Environmental Politics in the Major
 DEMOCRACIES  

Environmental Politics in Canada  

Politics in Canada: 2000 Election

The 37th Federal Election
	Liberal Party of Canada
	Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
	Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance
	New Democratic Party
	Bloc Québécois

Population Density in Canada, 1996

Canada: Terrestrial Ecozones

	Arctic Cordillera
	Northern Arctic
	Southern Arctic
	Taiga Plains
	Taiga Shield
	Taiga Cordillera
	Hudson Plains
	Boreal Plains
	Boreal Shield
	Boreal Cordillera
	Pacific Maritime
	Montane Cordillera
	Prairies
	Atlantic Maritime
	Mixedwood Plains

Canada: 1867

Canada:1999

Bilingualism in Canada

Maps from the Atlas of Canada

Major Environmental Issues

• Air pollution and resulting acid rain severely affecting lakes and damaging forests;
• metal smelting and coal-burning utilities, which yield toxic as well as conventional pollutants
• vehicle emissions impacting on agricultural and forest productivity;
• ocean waters becoming contaminated due to agricultural, industrial, mining, and forestry activities, and subsequent losses of fisheries
• loss of natural spaces (and the habitats it provides)
• deterioration of urban environments
• tracking: State of the Environment Reports
• evaluation: Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Environmental Treaties

Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Political System: Basic Characteristics

• confederation with parliamentary democracy

Capital: Ottawa

• Administrative divisions10 provinces and 3 territories*; Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories*, Nova Scotia, Nunavut*, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon Territory*

Independence:

• 1 July 1867 (from UK)

Constitution:

• 17 April 1982 (Constitution Act);
• originally, the machinery of the government was set up in the British North America Act of 1867;
• charter of rights and unwritten customs

Legal system:

• Based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil law system based on French law prevails;
• accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Executive branch:

• Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Adrienne CLARKSON (since 7 October 1999)
  Elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a five-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Commons is automatically designated prime minister by the governor general
• Head of government: Prime Minister Jean CHRETIEN (since 4 November 1993);
• Cabinet: Federal Ministry chosen by the prime minister from among the members of his own party sitting in Parliament

Legislative branch:

• Bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate or Senat (members appointed by the governor general with the advice of the prime minister and serve until reaching 75 years of age; its normal limit is 105 senators) and the House of Commons or Chambre des Communes (301 seats; members elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
• Elections: House of Commons - last held 27 November 2000 (next to be held by 2005)
• Election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Liberal Party 41%, Canadian Alliance 26%, Bloc Quebecois 11%, New Democratic Party 9%, Progressive Conservative Party 12%; seats by party - Liberal Party 172, Canadian Alliance 66, Bloc Quebecois 38, New Democratic Party 13, Progressive Conservative Party 12; note - percent of vote by party as of January 2002 - Liberal Party 51%, Canadian Alliance 10%, Bloc Quebecois 10%, New Democratic Party 9%, Progressive Conservative Party 18%; seats by party - Liberal Party 172, Canadian Alliance 66, Bloc Quebecois 38, New Democratic Party 13, Progressive Conservative Party 12

Judicial branch:

• Supreme Court of Canada (judges are appointed by the prime minister through the governor general);
• Federal Court of Canada;
• Federal Court of Appeal;
• Provincial Courts (these are named variously Court of Appeal, Court of Queens Bench, Superior Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Justice)

Overall Economic Picture

• Since World War II, the impressive growth of the manufacturing, mining, and service sectors has transformed the nation from a largely rural economy into one primarily industrial and urban.
• The 1989 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (which includes Mexico) touched off a dramatic increase in trade and economic integration with the US. As a result of the close cross-border relationship, the economic sluggishness in the United States in 2001-02 had a negative impact on the Canadian economy.
• Real growth averaged nearly 3% during 1993-2000, but declined in 2001, with moderate recovery in 2002. Unemployment is up, with contraction in the manufacturing and natural resource sectors.
• Nevertheless, given its great natural resources, skilled labor force, and modern capital plant Canada enjoys solid economic prospects.
• Two shadows loom,
• the first being the continuing constitutional impasse between English- and French-speaking areas, which has been raising the spectre of a split in the federation but was mitigated substantially by the provincial election held in Quebec a week or so ago
• Another long-term concern is the flow south to the US of professionals lured by higher pay, lower taxes, and the immense high-tech infrastructure. A key strength in the economy is the substantial trade surplus.

