Statement
April 2, 2019 – Ottawa, Ontario
Today, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada, Catherine McKenna, and the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Jonathan Wilkinson, issued the following statement in response to the tabling of the Spring 2019 Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development:
"We would like to thank Commissioner Gelfand for her dedication as Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development. Our government is taking strong action to protect our environment, reduce pollution, conserve nature and grow our economy. We take the recommendations very seriously and have already taken actions to ensure they are addressed.
We are committed to preventing the introduction of aquatic invasive species into Canadian waters. In 2017, the Government of Canada allocated $43.8 million over five years to tackle the dangerous threat they present to our environment and economy. This federal funding led to the creation of the National Program on Aquatic Invasive Species. Through this program, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is working in close collaboration with Canada Border Services Agency to develop and implement procedures, tools and training to ensure border officers are well equipped to fulfill their responsibilities under the AIS Regulations.
In addition, DFO is managing and controlling the presence of species such as Asian Carps and Sea Lamprey, spending $3.5 million annually to prevent the establishment of Asian Carps in the Great Lakes and contributing $7.4 million annually to the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission to support the Sea Lamprey Control Program. DFO also provides important science-based support for the regulation of ballast water.
The Commissioner's reports demonstrate that Environment and Climate Change Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada are protecting fish and fish habitat from the effects of mining effluent. This is a result of the strong enforcement actions taken to address violations at mine sites.
Our government is working to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies at the federal level by 2025. To date, Canada's efforts to reform fossil fuel subsidies have resulted in the phase-out of eight fossil fuel subsidies. Environment and Climate Change Canada is also reviewing potential non-tax fossil fuel subsidies across the federal government.
To ensure Canada continues to show leadership on this front, we recently launched a consultation to seek public feedback on the government's framework to review non-tax measures.
The results of these consultations and the issues raised in the Commissioner's report will inform Canada's peer review on fossil fuel subsidies, which will involve a review by a panel of international experts.
By working together, we can ensure Canadians have cleaner air to breathe, cleaner water in our oceans, lakes, and rivers, and an economy that is sustainable for generations to come."
