(Chair) in the chair.

[Translation]

My name is Rosa Galvez, I am a senator from Quebec, and I am the chair of the committee.

Today, we are holding a meeting of the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources.

I’d like to start with a very important reminder. Before asking and answering questions, I would ask members and witnesses in the room to refrain from leaning in too close to the microphone or removing their earpieces when doing so. This will avoid any sound feedback that could negatively impact the committee staff in the room.

[English]

I will ask my fellow committee members to introduce themselves.

[Translation]

Thank you colleagues. I wish to welcome all of you and the viewers across the country who are watching our proceedings. Today, the committee has invited government officials to appear as part of its examination of Bill S-14, An Act to amend the Canada National Parks Act, the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act, the Rouge National Urban Park Act and the National Parks of Canada Fishing Regulations.

We welcome, this morning, from Parks Canada, Jewel Cunningham, Vice-President, Strategic Policy and Planning and Andrew Campbell, Senior Vice-President, Operations. Welcome and thank you for accepting our invitation.

Ms. Cunningham will have the floor for five minutes.

Thank you very much. We’re going to go to questions, so we’ll start with Senator Miville-Dechêne.

I was keeping these questions for the Minister of the Environment, but we don’t know yet if he’s coming, so I’ll ask you.

Recently, we were in Montréal hosting COP 15 conference on biodiversity. This crisis of biodiversity loss became extremely important.

Yesterday, in the National Finance Committee, we were talking about how the shrimp is disappearing from the Gulf of St. Lawrence because of climate change.

My question concerns biodiversity and how you assess biodiversity.

Every time you decide this is a national park, my first question is this: Does this belong to the Montréal agreement with the goal of conserving 30% of Canada’s land and water by 2030?

Second, when you take possession of the territory, I hope you measure and assess biodiversity. What indicators tell you that biodiversity is increasing in these protected areas? Are you looking at endangered species? Are you following biodiversity?

I’m asking that because today there are incredible genomic tools that can tell you in detail how good or how bad you are in terms of biodiversity.

To complement that, we are on track to attain the 30 by 30? Where can we find these reports where you inform about the state of the ecosystem health of national parks?

This is with respect to offences. There are amendments to the Canada National Parks Act, with similar amendments also proposed to section 17 of the Rouge National Urban Park Act.

Why? What happened to prompt you to put that in?

Thank you.

If you could send that before November 23, we would appreciate it.

Senators, colleagues, we have exhausted the question period.

Colleagues, because we have time, I would like to take the opportunity to pass on some information. First, we decided at steering that we are going to request to continue our sittings on Tuesdays. It’s not because we don’t want to sit on Thursday; we want to, but we are going to request this because we have several pieces of legislation, and we have our studies to do.

The other point is that, as you will have noticed, the agenda varies because sometimes we have okays from the people we ask to come as witnesses, but sometimes we don’t. So, we are trying to do the best we can with the people who accept our invitations.

The third point is that I have been contacted by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, whom our committee regularly invites, and he has referred to the four reports that he just tabled. He would like to come and present them to us, and get your feedback on the reports, but also on the job he does for us.

What happens is that sometimes, as I was mentioning, witnesses do not agree to come on a specific date.

I don’t think so.

The condition is that we don’t delay the work we have. If time doesn’t permit, it will be next year. But we will still invite him.

With that, thank you so much. I will adjourn the meeting. Thank you.

(The committee adjourned.)