Thank you very much, Senator Galvez.

Honourable senators, thank you for the invitation to appear on Bill S-14, the protecting Canada’s natural wonders act, which was tabled in the Senate on October 19, 2023.

I would like to respectfully acknowledge that the lands on which we are located are part of the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe People.

Honourable senators, since December 2021, it has been my privilege to serve as Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada. I join with Parks Canada team members in taking pride in the work they do every day.

I would beg your indulgence for a brief look back at history. The first national park in Canada — Banff —was established in 1885, almost 140 years ago.

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Twenty-six years later in 1911, what is known now as Parks Canada was established as the world’s very first national service organization dedicated to parks. Ever since, Parks Canada has been a leader in protecting and presenting treasured natural and historic places.

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Today, they administer a vast network of cultural and natural heritage places that includes 171 national historic sites, 47 national parks, five national marine conservation areas and one national urban park. There is a tremendous history and record of achievement in this organization.

Unfortunately, and Parks Canada would be the first to acknowledge this, there are also negative aspects of our country’s history where profound lessons have been learned. The regrettable reality is that when some of these places were established Indigenous peoples were separated from their ancestral lands, ice and waters. Many Indigenous voices were silenced and connections were severed by the creation of some parks that resulted in intergenerational harm through loss of Indigenous knowledge, cultures and identities. Today we are committed to a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership. Parks Canada administers a significant number of federal lands and waters, nearly all of which have been traditionally used by Indigenous peoples. As such, Parks Canada is uniquely positioned among federal organizations to demonstrate real leadership in renewing and strengthening relationships and walking the path of reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

In other instances of park establishment, legal expropriation of residents was used as the means to establish or enlarge national parks and national historic sites. The creation of places like Kouchibouguac, Forillon and Cape Breton Highlands national parks as well as the Fortress of Louisbourg and Alexander Graham Bell national historic sites was tragically done through expropriation. This action, though legal at the time, left scars on the local communities. We have recognized these means of park establishment as wrong, and Parks Canada’s contemporary and current approach to protected area establishment does not resemble the historical approach.

Today, national parks, national urban parks, and national marine conservation areas are established only in cooperation, collaboration, and consultation with Indigenous partners, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments, industry, and stakeholders.

Furthermore, Parks Canada’s use of expropriation was abandoned in the early 1970s. In fact, ever since the Canada National Parks Act was amended in 2000, it has specifically prohibited the use of expropriation as a means of establishing or enlarging national parks.

Honourable senators, all of this is pertinent to today’s discussions because Bill S-14 reflects this modern approach to establishing and expanding protected areas. Bill S-14 is the final step in a process that, in some cases, included many, many years of consultation, collaboration, negotiation and relationship building.

Bill S-14 enshrines in legislation the establishment of a new national park reserve and a new marine conservation area. It also formally expands the boundaries of seven existing national parks and one national park reserve. These lands are already managed or under the administration of Parks Canada. However, until these new areas and the lands within the expanded boundaries are formally included under the schedules of Parks Canada statutes, they are not legally considered part of that protected area. As such, they do not benefit from the protections offered by the Canada National Parks Act, the Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act and associated regulations. Parks Canada is limited to relying upon a patchwork of provincial and federal legislation to manage and protect these lands. What Bill S-14 does is ensure that they receive the full protections of those Acts and their associated regulations. This legislation is the final, critical step to ensuring that these lands are protected for current and future generations.

The process of consultation and engagement on these parks has been concluded. Their collective area of more than 12 million hectares has already been counted towards Canada’s conservation targets to conserve at least 30% of our lands and waters by 2030. What Bill S-14 does is deliver on the Government of Canada’s commitments to permanently protect these places.

To continue progress towards conservation targets, the Government of Canada has committed to establishing 10 new national parks and 10 new national marine conservation areas in the next five years. Further, we have committed to working with Indigenous communities on co-management agreements for these new protected areas.

Additionally, the 2021 federal budget funded the creation of a network of up to six national urban parks by 2025, each of which would be created in collaboration with willing partners and designed, in each unique case, to remain respectful of jurisdiction. Looking to the future, there are many opportunities to bring forward legislation to anchor the new network of national urban parks. While national urban parks can be designated more quickly using a policy framework, subsequent legislation could provide a stronger and more enduring framework. We anticipate that in due course, we will bring forward and develop the legislation framework to ensure the protection is permanent.

