Environmental protection has come a long way in a relatively short period of time. Likewise, Canadian citizens seem more attuned to environmental protection.
Brief History of Canadian Environmental Protection
Awareness and concern about the environment dates back to the 1800s and the work of ecologist, John Muir. The Water Survey of Canada was established in 1908 and the Canadian Wildlife Service was founded in 1947. However, the modern environmental protection efforts were founded in the 1970s and Environment Canada was created in 1971.
There are several federal environmental acts that are designed to prevent pollution. The two most commonly cited acts are the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), which is often called cornerstone legislation and the Fisheries Act. According to the Canadian Government, “… the Minister of the Environment is responsible for the sections of the Fisheries Act that deal with water pollution.”
Provincial Environmental Protection
At the provincial level, there are additional policies. The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) consists of the 14 federal, provincial, and territorial ministers with the environment in their portfolios. This intergovernmental forum meets at least once a year to discuss collective action on national and international environmental issues (see Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment).
Business Expenses on Environmental Expenditures
This commitment to protect the environment comes at an expense and we have an idea of just what it costs us. Earlier this year, Statistics Canada provided the most recent data (2019) on environmental expenditures by businesses.
“In 2019, Canadian businesses spent about $21.1 billion to reduce impacts on the environment; just over two-fifths ($8.9 billion) were allocated to environmental protection activities—a decline of 8% from 2018 (see note to readers)—and the remaining $12.1 billion was devoted to resource management activities (+21% from 2018).”
These data come from an annual survey of about 6,000 businesses.
The same report states that “Similar to 2018, the same three primary industries spent the most on environmental protection. The oil and gas extraction industry reported total expenditures (operating and capital) of $3.1 billion, corresponding to just over one-third (34%) of total environmental protection expenditures made by businesses. This places the industry at the top of the 20 industrial groups targeted by the survey. This industry was followed by the mining and quarrying industry, which spent $882 million (10%) of total environmental protection expenditures, and the primary metal manufacturing industry, which spent $786 million (9%) of total environmental expenditures.”
Environmental protection is important but expensive. Money should be spent wisely when protecting or remediating environmental impacts (Image by Mariya from Pixabay).
The majority of the expenditures were wastewater management ($3.3 billion), solid waste management ($1.9 billion), and air pollution management ($1.6 billion). This represented 76% of all environmental protection expenditures in 2019.
According to the report, environmental expenditures include “…expenditures that a business incurred for pollution prevention, abatement and control; solid waste management; wastewater management; protection and remediation of soil, groundwater and surface water; protection and restoration of biodiversity and habitat; clean vehicles and transportation technologies; environmental monitoring; environmental assessments and audits; relevant training and administrative costs, etc.”
In another report by the Canadian Energy Centre looking at environmental spending in Canada, they look at industry expenditures and provincial expenditures over several years.
Business Environmental Expenses 2006-2018
According to the Canadian Energy Centre, “For total spending, i.e., when capital and operating expenses on environmental protection in Canada are combined, out of $67.7 billion spent in total between 2006 and 2018…the oil and gas sector spent $28.1 billion or 41.5 per cent, while all other industries combined spent $39.6 billion or 58.5 per cent.”
The other major industries include electric power generation ($6.3 billion or 9.3 per cent), mining and quarrying (nearly $6.2 billion or 9.1 per cent), primary metal manufacturing ($6.1 billion or 9.1 per cent) and chemical manufacturing ($3 billion or 4.5 per cent).
Provincial Environmental Expenses 2008-2019
Provincial Spending 2008-2019 was approximately $117.5 billion. Some of the details in the report include:
- Alberta spent $20.1 billion or 17.1 per cent of all provincial expenditures on the environment, while its proportion of the (10-province) population was 11.7 per cent as of 2020.
- Ontario spent $46.8 billion or 39.8 per cent of all provincial expenditures, while its proportion of the population was 38.9 per cent as of 2020.
- The other two provinces that spent a higher proportion on the environment relative to population were Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan.
- Six provinces spent less on the environment than their share of the population: Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador. In particular, the Quebec government spent just 18.3 per cent of all provincial environment expenditures between 2008 and 2019, significantly below its 22.6 per cent share of the (provinces’) population in 2020.
Wisely Protecting our Environment
There is pretty much universal agreement that protection of the environment is imperative, especially as our global population continues to grow through approximately 2050 (current estimates). This growth will continue to put pressure on our environment, natural resources, and food production.
But environmental protection is also expensive and money should be spent wisely. We often tell new acquaintances that we are best known for the remediation that we didn’t do. What we mean is, don’t unnecessarily spend money on remediation if it’s not necessary. For example, geological conditions or natural attenuation may negate the need for energy-intensive remediation.
Expect more expenses in the future to protect our environment, but again, spend the money wisely.
If you have questions or need assistance with an environmental matter, contact us at info@dragun.com or call our office at 519-948-7300. And if you are not certain that your remediation dollars are being spent wisely, ask about our peer review service.
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