Introduction
Despite the unprecedented economic, social, and employment challenges that Canada is experiencing due to the coronavirus pandemic, climate change ranks as the most adverse issue being experienced by 21 percent of the population in Canada (Harper et al., 2019) . This issue is compounded by other social-economic issues that the country is also experiencing, including unemployment and economic growth (26 percent), lack of access to affordable, sustainable, and nutritious food (18 percent), government debts and deficits (29 percent), racism and inequality in the society (19 percent), and wealth and income inequality (23 percent) (Harper et al., 2019) . The 21 st century has been marked by an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Across the world, the effects of climate change are being experienced, and the systemic disregard for the protection of the environment as a natural resource. From changes in weather patterns, rising global temperatures, the continued use of greenhouse gases, and melting ice caps, the world is experiencing the impacts of massive human consumption on limited global resources. With the arctic melting quicker than any other biome in the world, the most critical environmental issues facing the country include global warming and climate change, followed by air pollution and the amount of waste generated especially in the oil and gas industry.
Environmental Policies in Canada
The Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, Bill C-48
Canada possesses some of the most magnificent shores in the world serving as a home to precious eco-systems and rich biodiversity (Harper et al., 2019). To protect and preserve the country’s vulnerable marine ecosystems from heightened marine shipping and expansion, the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act commonly referred to as Bill C-48 received royal assent in June 2019 (Harper et al., 2019). This legislation forbids oil tankers bearing more than 12,500 tons of persistent and crude oils as a consignment from stopping, loading, and unloading at marine or port designations in British Columbia (Harper et al., 2019). This legislation also extends from the Canadian and the U.S. border in the north to British Columbia’s mainland’s that are adjacent to the north of Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii. To ensure that local communities meet their minimum heating requirements, Bill -45 allows tankers carrying less than 12,500 crude and other oils to dock, load, and unload at the designated moratorium areas.
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In providing high-level protection to the shoreline around Queen Charlotte Sound, Hecate Strait, and Dixon Entrance, the bill imposes penalties up to $5 million for oil tankers that violate the provisions of the act (Harper et al., 2019). To examine the full application and implications of Bill C-48, the Act requires to be reviewed once every five years.
The potential exposure of oil spills to marine life in British Columbia will result in the death of more than 21 species of marine mammals. Oil spills pose an elevated risk to marine life due to their small populations, specialized diets, slow reproductive rates, and the inclination of the populations to be grouped together in space or time (Harper et al., 2019). Other than oil spills, the Act also considers the growing threat of ship strikes that endanger the baleen whales that inhabit these waters.
The northern coast of British Columbia is one of the largest in terms of size, remoteness, and the navigational hazards associated while operating in its waters. These factors combined make it challenging for spill response strategies to be initiated in the area. However, the Canadian government has set aside $1.5 billion under the Oceans Protection Plan to be used in northern British Columbia for development and during emergencies (Harper et al., 2019).
The Impact Assessment Act, Bill C-69
Bill C-69 got the royal approval in June 2019 and became effective on August 28, 2019 (Manning, 2020). Bill C-69 replaces the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA) and implements the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) thus repealing the federal environmental assessment system (Manning, 2020). The IAA is significantly different from the CEAA because the new legislation provides a broader assessment of project impacts, including the designated project's effects on indigenous people, the economy, as well as social and health aspects based on current and future generations. Therefore, for a designated project to be implemented in Canada, the IAA must consider whether the project is of public interest, how it affects sustainability, and whether it will encourage or hamper the federal government’s commitments on climate change (Manning, 2020).
Bill C-69 stresses the importance of considering the direct and indirect impacts of a designated project on both the environment and human populations (Manning, 2020). Designated projects will also be evaluated based on their capacity to produce long-term sustainable positive impacts such as providing employment to the indigenous people and skills training.