Environmental Institutions (Governmental)

Federal.

• Environment Canada, was created in 1971. It is governed by the Department of the Environment Act, and is headed by the federal Minister of the Environment.
• Environment Canada has five regional offices (Ontario, Atlantic, Prairie and Northern Region, Quebec, and Pacific and Yukon) and five services (policy and communications, corporate services, environmental protection, atmospheric, and environmental conservation).
• Environment Canada deals with the quality of the natural environment, which includes: quality of air, water, and soil; renewable natural resources and, more generally, wildlife flora and fauna; waters; meteorology; coordination of policies and programs of the federal government for the conservation and improvement of the quality of the environment; and, the application of the rules and regulations established by the Great Lakes International Joint Commission for the conservation and improvement of the quality of the environment.
• National parks used to be administered by Environment Canada, but were recently transferred to Heritage Canada.
• Environment Canada administers approximately 15 federal statutes. The most important of these statutes is the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). Environment Canada also has responsibilities under several other statutes administered by other ministries. For example, Environment Canada administers the water quality provisions of the federal Fisheries Act
• Several other federal departments deal with environmental matters. The most important are: Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada, Health Canada, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Fisheries and Oceans, Industry Canada, Justice Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Transport Canada.
• The Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development is a committee of the House of Commons. The Standing Committee's mandate is to study any environmental issues submitted to it by the Commons and to make its recommendations. For example, the Standing Committee has held public hearings and wrote a lengthy report on revisions to CEPA.
• the federal government created The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) in 1994. The NRTEE, which is an independent entity has a mandate to provide objective and accurate information to the authorities on the environment and on the economy. The NRTEE helps define, interpret and promote the underlying principles of sustainable development by creating general policies and by formulating recommendations to direct government action. The National Round Table is directly under the responsibility of the Prime Minister. It is composed of influential representatives of governments and industry, as well as scientists, environmental organizations, universities, trade unions, and aboriginal peoples.

• In April 1995, Canada created a new position, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, who reports directly to the Auditor General. At the same time, amendments were made to the Auditor General Act to promote sustainable development across all federal departments, attempting to ensure that the government is held publicly accountable for its progress in shifting to sustainable development. Federal departments are required to develop sustainable development strategies and to table them in Parliament within two years of the coming into force of the amendments. The Commissioner monitors and reports annually to Parliament on the extent to which departments meet their objectives and implement the action plans set out in their sustainable development strategies. Also, the Auditor General is authorized to forward public petitions on environmental matters to the responsible Ministers for reply.

Federal-provincial.

• The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) was created to promote cooperation between federal and provincial authorities in environmental matters.
• It is the principal intergovernmental forum for discussion and cooperation on environmental issues of regional, national, and international concern. The CCME has several objectives: the harmonization of legislation and policies; the adoption of standards and national objectives; the adoption of uniform strategies in order to face ecological problems at the national, international, and global level; the improvement of the links between national and international policies and programs; and the conciliation of environmental assessment procedures.

In January 1998, the Canada-wide Accord on Environmental Harmonization was signed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, with the exception of the Ministère de l'Environnement of Quebec. This accord established more cooperation and better coordination between the various governments to ensure more effective environmental protection measures. Canadian standards will be established in several areas such as: the tropospheric ozone, benzene, mercury, dioxins and tetrol, petroleum hydrocarbons in soil, etc. Sub-agreements are also anticipated dealing with environmental inspections, environmental standards and environmental assessments, research and development as well as emergency response agreements.

Other federal-provincial institutions have been created to help resolve issues related to environmental problems : the Wildlife Ministers Council of Canada, the Federal-Provincial Parks Council, the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, the Federal-Provincial Agriculture Ministers Conference, and the Canadian Council of Energy Ministers.

