ECCC is responsible for enforcing federal pollution prevention, wildlife protection and conservation laws. The Green Budget Coalition welcomed new resources provided to ECCC for environmental enforcement in 2021-22 ($46 million over five years, with $9.2 million ongoing) and recommends additional investment in Budget 2023.
The illegal export of Canadian plastic waste to countries in the Global South and devastating impacts on communities is but one example of the need for increased enforcement.
The new funding will enable the department to begin work to modernize its compliance promotion and enforcement capacities and methods, including building computer forensics infrastructure, training officers in investigative approaches, and employing 24 new officers to gather baseline data required to complete development of a new risk-based approach. Additional investment is needed to fully implement this new approach and ensure capacity to enforce new regulations. ECCC’s forward regulatory agenda
ndicates planned work on many regulations, including new measures to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases, control toxic chemicals, ban problematic plastics, and expand protected areas. These important initiatives will only achieve their intended environmental outcomes if compliance is assured.
Recommended Investment:
$40 million additional annual investment, ongoing, to support modernization of environmental enforcement and expand capacity. [ECCC]