Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC; french: Environnement et Changement climatique Canada),Environment and Climate Change Canada is the applied title under the

Federal Identity Program The Federal Identity Program (FIP) is the Government of Canada's corporate identity program. The purpose of the FIP is to provide to the public a consistent and unified image for federal government projects and activities. Other objectives of the ...

; the legal title is Department of the Environment (). is the department of the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-i ...

responsible for coordinating environmental policies and programs, as well as preserving and enhancing the natural environment and renewable resources. It is also colloquially known by its former name, Environment Canada (EC; french: Environnement Canada, links=no). The minister of environment and climate change has been

Steven Guilbeault Steven Guilbeault (born June 9, 1970) is a Canadian politician and former activist who has served as Minister of Environment and Climate Change since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, Guilbeault has sat as a member of Parliament (M ...

since October 26, 2021; Environment and Climate Change Canada supports the minister's mandate to: "preserve and enhance the quality of the natural environment, including water, air, soil, flora and fauna; conserve Canada's renewable resources; conserve and protect Canada's water resources; forecast daily weather conditions and warnings, and provide detailed meteorological information to all of Canada; enforce rules relating to boundary waters; and coordinate environmental policies and programs for the federal government." The minister provides political direction and is responsible for the department to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

, with the day-to-day operations being managed by the deputy minister.

History

Federal role

Under the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...

, responsibility for environmental management in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

is a shared responsibility between the federal government and provincial governments. For example, provincial governments have primary authority for resource management including permitting industrial waste discharges (e.g., to the air). The federal government is responsible for the management of toxic substances in the country (e.g.,

benzene Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen ato ...

). The department provides stewardship of the

Environmental Choice Program {{Otheruses, Environmental Choice New Zealand The Environmental Choice ProgramEnvironmental Choice Program is an ecolabelling scheme that was established by Environment Canada in 1988 with over 300 categories of products to help consumers identi ...

, which provides consumers with an eco-labelling for products manufactured within Canada or services that meet international label standards of (GEN)

Global Ecolabelling Network The Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) is a non-profit network composed of some 29 ecolabel organisations throughout the worldCanadian Environmental Protection Act'' (CEPA 1999) (R.S., 1999, c. 33), ECCC became the lead federal department to ensure the cleanup of hazardous waste and

oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into ...

s for which the government is responsible, and to provide technical assistance to other jurisdictions and the private sector as required. The department is also responsible for international environmental issues (e.g., Canada-USA air issues). CEPA was the central piece of Canada's environmental legislation but was replaced when budget implementation

Bill C-38 Bill C-38 is the name of various legislation introduced into the House of Commons of Canada, including: * Farm Debt Mediation Act, introduced in 1997 to the second session of the 35th Parliament * Civil Marriage Act, introduced in 2005 to the only ...

entered into effect in June 2012.

''Canada Water Act'' and creation of department

"Recognizing the need for better environmental management, the federal government passed the '' Canada Water Act'' in 1970 and created the Department of the Environment in 1971, entrusting the Inland Waters Directorate with providing national leadership for freshwater management. Under the ''Constitution Act'', ''1867'', the provinces are "owners" of the water resources and have wide responsibilities in their day-to-day management. The federal government has certain specific responsibilities relating to water, such as fisheries and navigation, as well as exercising certain overall responsibilities such as the conduct of external affairs." The ''Canada Water Act'' (proclaimed on September 30, 1970) provides the framework for cooperation with provinces and territories in the conservation, development, and utilization of Canada's water resources. The ''Canadian Environmental Protection Act'', 1999, completes the framework for the protection and of water resources. Environment and Climate Change Canada is the federal department in charge of conserving and protecting Canada's water resources. The ''Water Act'' (2000), a federal legislation, "supports and promotes the conservation and management of water, including the wise allocation and use of water.". The provinces are responsible for administering the ''Water Act'' (2000). In Alberta for example, Alberta Environment and Water is responsible for administering the ''Water Act'' (2000) and the ''Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act'' (2000). Provinces environmental ministries primarily lead Water for Life (2003) programs. Provinces also implement and oversee "regulation of municipal drinking water, wastewater, and storm drainage systems."

Recent history

Kyoto Accord

In December 2011, Minister of the Environment

Peter Kent James Peter Kent (born July 27, 1943) is a former Canadian journalist and former politician who served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for the riding of Thornhill from 2008 to 2021. He served as Minister of the Environment in the 28t ...

announced Canada's withdrawal from the

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (par ...

one day after negotiators from nearly 200 countries meeting in Durban, South Africa at the

2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference The 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP17) was held in Durban, South Africa, from 28 November to 11 December 2011 to establish a new treaty to limit carbon emissions. A treaty was not established, but the conference agreed to est ...

