Environment and Conservation
October 30, 2009
Environment Ministers Tackle Waste,
Adopt Canada-wide Vision for Water
Ministers of Environment from across the country met
in Kingston yesterday to discuss numerous issues of key
importance to the environment.
Federal, provincial and territorial Ministers
approved in principle two major initiatives designed to
reduce the amount of waste generated and sent to
landfills, and adopted a Canada-Wide vision for water.
"
Clearly we need to do much more to reduce
waste from the residential, industrial, commercial and
institutional sectors across Canada. Committing to
Extended Producer Responsibility and launching a
Sustainable Packaging Strategy are two critical steps,"
said Ontario Environment Minister John Gerretsen,
who chaired the meeting. "I look forward to governments
across our country moving even more quickly in the
coming years, and to working with industry to make
meaningful reductions in packaging."
The Canada-wide Action Plan for Extended Producer
Responsibility (EPR) encourages producers to take
responsibility for the life cycle of
their product, including the post-consumer stage. EPR
shifts the financial and physical burden of waste
management away from taxpayers and municipalities and
assigns it to individual brand owners, manufacturers or
first importers. Ministers also agreed to work to
increase public awareness of the impact of the life
cycle of products on the environment.
Under the Action Plan, Canadian jurisdictions commit
to working towards the development of EPR legislation
and/or regulations to allow for action on identified
priority products and materials.
The second initiative, the Sustainable Packaging
Strategy, outlines a set of short- and long-term
measures to help improve packaging sustainability.
In addition, Ministers endorsed a Canada-wide
strategic vision for water, which outlines how CCME will
help ensure that Canadians
have access to clean,
safe and sufficient water to meet their needs in ways
that also maintain the integrity of ecosystems.
The strategic vision aligns well with CCME work on
water-related issues and will be a useful tool in
guiding the development of future CCME activities,
promoting clarity and transparency in dealings with
jurisdictions, partners and stakeholders.
Ministers also supported a Canada-wide water
efficiency labeling program, agreed to earlier this year
by the Council of the Federation. Water efficiency
labeling supports the conservation and wise use of water
under CCME�s Strategic Directions for Water by providing
consumers with information on the water efficiency of
appliances and fixtures such as toilets, shower heads
and taps.
Consistent with the Canada-wide
strategic vision for water, Ministers reaffirmed
their commitment to further collaborative efforts to
address a number of issues including nutrient
loading in Canadian waters,
the valuation of water-based natural
capital, and developing a better understanding of
groundwater resources and management.
Ministers reviewed the progress of
federal/provincial/territorial work to develop a new
comprehensive air management system for Canada and
supported further development of the system. Health and
environmental non-government organizations and industry
are active partners in this ground-breaking
collaborative work.
Ministers affirmed their commitment to reducing
federal-provincial duplication in environmental
assessment while ensuring high environmental standards
are met. They endorsed a CCME report that recommends
jurisdictions consider a range of environmental
assessment tools and models in their legislation.
Ministers also committed to work for advances in the
near term, as well as through the five year review of
the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act set to
begin in 2010.
Ministers also received a report that helps build
common understanding about the use of Regional Strategic
Environmental Assessments as a tool for improved
planning and decision-making, including its role in
addressing cumulative effects.
CCME Ministers are
committed to ensuring that jurisdictions are able to
measure, track and report progress on the reduction of
greenhouse gases (GHG). They agreed to work together to
minimize duplication and reduce the reporting burden for
industry and governments through the development of a
single-window GHG reporting system.
Ministers have agreed to meet in November to
discuss preparations for the COP 15
UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in
December 2009.
CCME is the major intergovernmental forum in Canada
for discussion and joint action on environmental issues
of national and international concern.
Further details are available at
www.ccme.ca.
Backgrounders are available on the following topics:
CCME Setting Strategic Directions for Water
A Canada-Wide Action Plan for Extended
Producer Responsibility
A Canada-Wide Strategy for Sustainable
Packaging
Environmental Assessment Recommendations
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