The IAA has introduced a mandatory early planning phase for designated projects in order to address any potential problems with the project and to promote early engagement with the general public and indigenous people. The IAA has also introduced their levels of impact assessments – project-level impact assessments, strategic impact assessments, and regional impact assessments (Manning, 2020). Strategic level impact assessments will be used to evaluate how the designated project will achieve goals in matters of national interest. Regional assessments will be used to evaluate the cumulative impacts and baseline conditions of projects and activities within defined regions.
The oil and gas industry condemned the bill, stating that the legislation imposes more bureaucratic procures uncertainty and reduced investment by both local and foreign investors in natural resources (Manning, 2020). The oil and gas community also claims that the act adds delays and barriers to companies in the sector seeking to export their products to markets such as the United States.
The Fisheries Act, Bill C-68
Although many laws regulate water use in Canada, the Fisheries Act is the only law that establishes the provisions for the protection and conversation of fish and fish habitat (Johnson, 2020). The Act was legislated in 1868 and is regarded as one of the country's oldest pieces of environmental laws. The Canadian Fishers Act was amended in June 2019 and included new provisions that would require Fisheries and Oceans Canada to sustainably manage fish stocks, provide protection for fish habitats, and establish rebuilding plans for depleted fish resources (Johnson, 2020). Bill C-68 also prohibits the importation and sale of shark fins in the country. Bill C-68 increase the provisions to the Fisheries Act to include the protection of all species of fish, rather than indigenous, commercial, and recreational fisheries.
Bill C-68 increases and enhances the role played by indigenous communities with regard to decision-making and management under the legislation (Johnson, 2020). The Act allows the minister to create new agreements and forge partnerships with indigenous people to further the actions of the legislation including enhanced communication, cooperation and joint action in common areas, and public consultation. The Act also allows the minister to consider the knowledge of the local people with respect to decision-making. The provisions of the Act grant the minister with the right to tap into the social, economic, and cultural factors of the indigenous people in the management of fisheries (Johnson, 2020).
The Oceans Act, Bill C-55
Bill C-55 includes important amendments to Canada’s Oceans Act. Canada recognizes that it possesses the world’s largest coastal line and the country’s oceans are facing increased threats from global warming due to climate change to a decline in marine biodiversity which has adverse effects on the social, economic, and environmental aspects of the country (Parliament of Canada, 2019). The legislation of Bill C-55 grants the federal government the authority to strengthen the environmental protection strategies of at-risk marine ecosystems by stopping new and existing activities that may harm the country’s marine ecosystems (Parliament of Canada, 2019). Bill C-55 also allows the government to protect important ocean areas by limiting the impacts of human activities and increasing protection measures on activities that threaten marine ecosystems.
Conclusion
Conversations around environmental protection in Canada largely revolve around carbon taxes and the risks posed by the oil and gas industry. Although oil and gas activities generate immense wealth for the country, they account for almost a quarter of the countries greenhouse gas emissions. Most of the Canadian population dwells in urban cities which have been singled out because of their poor air quality. Experiencing the first-hand effects of global warming and climate change, Canada enacted the aforementioned environmental policies to combat emissions, protect marine ecosystems, and safeguard the well-being of its populace.
In addition to federal environmental policies, the Canadian government has forged alliances and agreements with the global community. Canada became the first country to endorse the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. Canada is also among the counties that have signed numerous waste management treaties such as the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
Based on the environmental policies established, Canada will continue in its effects to reduce the spread of greenhouse gas emissions and promoting environmental protection for future generations.
References
Harper, D., Oleniuk, T.-L., Olthafer, L., & Slipp, K. (2019). Recent legislative and regulatory developments of interest to energy practitioners. Alberta Law Review , 57 (2), 561–593.
Johnson, J. (2019). Environmental Protection under the Fisheries Act and Bill C-68: Progress or Regress? University of New Brunswick Law Journal , 70 , 104–127.
Manning, S. (2020). The Canadian Senate: An Institution of Reconciliation? Journal of Canadian Studies , 54 (1), 1–24.
Parliament of Canada. (2019). Bill C-55. Retrieved from https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-55/royal-assent
