Section I

1.1 Minister´s Message

In Environment Canada's 2005-2006 Report on Plans and Priorities, Canadians will find detailed information on how the department intends to address our country's environmental challenges over the next three years.

This is a timely report, which underscores the need to change Canada's approach to environmental management and sustainability. There is increasing recognition that the environment is more crucial than ever in terms of improving our quality of life, and that the links between the environment and economic competitiveness are transforming the global economy.

Environment Canada is working to promote this new approach to sustainability through a framework for competitiveness and environmental sustainability. This will support the transformational change that is needed to achieve our environmental goals, while creating a world-leading sustainable economy in Canada.

The framework will take an integrated approach to the full range of sustainability challenges, including: climate change, clean air and water, land and habitat use, biodiversity and safety. It will also set out long-term, national objectives designed to enhance environmental quality, to protect the health of Canadians and to increase Canadian competitiveness.

The goals of the framework are fully integrated into the three strategic outcomes which Environment Canada is working with its partners to achieve:

1. Protecting Canadians and their environment from domestic and global sources of pollution
   
2. Conserving biodiversity in healthy ecosystems
   
3. Helping Canadians adapt to their environment in ways that safeguard their health and safety, optimize economic growth and enhance environmental quality.
   

The details of the action plans that are in place to achieve these outcomes are contained in this report.

The next three years will be a period of transformation for the department as it works both to implement the new approach to sustainability and to transform its management structures, creating a 21^st century organization which delivers results and provides value for money to Canadians.

I believe that the department's ambitious three-year agenda serves the needs and interests of individual Canadians, their communities and the economy as a whole. As Environment Canada continues to transform its approaches, it will build on this agenda to help create an environmentally-sustainable economy which produces the highest possible quality of life for Canadians.

The importance of creating an environmentally-sustainable economy is one of the key themes in the new federal budget. The 2005 budget marks a turning point for Canada: it launches the country well on the road to competitiveness within a sustainable economy. This budget does more than inject $5.2 billion (including $3 billion in new, incremental funding) into federal environmental policy across government. It sends a clear message: in order for Canada to succeed in this new industrial revolution - the sustainable economy - our environmental and economic signals must both point in the same direction, one which moves us forward to a better quality of life for our people, a more competitive and prosperous economy, and enhanced protection of our natural environment.

I encourage you to join us in this endeavour.