Provinces and Territories.

• Every province or territory has a ministry vested with executive powers for pollution abatement and nature conservation. The provincial and territorial ministries are: the Ministère de l'Environnement et de la Faune of Quebec; the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks of British Columbia; the Alberta Environmental Protection; the Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management; the Manitoba Environment; the Ministry of the Environment of Ontario; the Department of Environment and Labour of Newfoundland; the Department of Environment of New Brunswick; the Department of the Environment of Nova Scotia; the Department of Technology and Environment of Prince Edward Island; and the Department of Resources, Wildlife and Economic Development of the Northwest Territories.
• The power, scope of work, and resources of provincial and territorial authorities responsible for the environment differ greatly from one place to another,
• but generally they manage environmental affairs including issuing permits and licences, ensuring that development projects comply with environmental standards, conducting inspections, and bringing prosecutions for environmental offences.
• Provincial environmental laws provide the basis for environmental regulation in Canada.

Local governments.

• Local public authorities, such as municipalities, have at their disposal a wide range of powers that may be used for environmental regulation and management. Local public authorities are increasingly active in assuming a role for the protection of their environment. Environmental management and regulation at the local level usually fall within the following categories:

• Air pollution;
• Water pollution;
• Nuisance;
• Environmentally sensitive areas;
• Public health;
• Planning and zoning;
• Business licensing and regulation;
• Dangerous substances; and
• Plenary powers.

The role that can be played by local public authorities is dependent, in large measure, upon their legal status as municipalities created by provincial governments (c.f. the status of local governments in California as creatures of the state)

The Constitutional Separation of Powers: "Interjurisdictional Issues"

• nothing in the Canadian Constitution specifically or directly refers to the environment. 
• jurisdiction for the protection of the environment is shared by both levels of government according to the distribution of their legislative powers.
   
• Section 91 of the Constitution Act gives the federal government jurisdiction in 29 areas as well as a residual power to act in matters that have not been granted to one of the two levels of government. The federal Parliament has the power to deal with environmental matters based on the following sources of power:

• Taxation (s. 91 (3));
• Navigation and Shipping (s. 91 (10);
• Sea Coast and Inland Fisheries (s. 91 (12));
• Banking (s. 91 (15));
• Criminal Law (s. 91 (27));
• Interprovincial and international transportation and communication (s. 92 (10)(a));
• Works declared to be for the general advantage of Canada (s. 92 (10)(c));
• and Peace, Order and Good Government (residual power) (s. 91, introduction).

• Sections 92 and 93 of the Constitution mention 17 areas falling within the provincial jurisdiction. The most important ones relating to the environment are:

  • Taxation (s. 92 (2));
  • Management and Sale of the Public Lands belonging to the Province (s. 92 (5));
  • Municipal Institutions (s. 92 (8));
  • Local Works and Undertakings (s. 92 (10));
  • Property and Civil Rights (s. 92 (13));
  • Generally, all matters of a merely local or private nature in the province (s. 92 (16));
  • Exploration for non-renewable natural resources in the province (s. 92A (1)(a));
  • Development, conservation and management of non-renewable natural resources and forestry resources in the province (s. 92A (1)(b)); and,
  • Development, conservation and management of sites and facilities in the province for the generation and production of electrical energy (s. 92A (1)(c)).

• The Constitution also gives concurrent jurisdiction to both levels of government for certain matters, such as agriculture and immigration (section 95 of the Constitution Act, 1867).
• Overlaps between federal and provincial legislation are common, but if there is a direct conflict between valid federal and provincial legislation then the federal legislation is paramount.
• Even though the provinces have more extensive powers to protect the environment than the federal Parliament, it is still true that the federal government can legislate all environmental activities if it can prove that the activity or a specific aspect of any activity undermines its jurisdiction under the Constitution.
• For example, the Supreme Court of Canada, in 1997, confirmed the right of the federal government to use its jurisdiction over Criminal Law to ban toxic substances in Canada. According to the Court, jurisdiction over Criminal Law will not affect provincial authority with regard to regulating pollution.

