Check Against Delivery

Good morning! I am very pleased to be with you. It's always a pleasure to meet with mayors and councils and a particular pleasure to be here with so many of you in one place.

We share many things. As politicians, our orders of government are answerable to the same constituents. We hear many of the same concerns and do our best to respond to the values of our communities.

I have always worked closely with municipalities and, while it has been important in previous portfolios, I believe it is particularly important as Canada's Minister of Environment.

Today is the start of Environment Week and this year's theme is "Community Action on Clean Air and Climate Change."

I emphasize community action because municipalities are taking a leadership role in solving environmental issues and I would like to thank you for your vision. For understanding that Canada's natural environment and the blessings of clean air and water are inextricably linked to the health of our citizens, our quality of life and our ability to remain competitive in the new economy.

When it comes to action on air pollution and climate change, many of you are leading the way. You are cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions. You are improving energy efficiency. You are planting trees to restore public green space. You are encouraging citizens, young and old, to become environmental stewards. And you are speaking out about your priorities to both the federal and provincial governments.

As the national voice of municipal governments, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities plays a crucial role in this process. FCM has provided tools, encouragement and incentives to get its members to "think green."

The Government of Canada has long recognized that the road to sustainable development must pass through our cities, towns and villages. Local governments are directly involved in some of our most fundamental environmental priorities, including clean air and water, species protection, climate change, waste management and urban transportation.

This is why, in the last few years, the Government of Canada has strengthened our partnership with provincial governments as well as individual municipalities and FCM. This partnership has become an integral part of the federal government's strategies to protect air and water quality and to respond to climate change.

The Government of Canada is proud to support the stewardship efforts of municipalities. Through programs like Eco-Action 2000, the Millenium Partnership Program, the Sustainable Communities Indicator Program and the Climate Change Action Fund, we have found many cooperative and productive ways to save energy, protect habitat, help Canadians understand how to do their part and even find innovative software solutions to measure progress on sustainable development.

I want to mention particularly the importance of the Partners for Climate Protection Program started by FCM. More than 60 communities across Canada have joined this program and are making concrete commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their operations and in their communities. Not surprisingly, they are also finding ways to save money.

This might explain why when asked to come up with strategies for the national climate change strategy, the Municipalities Issues Table offered us some of the most practical suggestions, including a list of actions to reduce 60 megatonnes of GHG emissions or more than 25% of the national goal. That's what I call doing your part. Or as Hazel McCallion remarked to me a few weeks ago, it's doing more than just getting together for a gabfest, it's offering real solutions.

From coast to coast, the federal government and municipalities are finding ways to build on the resurgence of "green" public values and turning those values into action.

That is part of the reason why my colleague Ralph Goodale and I are so pleased to announce a $125 million endowment to FCM to create a truly innovative way for us to empower communities to find solutions.

Through cost-shared grants and loan guarantees, the Green Municipal Enabling Fund and the Green Municipal Investment Fund will encourage municipalities to use public infrastructure in a more energy efficient way. As outlined in Budget 2000, the funds will allow municipalities to do their homework and make investments in improving energy efficiency in office buildings and water or wastewater treatment centres, supporting renewable energy projects and converting transit vehicles to more sustainable fuels.

The idea is to have this initial green investment act as a testing ground for innovation, best practices and the use of advanced technologies – expertise that we can apply more broadly through future national infrastructure initiatives.

Before I say a few words about the upcoming infrastructure program, I would like to take a moment to emphasize why action on clean air and climate change is necessary.

Science tells us that more than 5,000 Canadians die prematurely each year because of air pollution. Hundreds of thousands suffer from aggravated asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory illnesses. Now we're learning that air pollution affects our health at lower levels than we had previously believed and that children and the elderly are particularly at risk.

Despite our efforts to address specific air quality issues, air pollution is getting worse, not better. It affects us wherever we live, damaging our lakes and crops and our own health. You may have heard about a new study, for example, that says air pollution kills roughly 1,000 people a year in Toronto and puts another 55 hundred in hospital.

So, what will it take to clean up our air?

I believe we need to get at the root sources of dirty air. We need to understand that air pollution problems are inter-related. We need to set the bar high to encourage innovative and integrated solutions. Solutions that will not only bring us cleaner air and water but will also help us address climate change.

