Environment Canada struggling to enforce law

The federal environment commissioner warned Tuesday that Environment Canada is struggling to enforce environmental protection regulations, and those who break the law aren't always properly punished.

"We concluded that the enforcement program was not well-managed to adequately enforce compliance with the Canadian Environmental Protection Act," wrote Scott Vaughan in his annual report tabled in Parliament.

Part of the problem stems from a lack of knowledge

The federal environmental enforcement directorate "does not have adequate information on whom it is regulating and who is not complying [with the act]," wrote Vaughan.

He also found that procedures to mete out penalties in a "fair, predictable and consistent manner" weren’t being followed.

Vaughan's report looked at 45 out of the environmental protection act's 53 regulations. He says he found problems with many of them.

"We noted there are major gaps," Vaughan told reporters following the report's release.

Environment Canada doesn't have enough information to asses 16 of the 45 regulations Vaughan looked at, and didn't do enough laboratory testing for five of the 45.

"And lab tests are necessary to apply these regulations. There’s problems with evaluating risks for 26 of the 45 regulations. There’s a lack of direction, lack of follow-up.

"There are significant problems. These are serious problems that exist," Vaughan said.

'Refused to acknowledge' facts

Environment Canada was shown many drafts of the report throughout its preparation. The commissioner wrote that the department’s senior management "has refused to acknowledge the facts presented in this report."

In fact, Environment Canada was adamant in its disagreement with the findings of the report.

"The department rejects the contention that issues are of such a magnitude to justify a comprehensive conclusion that the enforcement program was not well managed," Environment Canada wrote in its response to a draft of the report.

Dangerous goods transportation still lacking

There were five other chapters in the commissioner's report, with subjects ranging from the transportation of dangerous products to a study of fisheries sustainability.

When it comes to moving dangerous goods around the country, the commissioner found that Transport Canada could bone up on the oversight of its regulations. According to the commissioner, this isn’t the first time these shortcomings were pointed out.

"Many of the weaknesses we found in Transport Canada were identified more than five years ago and have yet to be fixed," said Vaughan.

The National Energy Board (NEB) was cited in the same chapter. The board is responsible for monitoring the safety of oil and natural gas pipelines.

For the most part, the report liked what it saw, but found the NEB could do more to follow up with the pipeline companies it monitors.

"There is little indication that the board takes steps to ensure that the identified deficiencies are corrected," wrote Vaughan.

The commissioner's report also includes:

• A review of Environment Canada's approach to science, which found the department has "the necessary systems in place to conduct high-quality science."
• A study on the sustainability of coastal and inland fisheries, which emphasizes the importance of respecting ecological limits based on reliable scientific information, and communicating roles and responsibilities for sustainability among the stakeholders in a fishery.
• A study of the government's environmental monitoring, including solar flares, air quality, bird migration, disease-carrying insects, changes in the permafrost and other aspects, and its importance in environmental stewardship.
• A review of 25 petitions submitted to the commissioner's office in 2011, of which 92 per cent received a response from the government on time.

Origin
Source: CBC