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Watchdog Gives Federal Government Failing Marks on Environmental Issues

Posted on: Thursday, 29 September 2005, 15:00 CDT

By JOHN WARD

OTTAWA (CP) - The federal environment watchdog says the government produces a lot of talk, but not much action on environmental issues.

Johanne Gelinas, commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, said the government tends to make loud announcements which are forgotten "as soon as the confetti hits the ground."

In a report released Thursday, Gelinas chides Ottawa for doing a poor job protecting the oceans, promoting biodiversity and ensuring safe drinking water on native reserves.

It also says the government has no policy for buying green, environmentally sound products, nor has it pushed departments to co-ordinate policies on sustainable development.

Gelinas, who oversees environmental issues for the auditor general, said the government makes bold promises, but doesn't provide the resources or structures to follow through.

"The federal government is chronically unable to sustain initiatives, once they are launched."

Bureaucratic infighting and turf wars hamper efforts to co-ordinate programs that cross department boundaries, she said, and senior bureaucrats aren't held accountable for following through on programs.

"In many areas, the federal government keeps reinventing the wheel by changing key staff and changing the design of programs, without regard for achieving results."

Gelinas cited a number of specific problems:

-The government isn't doing enough to ensure that drinking water is safe on reserves or even in airliners, both of which fall under federal jurisdiction.

-The government tests water on cruise ships and trains, but not on airplanes.

-In 2001, Indian Affairs found risks to drinking water quality on three-quarters of native reserves, but there are still no laws or regulations governing water in these communities.

"Many First Nations communities remain exposed to risks from unsafe drinking water," Gelinas said.

Eight years after passage of the Oceans Act, the government still has no plans for management of the seas, nor has there been progress in setting up marine protection areas.

"Canada's oceans are at risk," Gelinas said.

She also complained that Canada has a biodiversity strategy on paper, but has done nothing to make it real: "The government is still only at the starting gate when it comes to carrying it out."

Despite a decade of promises, the government doesn't have a "buy green" policy. Ottawa spends $13 billion a year on goods and services and could boost the whole green industry if it insisted on buying environmentally sound products. But it doesn't.

"The government wants Canadians to do their part in greening their daily activities," Gelinas said. "It should ask of others only what it is prepared to do itself."

The report also rapped the government for failing to provide direction for departments trying to co-ordinate policies on sustainable development.

"The federal government is trying to navigate without a chart," Gelinas said. "This leaves parliamentarians and Canadians with no idea of where the federal government plans to go, or how it intends to get there."

Gelinas did give grudging approval for the way the country's 41 national parks are managed, but warned that more needs to be done.

She said Parks Canada is headed in the right direction and $75 million in new funding will make a real difference in the management of the parks.

But, she added, half of the parks audited for the report had outdated management plans and reporting on overall progress is poor.

"Parks Canada has an opportunity to make a real difference in the management of national parks and the public's understanding of national parks."

Highlights from the report of the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development:

-The federal government makes big environmental announcements, but they are soon forgotten.

-Steps should be taken to ensure that aboriginal reserves and air travellers have safe water to drink.

-The oceans should be protected with clear plans for fisheries management by establishing the marine protection areas promised years ago.

-The government has failed to act on pledges to protect biodiversity and should start by providing a clear picture of biodiversity in Canada.

-The government urges Canadians to buy green, but has no green purchasing policy of its own.

-There is no co-ordination when it comes to departments setting sustainable development policies.

Source: Canadian Press

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