The Prime Minister of Canada published Mandate Letters for the ministries on December 13, 2019.
Some of the key responsibilities for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change are:
- “Implement the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, while strengthening existing and introducing new greenhouse gas reducing measures to exceed Canada’s 2030 emissions reduction goal and beginning work so that Canada can achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Lead government-wide efforts to develop a plan to set Canada on a path to achieve a prosperous net-zero emissions future by 2050. This includes:
- Setting legally-binding, five-year emissions-reduction milestones based on the advice of experts and consultations with Canadians; and
- Working with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and the Minister of Natural Resources to position Canada as a global leader in clean technology.
- Work with the Minister of Natural Resources and provinces and territories to complete all flood maps in Canada.
- Support the Minister of Natural Resources to operationalize the plan to plant two billion incremental trees over the next 10 years, as part of a broader commitment to nature-based climate solutions that also encompasses wetlands and urban forests.
- Work with the Minister of Natural Resources to help cities expand and diversify their urban forests. You will both also invest in protecting trees from infestations and, when ecologically appropriate, help rebuild our forests after a wildfire.
- Expand the Learn-to-Camp program to meet the target that 400,000 kids each year learn basic camping skills.
- Provide a bursary for children and their families who live in poverty or underprivileged circumstances that create significant barriers to visiting national or provincial parks.
- Advance Parks Canada’s efforts to play a leadership role in natural and cultural heritage conservation and promotion, and work to ensure that Canada’s national parks and national historic sites are a source of national pride and enjoyment today and for future generations.
- Work with the Minister of Canadian Heritage to provide clearer direction on how national heritage places should be designated and preserved, and to develop comprehensive legislation on federally owned heritage places.
- Work with the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard to introduce a new ambitious plan to conserve 25 per cent of Canada’s land and 25 per cent of Canada’s oceans by 2025, working toward 30 per cent of each by 2030. This plan should be grounded in science, Indigenous knowledge and local perspectives. Advocate at international gatherings that countries around the world set a 30 per cent conservation goal for 2030 as well.
- Implement our plan to ban harmful single-use plastic products and take steps toward eliminating plastic pollution in Canada. This includes working with provinces and territories to develop national targets, standards and regulations that will make companies that manufacture plastic products or sell items with plastic packaging responsible for collecting and recycling them.
- Work with the Minister of Health to better protect people and the environment from toxins and other pollution, including by strengthening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
- With the support of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, create a new Canada Water Agency to work together with the provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, local authorities, scientists and others to find the best ways to keep our water safe, clean and well-managed.
- Develop further protections and take active steps to clean up the Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg, Lake Simcoe and other large lakes.
- Continue to work to protect biodiversity and species at risk, while engaging with provinces, territories, Indigenous communities, scientists, industry and other stakeholders to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing Species at Risk Act and assess the need for modernization.
- Support the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard in implementing the Oceans Protection Plan.
- Work with the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Natural Resources to advance toward our zero-emission vehicles targets of 10 per cent of light-duty vehicles sales per year by 2025, 30 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2040.” (Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, 2019)
Click here for the full Environment & Climate Change Mandate Letter
Click here for other Ministry Mandate Letters