Last month, the Government of Canada announced a national program to reduce pollutants that contribute to smog – a program that will have dramatic impact on the quality of life in our communities.

We are looking for cooperation with the provinces and I will be seeing my provincial colleagues tomorrow to ask them to help us do more and do it more quickly to clean up the air.

Under the new program, we will be doubling our investment in our data and monitoring of air pollution across the country. The federal government will be putting stricter timelines on the reduction of emissions from vehicles and fuels, including light duty trucks, SUVs, buses and heavy duty vehicles. Coming into effect in 2004, these new standards will cut smog-causing emissions by 77 percent for new passenger vehicles, and by 95 percent for light duty trucks.

Minister Rock and I have also taken action on particulate matter less than 10 microns by declaring it toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. My goal is to see specific PM less than ten emission reduction targets for key industrial sectors with timetables to meet those targets. We will pay particular attention to the smallest of these particles, the ones that represent the biggest threat to human health.

These particles are often produced when we burn fossil fuels and wood. It's their size that makes them so dangerous. Because these particles are so tiny, people breathe them deep into their lungs. Over time, as more and more of them collect in the lungs, they pose serious health risks – particularly for Canada's children.

The health risks of pollution for children - and the elderly - have been driven home these last two weeks by the tragedy in Walkerton. Clearly there is a lower tolerance levels for children and the elderly to toxic substances. We must do more to understand these vulnerabilities and make science and infrastructure investments that will avoid these kind of tragedies. As politicians, we have a responsibility to protect the public good.

I will be working with my federal colleagues in the coming months to initiate a program to better understand the short and long term effects of pollution on children.

I would like to say a few words about the upcoming infrastructure program in that context. Budget 2000 called for a significant six-year investment in Canada's physical infrastructure totaling $2.6 billion. I believe we must invest these funds wisely and focus on core infrastructure that has multiple benefits for the health of our people and our communities.

As the Minister of Environment, I believe we must invest the majority of these funds in green infrastructure. I know from discussions with many of you that you want to focus on core infrastructure and I will support municipal priorities.

I am hoping to see thousands of projects that will lead to measurable improvements in cleaner air and water in communities across Canada. Things like:

• water treatment and distribution initiatives;
• waste management systems, waste diversion and recycling;
• community energy systems;
• municipal wastewater and domestic sewage initiatives;
• treatment system upgrades at landfills;
• landfill gas recovery; and
• incinerator upgrades.

Projects like these will help reduce the release of toxics and contaminants into our air and water, reduce and divert solid waste, and ensure better use of our energy and water resources.

I also support transit investments that will give cleaner air and reduced green house gas emissions in our communities. As my colleague Minister Collenette has said, improvements in our transportation systems are urgently required. I wholeheartedly support Minister Collenette's efforts to make public transit improvements and intelligent transportation systems a major focus of any new infrastructure program.

Ladies and gentlemen, I've spoken this afternoon about the importance of the partnership between the Government of Canada, individual communities and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Working in partnership is the best way – the only way – for all of us to reach our environmental goals.

I want to briefly mention the Species at Risk Act. This bill seeks to protect species and their habitats by taking the same kind of partnership approach we have been discussing today. It is focused on stewardship and community participation and we will see increased habitat protection through voluntary programs in our communities. It is by working with the people on the land that we will restore Canada's species.

In closing, I would like to say that I look forward to working with FCM, building on our many cooperative initiatives, exploring new territory with the new funding mechanisms and in the future on the infrastructure program.

As I said at the outset, we have much in common. Our shared constituency wants us to make intelligent investments in the short and long term that will improve our quality of life. These environmental priorities will certainly achieve that goal.

Ours is a dynamic relationship. Your advice, recommendations and ideas help us move forward on many environmental fronts, including our discussions with the provinces.

I applaud Canada's municipalities for taking leadership on clean air, clean water and climate change.

Working together, we can reduce pollution. We can and we must.

For the sake of future generations of Canadians who depend on us to do the right thing.

Thank you very much.

Related documents:

• Government of Canada Invests in Greening of Municipal Infrastructure [news release, 2000-06-04]
• Helping Municipalities Take Action [backgrounder, 2000-06-04]
• Federation of Canadian Municipalities Website [information collection]