2002 Ward v. Canada (Attorney General) [2002] 1 S.C.R. 569

Section 27 of the Marine Mammal Regulations prohibits the sale, trade or barter of young harp seals and hooded seals, referred to respectively as whitecoats and bluebacks. W held a commercial sealing licence issued under the Fisheries Act which permitted him to harvest hooded and harp seals. On a seal hunt in 1996, W harvested approximately 50 seals, including a number of bluebacks. He was charged with selling blueback pelts contrary to s. 27 of the Regulations. W argued that s. 27 was ultra vires Parliament. The trial judge upheld s. 27 as a valid exercise of the federal fisheries power under s. 91(12) of the Constitution Act, 1867.

Held: The appeal should be allowed. Section 27 of the Marine Mammal Regulations is intra vires Parliament under the fisheries power. The purpose of s. 27 is to control the killing of bluebacks and whitecoats by prohibiting their sale, thus making it largely pointless to harvest them. Parliament's object is to regulate the seal fishery by eliminating the commercial hunting of these seals, while at the same time allowing for a limited harvesting for non-commercial purposes. The prohibition exists in the context of a scheme that is concerned with the overall "management and control" of the marine fisheries resource. It is not directed at controlling commerce or property but rather is designed to curtail a hunt that was damaging the economic viability of the sealing industry and the fisheries resource in general.

     Although broad, the fisheries power is not unlimited. Parliament must respect the provincial power over property and civil rights. Whether a matter best conforms to a subject within federal or provincial jurisdiction cannot be determined by drawing a line between federal and provincial powers on the basis of conservation or sale. The activity at stake must be examined to determine whether the matter regulated is related in pith and substance to the federal fisheries power or the provincial power over property and civil rights. Here, since s. 27 is vitally connected to protecting the economic viability of the Canadian fishery as a whole, it is a valid federal measure. This result fully respects the provinces' constitutional right to control property and civil rights.

1997 R. v. Hydro-Québec [1997] 3 S.C.R. 213

 

1988 R. v. Crown Zellerbach Canada Ltd. [1988] 1 S.C.R. 401


 

• The Yukon and Northwest Territories derive their legislative powers from the federal statutes creating them. Among other things, the Yukon Act and the Northwest Territories Act give the territories power over wildlife and things of local nature.

Canadian Environmental Politics on the Ground: British Columbia

British Columbia (Macromedia )

British Columbia Photo Gallery

On Return Day, the Chief Electoral Officer certified to the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly the election of 79 Members of the Legislative Assembly. The political affiliation of the elected members was:

The party representation of the elected members was:

BC Liberals

main page

go to Platform, and then to Environment

BC New Democratic Party

main page

go to Achievements, and then to the Environmental Protection Decade

Provincial Politics Remain Competitive and Environmental Politics Are an Important Part of the Picture

What Groups Are Active and What Issues Concern Them?

[overview from Yahoo]

• BC Spaces for Nature - works to protect B.C.'s endangered species and tracks mining issues.
• Encorp Pacific@
• Environmental Mining Council of British Columbia environmental reform of mining practices
• Nuntzi - a non-government, non-industry dominated forum on many matters such as environment, resource use, economics, cultural diversity, controlling government and industry
• Sierra Club of British Columbia - dedicated to protecting BC's wildlands and wildlife, particularly the ancient temperate rainforests.
• Society Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC) - actively working to protect the ecosystems of BC, focusing on urban environmental issues. Features newsletter, events, and campaign news.
• West Coast Environmental Law - public interest group working in local municipalities to international forums in order to establish laws and policies to protect health and environment.
• Western Canada Wilderness Committee - works for the preservation of wilderness areas, and focus public attention on logging practices, biodiversity, and conservation of natural resources.

environmental protection (air, water, toxics); resource conservation, recycling, and reuse; forests, wilderness, and wildlife; mining; fisheries

Environmental Policy History [edited from Spaces for Nature]

Inspired by the US and Canadian National Parks concept, BC's first provincial park, Strathcona, was created on Vancouver Island in 1911. This was followed by Garibaldi, adjacent to the city of Vancouver, in the early 1920s. From then on the idea of expanding the parks system had a certain prestige about it, and several large parks were created by the BC government such as Wells Gray,  Tweedsmuir, and Manning in the 1930s and 1940s. The intention at this time was to retain large expanses of natural, scenic landscape. This focus came about as the logging industry was moving farther into interior BC, encroaching on many wild areas.

