others. It is a challenging job and I am blessed with a team of dedicated scientists, technicians and officials who work tirelessly to fulfill the special mandate given to us by Parliament.

This conference is indicative of Canada’s innovation potential including the cutting edge fields of bio science, renewable energy and robotics. We have a vibrant entrepreneurial and service sector, and we are blessed with an abundance of natural resources and breathtaking wilderness.

The role of government is not to pick winners and losers, but rather to work to remove the barriers and impediments to growth and ensure the health and safety of our citizens and our shared environment.

The public debate over environment issues has become quite heated and polarized. People on either side are passionate about their position and are rooted in a deep desire to protect and preserve... be it pristine wilderness, traditional ways of life, or the creation of quality jobs for their community. All of these positions have merit and none are paramount.

But importantly, if there is one word that characterizes Canada I believe it is “diversity”. Diversity of people and cultures. Diversity of beliefs and ideology... Diversity of geography and opportunity. The federal government’s role is to find common place among divergent perspectives and develop effective public policy.   

The government has the daunting task of establishing priorities in the interests of all Canadians. The Finance Minister will be identifying these priorities when he tables the federal Budget on March 29^th. There is one priority that will be a surprise to no one and that is our government’s commitment to the economic growth and job creation.

Since we introduced the Economic Action Plan to respond to the global recession, Canada has recovered both more than all of the output and all of the jobs lost during the recession.

Our balanced approach will boost our efforts to achieve a sustainable and prosperous recovery, and preserve our Canadian economic advantage now and in the future.

Through our Economic Action Plan, we continue to tune up Canada’s job creation engine by replacing ineffective and outdated obstacles to growth, cutting red tape, paying down debt and promoting free trade and innovation.

Contrary to the views of critics, my job as Environment Minister is not to shut down industry or deny development of our natural resources. In fact it’s quite the opposite. My job is to ensure that Canada’s industrial operations are subject to robust environmental scrutiny.  

Take our location here for example. We are in one of the most beautiful cities on earth, in this state-of-the-art building, looking out across Burrard Inlet at beautiful snow-capped mountains. We are a stone’s throw from both Stanley Park and the Vancouver port. Beautiful natural spaces can co-exist with bustling trade, commerce and industry.  

It wasn’t long ago that development went forward without regard for the environmental impacts. Government and industry alike are guilty of past neglect and abuse of our natural environment. Reparations were undertaken such as reforestation and contaminated site clean-up. And we vowed never again through the development of environmental regulation and enforcement.

Environmental assessments are required at all levels of government on projects big or small. Every jurisdiction doing its part to protect the environment by imposing what amounts to overlapping, duplicative and inefficient regulatory burden.

But that process can get slow and bulky pretty fast. It’s always important to remember that when you’re talking about environmental rules--less can be more. And quantity should never be confused with quality.

If the intention of these actions is to suppress economic development, then I would say they have been successful. If the intent of regulation is to protect the environment through responsible and sustainable economic development then I believe we can do better, we must do better and we will do better.

The Government of Canada is determined to do what it can to create a greater degree of certainty for business... to establish realistic timelines... to cultivate the conditions that encourage competitiveness and investment--and all the jobs that are created by that investment.

But all that can only come to pass if we create a modern, predictable and rigorous regulatory system. A system that is streamlined and transparent, a system that is effective and efficient.

To be clear, environmental innovation is not just about sweeping, dramatic breakthroughs--although we certainly encourage the development and application of new technology.

Everyday environmental innovation is about organizational culture. It’s a pervasive mindset... a relentless focus on excellence... an aggregation of continuous improvements... a determination and discipline to re-think and re-tool entrenched practices and procedures.

Let me explain.

In case you missed this point: we at Environment Canada take our role as a “world-class regulator” very, very seriously.

It’s a challenging mandate because circumstances... domestic, continental and global circumstances... evolve constantly and rapidly. That means we have to strictly preserve the integrity of our environmental standards, while ensuring they remain relevant in every new context.