Parks Canada continues to be at the forefront, actively working with partners — including Indigenous governments and organizations — across the country to advance the creation of these new protected areas. Therefore, honourable senators, what Bill S-14 also does is demonstrate to current and future partners that the Government of Canada will stand behind its commitments. It demonstrates that we will do the work required to enshrine these special places in legislation to ensure their protection for all of time. With the increasing effects of climate change and biodiversity loss, Indigenous peoples, environmental organizations, local communities, provincial and territorial governments and the Canadian public expect to see progress in the protection of our natural spaces.

Honourable senators, what you have before you is the opportunity to show that the Government of Canada is listening. Ensuring that these lands can benefit from the highest level of protection is more important than ever. This legislation is the critical step to ensure Parks Canada has the authority and tools required to protect these lands for current and future generations.

I encourage you to support Bill S-14.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here today and to speak. I would welcome the opportunity to address any questions you may have. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Madam Senator. I’d just like to clarify that the Aichi targets were for 2020. The 2030 targets are the ones we adopted at COP 15 in Montreal last year.

With respect to what we’ve done so far, the percentages are about what you said. Let me give you an example. In the past month, we announced a new agreement with British Columbia and the First Nations of British Columbia to protect 30% of B.C.’s lands and coastal waters. We also reached an agreement with the Government of Northwest Territories and NWT First Nations, as well as with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, the QIA, in Nunavut.

These agreements will protect another one million square kilometres of Canada’s lands and coastal waters. That’s about four times the size of Great Britain. These projects aren’t in the database yet because the agreements haven’t yet been finalized.

We will probably achieve the 20% objective for lands and waters by the middle of 2024, and we’re on our way to achieving our 25% objective by 2025. That’s an interim objective we set for ourselves. It’s not part of the Kunming-Montreal global framework, but it is a milestone on the way to 30%.

The short answer to your question is that we don’t yet have all the projects we need to achieve the 30% goal, but we’re getting there.

I just want to point out that, when we came to power in 2015, Canada wasn’t even protecting 1% of our oceans and coastal spaces. Today, we’re at 15% and will probably hit 20% next year. The growth curve has been phenomenal.

The National Capital Commission is responsible for Gatineau Park. The park does not enjoy any legal protection. Parks Canada is in talks with the NCC about a partnership for Gatineau Park. Mr. Campbell, can you tell us more? You’re involved in those talks.

Thank you for your questions, senator. It is in fact, a difficult issue, and one must make a difference between traditional land users and rights holders, and there is a world of difference between the two of them. The bill you have in front of you is our best attempt at trying to find solutions to these issues, but I’ll be the first one to recognize that maybe we didn’t get the right balance and would be happy to discuss potential amendments that would be needed if it were recognized that we didn’t quite get that balance right.

In terms of the bill, we could be thinking of amendments to the bill.

What we try to do now, and that’s what I was trying to explain, is if we are to expand the boundaries of existing parks and there is a recognition that there has been traditional use by local communities, or in the case of Indigenous nations or communities and rights holders, we find mechanisms to accommodate those so that people can continue to enjoy the benefit of these sites.

As I said in my remarks, expropriation is not a measure we use anymore. In terms of specific mechanisms, I can turn to Mr. Campbell who is in the weeds on this, literally.

My answer would remain the same. We tried to negotiate with traditional users continued access and enjoyment of the sites we are trying to protect or the expansion of the parks.

My apologies, senator. We have a vote in the House of Commons. Would you allow me minute and a half so I can do it right now?

Thank you.

The last part of your question?

Thank you, senator. As I said earlier, when we table a bill — I believe this is my sixth or seventh bill as minister — we try to do our best to find the right balance. We usually don’t, and that’s why those processes here in the Senate and the House of Commons are so important with stakeholders and, in this case, with Inuit and Indigenous nations and rights holders to work together to make it better, to improve it.

It is difficult for me to comment specifically on the proposal you are making, but the commitment that I can make is that we’re very open to looking at amendments. As we do for the bill, you think of something and then you have to look at what the positive impacts of doing this are. Are there any negative impacts, pros and cons? You then come to the conclusion: go, no go. I’m very happy to do this on the two proposals that you have mentioned.