During this era, these large parks had virtually no management, and fell under the jurisdiction of the BC Forest Service. It wasn't until well into the 1960s that BC actually established a Parks Branch, and the parks system was no longer managed by an agency whose primary motive was to log forests.

In the 1980s, the British Columbian environmental movement to protect wild spaces evolved further and started to recognize the need to create a comprehensive wilderness system, in the way that the United States had in the 1960s.

Also in the early '80s, the American campaign to preserve the wilderness of Alaska culminated, and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act was passed (ANILCA). In 1980, 40 million ha (100 million acres), 37% of Alaska, were protected as a result of this bill. This had a tremendous effect on campaigners in BC who realised that they had to move much more quickly. The flagship campaigns of South Moresby, and later Clayoquot Sound, focused on the rainforest, and moved this issue of protecting the great forests of BC to national awareness.

Late in the 1980s, BC conservationists began to address the fact that mining too was an industry which could threaten wilderness. The campaign to save the world class wilderness of Tatshenshini in far northern BC focused on a proposed mega mine, whose potential to generate vast amounts of deadly poisonous acid mine drainage for thousands of years endangered North America's Wildest River.

BC Parks 1970
(Print Map)
Requires Adobe Acrobat

BC Parks 1990
(Print Map)
Requires Adobe Acrobat

BC Parks 2000
(Print Map)
Requires Adobe Acrobat

By the 1990s British Columbia conservationists became even more focused on the need to be working on not just individual areas, but on completing a system of preservation as rapidly as possible. The issue was first emphasized by United Nation's 1987 report "Our Common Future", known as the Bruntland Report. The report focused on the need for sustainable development, but also recognized that the world's diversity of species was at stake.

This awareness led to the establishment of the International Biodiversity Treaty in the early 1990s. Concurrently, World Wildlife Fund Canada established their Endangered Spaces Program to achieve at least 12% of the Canadian wilderness by the year 2000 before it would all disappear. In British Columbia issues like Tatshenshini took the wilderness campaign beyond Canada to the White House of the United States. Eventually Tatshenshini was not only protected by the BC Government, but also designated a United Nations World Heritage Site. As well, the campaign to preserve the old growth forests attracted the attention of Greenpeace International with the result that the plight of BC's forests and wilderness gained global attention.

The British Columbia government responded to the calls in the international community and proposed in the early 1990s that BC should move rapidly to reach the United Nations' 12% protected goal by the year 2000 and by 1993 the Government had developed the British Columbia Protected Areas Strategy. The ensuing years were a time of great activity and intensity as the environmental community deepened its membership and worked on conserving a whole range of protected areas in the province. This was accompanied by strong opposition from the logging industry and to a less extent the mining industry. But in the end, the 12% wilderness preservation target was met by the year 2000.  BC's system of protected areas continues to grow, although over 60% of the landbase is either developed or allocated for resource development. In the south of the province 80% of the landbase is or will be developed.

Policy and Institutions

Ministries and Organizations

go to

Agriculture, Food, and Fisheries

Forests

Sustainable Resource Management

Water, Land, and Air Protection

-- Cabinet decision making and parliamentary accountability

and to

Environmental Appeal Board

go to Decisions

-- quasi-judicial review of administrative agency decision making, in the absence of substantial involvement by the judiciary

Environmental Assessment Office

go to Project Index

and Current Projects Map

-- a classic problem of environmental policy making -- how to focus on the particular place and the whole picture at the same time