To that end, we consult extensively with a wide range of stakeholders... provinces and territories... municipalities... environmentalists... aboriginal groups... corporations... community groups... It’s impossible, after all, to create effective, sustainable, new regulations--or to reduce duplication and extraneous regulatory burden--without fully considering those external perspectives and issues.

So, we’ve learned to be ruthless about eliminating duplication and the costly, cumbersome regulatory patchwork that can place an unnecessary burden on public and private sectors alike.

The government of Canada has taken steps in recent years to begin modernizing our regulatory system for example:

• In 2008 we created the Major Projects Management Office for greater coordination and accountability in resource project reviews;
• In 2009, as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan, we simplified the approval process for infrastructure projects; and
• In 2010 we amended the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act to allow assessments to start sooner and to reduce delays and duplication.

To be clear, our objective is to strengthen and enhance environmental protection by improving our regulatory processes to be more efficient and responsive.  

In this spirit, I am working with my Cabinet colleagues to build on our record of modernization and efficiency with the goal of further strengthening environmental protection. It is our intention to improve coordination between federal, provincial and territorial governments on environmental assessments in order to eliminate duplication and save time and money, without compromising the quality of the review.

Given the way that federal and provincial jurisdictions so frequently overlap on environmental files, that’s a tall order. But we work to achieve it through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment and through federal/provincial Agreements in Principle on such issues as climate change.

Those agreements represent an important precedent.

For example, the Single Window Reporting system--which BC signed in 2010--makes it simpler for industry to report and submit their greenhouse gas emissions data to Environment Canada.

The rule of “one project, one review,” reduces expensive duplication and if anything, makes that one review even more focused and more stringent.

We’re also using that same practical strategy to frame our domestic strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent over 2005 levels by 2020.

With that specific destination in mind, the federal government is using a carefully-plotted approach to find the best--and most efficient way forward.

That route is an orderly sector-by-sector approach.

It started with the transportation sector, the largest-single-source of greenhouse gas emissions. Along with the United States, we tightened vehicle emission regulations... and we also made our gasoline greener with a higher renewable fuel content.

The next sector we addressed is coal-fired electricity generation. It’s a critical one for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and for protecting air quality.

Without question, coal has been a tough slog... in part because electricity generation is something completely unique in each province and territory. Nonetheless, new standards are on track to be finalized this year and to take effect on June 1, 2015.

Even before coal wraps up, Environment Canada has started to lay the foundation for regulated performance standards in other major-emitting industrial sectors, starting with oil and gas.

Aside from being emotionally intelligent, the process will be much the same, including extensive consultation with the industry and affected provinces to ensure that the proposed regulations accomplish their objective of reducing greenhouse gases, without curtailing competitiveness or diminishing the case for capital investment.

As for the oil sands, Environment Canada continues to work closely with both Alberta and the oil sands producers. We recently announced the implementation phase of multi-year plan to collect and monitor the data required to shape the standards that will ensure this resource is developed in a sustainable, responsible way.

In this regard, the Government of Canada welcomes the recent announcement that 12 oil sands companies have formed the Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance to improve environmental performance. Innovation and collaboration, along with the sharing of intellectual property, are key to improving environmental performance and meeting public expectations of better environmental protection.

Our shared objective with Alberta is to keep things as uncomplicated and uncluttered as possible. It helps that we’re entirely united on a single point: ensuring the highest possible environmental standards for oil sands development.

That same scrutiny, that same focus on practical possibility also frames Canada’s environmental engagement on the international front.

Whether it’s on the international front--or closer to home--there will never... never... be a time when the urgent need to improve and enhance our environmental performance will abate. Neither will there ever be a time when our commitment to set and enforce environmental rules and regulations is not a singular, national priority.

What’s heartening, however, is that we have the ingenuity and the inspiration to innovate... to make the steady progress, to ensure that our stewardship is a success... for us and for future generations.

Events like this one are an important part of that process and that progress... it brings people, experience and ideas together. I thank you for being part of that... and for your attention.