- To increase efficiency, introduced legislation amending the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act that implemented fixed timelines for assessments, reduced the number of departments and agencies that can conduct reviews from 40 to 3, and made it so that only members of the public with ‘direct interest’ can participate in the process (1, 2)
- Amended the Fisheries Act in 2013, removing the requirement to protect the habitats of federally-protected fish from economic activity (3)
- Amended the Navigable Waters Act, reducing the number of federally protected waterways from all waterways to three oceans, 97 lakes and 62 rivers (4, 5)
- Plans to invest $9 million over 3 years to Destination Canada in order to promote recreational hunters, anglers, and snowmobilers in the Canadian north so as to create economic activity that promotes conservation (6)
- Plans to launch a $252 million Wildlife Conservation and Enhancement Program in 2017 to improve habitats for common game animals (7, 8)
- Vows to protect BC’s natural environment by partnering with the Pacific Salmon Foundation and investing $15 million of Federal funds to protect marine habitats (9)
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- Strongly opposes changes made to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act under the Conservative Government (10, 11)
- Pledges to overhaul the Canadian Environmental Assessment review process to include increased public participation, meaningful Aboriginal contribution and consultation, and the inclusion of climate change and sustainability impacts (12)
- Proposes stricter rules for transporting hazardous waste (13)
- Pledges to adopt the "polluter pays principle" as a tool to prevent oil spills and ensure rapid and proper clean up by those responsible (14)
- Strongly opposes changes made to the Navigable Waters Act passed by the Conservatives in 2014, which reduced the number of federally protected waterways from 2.5 million to 159, and wishes to restore the requirement for ministerial approval on all structures on, under, or through all waterways (15, 16)
- Will restore funding to marine safety, oil spill responses, and environmental clean up capacity on Canadian coasts, cut under the Conservative Government (17)
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- Will restore thorough oversight of Federal Environmental Assessments to enhance public participation and analyze upstream impacts; will include greenhouse gas emissions and prohibit government ministers from interfering in assessments (18, 34 p.41-42)
- Will strengthen environmental protection against oil spills by formalizing the moratorium on crude oil traffic along B.C’s Northern Coast (19)
- Vows to conduct a full-scale review of Conservative changes to the Fisheries Act and the Navigable Waters Act, and re-establish the protected areas lost under Conservative legislation (20)
- Will restore the $40 million cut by the Conservative government from the federal government’s Ocean Science and monitoring program (21)
- Will partner with provinces, Indigenous groups, coastal communities, and other stakeholders to develop co-management partnerships to protect and make use of marine resources (22)
- Will meet the Aichi Biodiversity targets made under the 2010 International Convention on Biodiversity by increasing the amount of protected marine and coastal areas in Canada from 1.3% to 5% by 2014, and 10% by 2020 (23, 24)
- Will conduct a Species-At-Risk Action Plan and strengthen protections for endangered species (25)
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- Will establish effective environmental protection regulatory infrastructure by restoring changes made to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Canadian Fisheries Act, and the Navigable Waters Protection Act (26)
- Calls for a serious stock analysis of the economic costs/values/benefits of ecological functions to provide a comprehensive understanding of the true economic value of Canadian biodiversity (27)
- Will strengthen the Canadian Environmental Protection Act with specific regulations to reduce particulates, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and other airborne contaminants (28)
- Will create a large Clean Canada Fund to address all toxic waste sites across Canada by 2030 (29)
- Will amend the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to include the right of all Canadians to clean freshwater and breathable air (30)
- Seeks to improve water quality, with emphasis on First Nations communities, by establishing national drinking water regulations, mandatory water testing, and increased funding to municipal governments through a new Water and Waste Treatment Facilities Municipal Superfund (31)
- Will establish a Canada Water Fund of $215 million per year for 5 years to support watershed health and Great Lakes water quality (32)
- Plans to expand funding to support ongoing environmental research and monitoring by Environment Canada, Fisheries Canada, Parks Canada, and Health Canada (33)
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