Speech (committee meeting)

{
    "time": "2009-06-02 10:10:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Mr. Blaine Calkins (Wetaskiwin, CPC)",
        "fr": ""
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"1545767\" data-originallang=\"en\">Thank you, Chair.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1545768\" data-originallang=\"en\">I certainly appreciate you folks coming and presenting before the committee today as we go through the legislative review of the Species at Risk Act. One of the concerns I have, and I've worked for a while in the environmental law enforcement/conservation field.... </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1545769\" data-originallang=\"en\">I recall one time\u2014and I'm just going to set a preamble for this\u2014I was commissioned by City of Edmonton Parks and Recreation to do a biophysical inventory of the Whitemud River ravine in the city of Edmonton. I laid out ten plots. I hired a botanist, Dr. George Scotter, to go in and conduct an assessment of basically just the biophysical inventory of what was there. They identified some 80 species of plants that were not known to exist\u2014whether it was an orchid or whatever the case might be\u2014inside the city limits of Edmonton, or even inside that particular geographic range. This led me to the conclusion that, given the fact that Canada consists of 32 million people and is the second largest land mass on the planet, there's a lot we don't know. Throw in factors such as climate change, the fact that our climate is evolving, and the natural landscape evolves along with that climate change, and everything we know about the natural range of a species, in my opinion, is a moving target.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1545770\" data-originallang=\"en\">When we have those ranges constantly moving and we have an act that basically defines extinction or extirpation within the ranges known in Canada\u2014ranges that are constantly moving\u2014what recommendations do you have that could strengthen the act or make the act more applicable or easy to administer? Your foremost criticism is not of the legislation itself but of the ability of the Department of Environment, whether or not it's through resources. I would also argue that perhaps there just isn't the capability\u2014it doesn't matter how many resources you apply\u2014to constantly try to hit a moving target.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1545771\" data-originallang=\"en\">My question to you is, what could be changed in the act? That really is the purview and the terms of reference of what we're trying to do here. The purview of auditors is to assess whether the department is able to live up to its requirements, and I appreciate your feedback on it. That's helpful. But what could we do to the act to make it more achievable, whether it's through a simplification or a clarification of certain provisions? Is there something specific you would like to see changed in the legislation?</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"1545767\" data-originallang=\"en\">Merci, monsieur le pr\u00e9sident.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1545768\" data-originallang=\"en\">Je vous suis reconnaissant d'\u00eatre venus t\u00e9moigner devant le comit\u00e9 aujourd'hui dans le cadre de l'examen de la Loi sur les esp\u00e8ces en p\u00e9ril. Voici l'une de mes pr\u00e9occupations. J'ai oeuvr\u00e9 pendant un certain temps dans les domaines de l'application des lois environnementales et de la conservation de l'environnement...</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1545769\" data-originallang=\"en\">Je me souviens qu'une fois \u2014 je vais vous mettre en contexte \u2014, le service des parcs et des loisirs d'Edmonton m'avait charg\u00e9 de dresser l'inventaire biophysique du ravin de la rivi\u00e8re Whitemud, situ\u00e9 dans la ville. J'ai divis\u00e9 le terrain en dix parcelles, puis j'ai engag\u00e9 un botaniste, M. George Scotter, pour qu'il en \u00e9tablisse l'inventaire biophysique. On a r\u00e9ussi \u00e0 identifier 80 esp\u00e8ces de plantes, des orchid\u00e9es et d'autres plantes, dont on ignorait l'existence \u00e0 l'int\u00e9rieur des limites de la ville d'Edmonton ou m\u00eame \u00e0 l'int\u00e9rieur de cette aire g\u00e9ographique. Ainsi, j'en suis venu \u00e0 la conclusion que, \u00e9tant donn\u00e9 que le Canada ne compte que 32 millions d'habitants alors qu'il constitue la deuxi\u00e8me masse terrestre de la plan\u00e8te en superficie, il y a beaucoup de choses que nous ignorons. Lorsque l'on y ajoute des facteurs tels que les changements climatiques et leur incidence sur le paysage naturel, toutes nos connaissances des aires naturelles des esp\u00e8ces deviennent, \u00e0 mon avis, provisoires.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1545770\" data-originallang=\"en\">\u00c9tant donn\u00e9 que la loi d\u00e9finit l'extinction ou la disparition des esp\u00e8ces en fonction de leurs aires de r\u00e9partition connues au Canada et que ces aires \u00e9voluent sans cesse, que recommandez-vous pour renforcer la loi ou pour la rendre plus facile \u00e0 ex\u00e9cuter ou \u00e0 administrer? Votre principale critique ne vise pas la loi comme telle, mais la capacit\u00e9 du minist\u00e8re de l'Environnement \u00e0 l'appliquer, qu'il s'agisse d'une question de ressources ou non. Par ailleurs, il est peut-\u00eatre tout simplement impossible d'atteindre une cible constamment en mouvement, peu importe la quantit\u00e9 de ressources qui y sont affect\u00e9es.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"1545771\" data-originallang=\"en\">Ma question est la suivante. Quelles modifications peut-on apporter \u00e0 la loi? C'est la t\u00e2che qui nous a \u00e9t\u00e9 confi\u00e9e. Il est du ressort des v\u00e9rificateurs de s'assurer que le minist\u00e8re respecte ses exigences. Vos commentaires l\u00e0-dessus sont bien s\u00fbr les bienvenus et nous sont utiles. Serait-il pr\u00e9f\u00e9rable de simplifier ou de clarifier certaines dispositions pour rendre l'application de la loi plus praticable? Quelles modifications voulez-vous voir?</p>"
    },
    "url": "/committees/environment/40-2/24/blaine-calkins-1/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/blaine-calkins/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/361/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "2798655",
    "document_url": "/committees/environment/40-2/24/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fcommittees%2Fenvironment%2F40-2%2F24%2F"
    }
}