(November 28 – December 11), completed a marathon of climate talks to establish a new treaty to limit carbon emissions. The Durban talks were leading to a new binding treaty with targets for all countries to take effect in 2020. Kent argued that, "The Kyoto protocol does not cover the world's largest two emitters, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and China, and therefore cannot work." In 2010 Canada, Japan and Russia said they would not accept new Kyoto commitments. Canada is the only country to repudiate the Kyoto Accord. Kent argued that since Canada could not meet targets, it needed to avoid the $14 billion in penalties for not achieving its goals. This decision drew widespread international response. States for which the emissions are not covered by the Kyoto Protocol (the US and China) have the largest emissions, being responsible for 41% of the Kyoto Protocol. China's emissions increased by over 200% from 1990 to 2009.

2012 Budget

The 2012 federal budget's '' Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act'' replaced the ''Canadian Environmental Assessment Act'' (CEAA 1992, 1999) with the'' Canadian Environmental Assessment Act'', 2012. ''The Canadian Environmental Protection Act'', ''Species at Risk Act'', ''The National Energy Board Act'', the ''Canadian Oil and Gas Operations Act'', the ''Nuclear Safety and Control Act'', the ''Fisheries Act'' (for example, closing the

Experimental Lakes Area IISD Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA, known as ELA before 2014) is an internationally unique research station encompassing 58 formerly pristine freshwater lakes in Kenora District Ontario, Canada. Previously run by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, ...

) all underwent major changes under Bill C-38. By placing the emphasis on jobs, growth and prosperity significant changes have been made to the federal environmental assessment regime (EA) and environmental regulatory framework.

2015 renaming

In 2015, the newly elected Trudeau government changed the applied title of the department under the

from ''Environment Canada'' to ''Environment and Climate Change Canada''. The new administration said this change was made in order to "reflect the government's priorities".

Operations

The department is divided into several geographic regions: *

National Capital A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the go ...

* Atlantic and Quebec Region ( Atlantic Canada,

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

) *

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

* West and North (

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, and

Prairies Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as th ...

) The department has several organizations which carry out specific tasks: * Enforcement Branch ** Environmental Enforcement ** Wildlife Enforcement * Environmental Protection Branch **

Canadian Wildlife Service The Canadian Wildlife Service or CWS (french: Service canadien de la faune), is a Branch of the Department of the Environment ( Environment and Climate Change Canada), a department of the Government of Canada. November 1, 2012 marked the 65th an ...

** Chemical Sectors ** Energy and Transportation ** Environmental Protection Operations ** Legislative and Regulatory Affairs ** Strategic Priorities *

Meteorological Service of Canada The Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC; french: Service météorologique du Canada – SMC) is a division of Environment and Climate Change Canada, which primarily provides public meteorological information and weather forecasts and warnings ...

(for

weather forecasting Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th centu ...

;

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologica ...

air quality Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

and water monitoring) ** Weather and

environmental monitoring Environmental monitoring describes the processes and activities that need to take place to characterize and monitor the quality of the environment. Environmental monitoring is used in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, as well a ...

(Climate Monitoring,

Water Survey of Canada The Water Survey of Canada (WSC) is a scientific branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada, responsible for monitoring the nation's freshwater resources. ThWSCmaintains Canada's hydrometric data network, widely referred to as HYDAT. Previous ...

)

Weather and Environmental Operations (Regional Weather Operations)

** Weather and Environmental Prediction and Services (Defence Weather Services, Marine and Ice Services ( Canadian Ice Service), National Weather Predictions, Weatheradio Canada, a national system of emergency weather broadcast transmitters) ** Canadian Hurricane Centre * Science and Technology Branch ** Atmospheric and Climate Science ** Water Science and Technology Directorate (including the National Water Research Institute) ** National Pollutant Release Inventory ** Wildlife and Landscape Science **Air Quality Mobile Source Emissions Measurement and Research

Agencies

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada is an arms-length agency that reports to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change.

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the Structure of the Canadian federal government, agency of the Government of Canada whic ...

, which manages the Canadian National Parks system, was removed from Environment Canada and became an agency reporting to the

minister of Canadian heritage The minister of Canadian heritage (french: ministre du patrimoine canadien) is the minister of the Crown who heads Canadian Heritage, the department of the Government of Canada responsible for culture, media, sports, and the arts. History The p ...

in 1998. In 2003, responsibility for Parks Canada was returned to the minister of the environment's portfolio.