Thank you for your comment regarding the Grasslands National Park. Grasslands are a Canadian wonder. It’s a story that’s not told often enough. They play such a critical role in our ecosystem, and I’m very happy we can move on this one.

In terms of a national urban park for Saskatchewan, we are having the discussion for a national urban park in Saskatoon. I’m hoping that we can bring this project to completion.

Technically speaking, prefeasibility. The municipality is very interested, and the province a little bit less. They are concerned that it’s a way for the federal government to take over these lands. It’s not. We’re trying to sort this out.

It’s greatly appreciated, senator. Thank you.

Thank you, senator. These are complex issues. As I said earlier, what we presented to you was our attempt at finding the right balance. Maybe we didn’t. As I said earlier, if we need to amend the bill to correct this, I am very open to doing this, working with you and others so that we can find that right balance.

It was certainly not our intention to try and create a perception of contradictions between the two. Again, if by reading this you and others come to the conclusion that there is an appearance of contradiction, we’re happy to work with you to correct that.

There may be instances where we’re concerned with some activities. Fundamentally, the concern with these lands that are administered by Parks Canada is they don’t have the same protection as a national park. Our ability sometimes to intervene or manage them in the same way we would manage a national park is more limited. I don’t know if Ms. Cunningham or Mr. Campbell would like to add anything to this.

I was talking about how important grasslands are in the Canadian ecosystem but how it’s a well-kept secret. The same could be said about the Indigenous Guardians program. It is an incredible Canadian Indigenous success story. It’s a program through which the federal government has started supporting Indigenous communities for things that they have been doing for millennia. The federal government is supporting Indigenous Guardians in 25% of First Nations in Canada, and we recently signed an agreement with the Indigenous Guardians network so they will administer the program.

Environment and Climate Change Canada and Parks Canada are no longer involved in the decision making of what projects are funded. It’s an uncommon approach for the federal government not to tell people what they should be doing but rather they tell us what they want to be funded in their communities. There is a diverse array of activities funded through the Guardians program based on the needs and wishes of communities. Parks played a very important role and continues to play an important role in the development of the program. It’s now kind of taking off on its own. I don’t know if either of you would like to add anything to the Guardians program?

Thank you, senator, for this passionate intervention. Clearly, this is an issue very close to your heart. I can, certainly, commit to sitting down with Parks Canada officials to look at what we could do. You should know that Parks Canada and myself have been working really hard on getting funding for the maintenance improvement of infrastructure. Parks Canada manages quite an impressive array of infrastructure, whether it’s roads, dams and many others across the country, and there is a funding deficit we’re trying to solve. But I’m happy to sit down with Parks Canada officials and look into it.

I’m not anti-gasoline. I just think we should reduce our dependencies. I take the train between Montreal and Ottawa all the time, as does the senator. That train runs on diesel. We will continue using fossil fuels for some time. We are just trying to work on reducing consumption as much as we can, when it’s possible.

Thank you, senator. I think your question goes to the question of what balance we strike between quantity and quality. The answer is that it depends. For example, I spoke in my opening remarks about national urban parks. The reality of our urban environment across the country is that there is not a lot of very pristine nature left in our cities. So in the case of national urban parks, what we’re trying to do is look and see if there is a possibility of protecting something that is fairly intact. We just did that in Halifax with the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes, which was an area that had been protected over time without any specific legal status. We did that.

In many other instances, the purpose of the urban park will probably be to work on the restoration of the natural environment if we can’t protect something that’s pristine.

For some of the larger conservation areas, whether they are national parks or other forms of conservation, one of the first criteria now is that these projects must be Indigenous-led. I can’t think of any new conservation projects that we are working on where the Indigenous nations or communities are not at the table. In some cases, they’ve been working on these projects for many years.

I announced recently — and spoke about this earlier — the Project Finance for Permanence, or PFPs, in the Northwest Territories as well as in Nunavut. These are projects that these communities or nations have been working on for many years — sometimes decades.

The goal of our network of protected areas is to try and protect as much as we can of the rich biodiversity of Canada. It varies quite a bit from region to region. That is one of the goals we try to pursue.

In terms of the specific criteria, do you want to add anything? That’s the 20,000-foot answer, I suppose.