Meeting of Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME)

NEWS RELEASE – ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS REAFFIRM THEIR COMMITMENT  TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

Winnipeg, MB – June 23, 2015 – Federal, provincial and territorial environment  ministers today agreed to strengthen collaboration and continue to take action  in their jurisdictions in the fight against climate change.  

Ministers also agreed to work  together in advance of and following the 21st Conference of Parties  (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris  in December 2015.  

Ministers have established a  new climate change committee under CCME to facilitate ongoing engagement on  this issue.  The committee will work on  priorities identified by ministers in order to effectively address climate  change.  Priorities include reviewing the  outcomes of COP21 and maintaining a dialogue among the federal, provincial and  territorial governments in preparation for the next Climate Change Conference,  scheduled for November 2016 in Morocco.

"All governments have a  role to play in addressing climate change" said Tom Nevakshonoff,  Manitoba’s Minister of Conservation and Water Stewardship, who hosted his  colleagues at the annual meeting of CCME.   "Our respective governments’ actions need to reflect our own  circumstances and priorities, but they also need to be coordinated and  complementary. Our discussions today have forged a strong foundation for  continued collaboration among governments.”

Waste reduction continues to  be a concern to environment ministers. Ministers renewed their ongoing  commitment to implementing extended producer responsibility (EPR) and to  achieving consistent and common approaches where practicable, while respecting  their own governments’ jurisdictions and issues. EPR is a tool to decrease the  total environmental impact of a product by making the producer responsible for  the entire life-cycle of the product – not just manufacturing and distribution  but also the take-back, recycling and final disposal.

Ministers directed officials  to work with stakeholders to achieve greater consistency on key elements of EPR  programs such as product lists for EPR materials, program monitoring and  reporting metrics, and auditing protocols. Officials will report back to  ministers at the 2016 CCME meeting.

As well, ministers identified  a set of options to guide a jurisdiction if it chooses to develop a water  pricing framework. Governments can now use these principles to develop or  improve their policies in light of their particular circumstances and  objectives.

Ministers also reaffirmed  support for continued development and implementation of the Air Quality  Management System (AQMS). The AQMS is a comprehensive and harmonized approach  to air quality management across Canada to broadly address all sources of air  pollution.  Québec supports the general  objectives of the AQMS, but has already implemented its own regulation and is  collaborating with jurisdictions on developing some elements of the system,  notably air zones and airsheds.

Ministers acknowledged the  efforts by industry to eliminate the use of plastic microbeads from consumer  products and supported the Government of Canada’s scientific review of  microbeads in personal care products as part of the listing process under Schedule  1 of the Canadian Environmental  Protection Act, 1999.  Provinces and  territories may take additional complementary actions to restrict the use of  microbeads.  A cooperative approach will  help keep our waterways free of these harmful substances.  

Québec will host the next  meeting of CCME.

CCME is the primary minister-led intergovernmental  forum for collective action on environmental issues of national and  international concern.

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Contact:
                                               
           

Michael Goeres
           Executive Director
           CCME Secretariat
           (204) 948-2172

           
           

Glen Cassie
           Communications Services Manitoba
           (204) 945-3810