Enforcement activities

The Enforcement Branch is responsible for ensuring compliance with several federal statutes. Enforcement officers are appointed pursuant to section 217(3) of the ''Canadian Environmental Protection Act'', having all the powers of

peace officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws. The phrase can include campaign disclosure specialists, local police officers, pro ...

s. There are two designations of enforcement officers: Environmental Enforcement and Wildlife Enforcement. The former administers the ''Canadian Environmental Protection Act'' and pollution provisions of the ''Fisheries Act'' and corresponding regulations. The latter enforces ''Migratory Birds Convention Act'', ''Canada Wildlife Act'', ''Species at Risk Act'' and ''The Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act''. All officers wear dark green uniform with black ties and a badge (appear on the right). Environmental Enforcement Officers only carry

baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club * Baton (law enforcement) * Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conduct ...

and OC spray whereas Wildlife Enforcement Officers are also equipped with firearm. The minister may also appoint members of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

, fishery officers, parks officers, customs officers and conservation officers of provincial and territorial governments as enforcement officers and to allow them to exercise the powers of Department of Environment officers.

Electronic waste

The Export and Import of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations (EIHWHRMR) operates with a few basic premises, one of which being that

electronic waste Electronic waste or e-waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Inform ...

is either "intact" or "not intact". The various annexes define hazardous waste in Canada, and also deem any waste that is "...considered or defined as hazardous under the legislation of the country receiving it and is prohibited by that country from being imported or conveyed in transit" to be covered under Canadian regulation and therefore subject to prior informed consent procedures. Since Canada ratified the Basel Convention on August 28, 1992, and as of August 2011, the Enforcement Branch has initiated 176 investigations for violations under EIHWHRMR, some of which are still in progress. There have been 19 prosecutions undertaken for non-compliance with the provisions of the EIHWHRMR some of which are still before the courts.

Notable related legislation

The department administers and assists in the administration of nearly c. 24 acts through regulations and through "voluntary and regulated agreements with individuals or multiple parties in Canada and elsewhere to define mutual commitments, roles and responsibilities and actions on specific environmental issues."

''Canada National Parks Act''

The ''

Canada National Parks Act The ''Canada National Parks Act'' is a Canadian federal law that regulates protection of natural areas of national significance. As of March 2019, the ''Canada National Parks Act'' extended federal protection to 47 national parks and park reserves ...

'' governs

Parks Canada Agency Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, thr ...

''Canada Wildlife Act''

'' Canada Wildlife Act'' (R.S.C., 1985, c. W-9) Amended in June 2012 by Bill C-38 'allows for the creation, management and protection of wildlife areas' to preserve habitats, particularly for at risk species and requires permits for specified activities in designated wildlife areas.

''Impact Assessment Act'' (2019)

The ''Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act'' (2000) "supports and promotes the protection, enhancement, and wise use of the environment. The Act's individual regulations cover a wide range of activities, from beverage container recycling and pesticide sales, potable water, to wastewater and storm drainage."

Migratory Birds Convention Act The Migratory Birds Convention Act (also MBCA) is a Canadian law established in 1917 and significantly updated in June 1994 which contains regulations to protect migratory birds, their eggs, and their nests from destruction by wood harvesting, hunti ...

First enacted in 1917, the MBCA protects most species of birds in Canada through regulations surrounding hunting, culling, and scientific research.

Notes

References

Additional reading

* * * *In 2019, ECCC released a report called ''Canada's Changing Climate Report'' (CCCR). It is essentially a summary of the IPCC 5th Assessment Report, customized for Canada.''Canada's Changing Climate Report'
Natural Resources Canada
Retrieved May 20, 2019 The report states that

coastal flooding Coastal flooding normally occurs when dry and low-lying land is submerged by seawater. The range of a coastal flooding is a result of the elevation of floodwater that penetrates the inland which is controlled by the topography of the coastal land ...

is expected to increase in many areas due to global sea-level rise and local land subsidence or uplift.

External links

Environment and Climate Change Canada
*
Meteorological Service of CanadaParks CanadaRelated acts and regulationsNational Pollutant Release InventoryMeteorological Service of CanadaWater Survey of CanadaCanadian Lightning Detection NetworkPress releases issued by Environment Canada for Ontario – entire archiveEnvironment Canada on top500.orgPlain language environmental regulations in Canada – with updates and other info
{{Authority control Federal departments and agencies of Canada Environment ministries Federal law enforcement agencies of Canada Regulators of biotechnology products

Ministries established in 1971 Uniformed services of Canada 1971 establishments in Canada Regulators of Canada