Environment Canada

Environment Canada (EC) (French: Environnement Canada), legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act (R.S., 1985, c. E-10 ), is the department of the Government of Canada with responsibility for coordinating environmental policies and programs as well as preserving and enhancing the natural environment and renewable resources. (a) the preservation and enhancement of the quality of the natural environment, including water, air and soil quality; (b) renewable resources, including migratory birds and other non-domestic flora and fauna; (c) water; (d) meteorology; (e) the enforcement of any rules or regulations made by the International Joint Commission; and (f) the coordination of the policies and programs of the Government of Canada respecting the preservation and enhancement of the quality of the natural environment. Its ministerial headquarters is located in les Terrasses de la Chaudière, Gatineau, Quebec.

Under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA 1999) (R.S., 1999, c. 33), Environment Canada became the lead federal department to ensure the cleanup of hazardous waste and oil spills for which the government is responsible, and to provide technical assistance to other jurisdictions and the private sector as required. The department is also responsible for international environmental issues (e.g., Canada-USA air issues). CEPA was the central piece of Canada's environmental legislation but it is slated to be replaced when budget implementation bill (C-38) (in its third reading debate in House of Commons) comes into effect in June 2012.

Under the Constitution of Canada, responsibility for environmental management in Canada is a shared responsibility between the federal government and provincial/territorial governments. For example, provincial governments have primary authority for resource management including permitting industrial waste discharges (e.g., to the air). The federal government is responsible for the management of toxic substances in the country (e.g., benzene). Environment Canada provides stewardship of the Environmental Choice Program, which provides consumers with an eco-labelling for products manufactured within Canada or services that meet international label standards of (GEN) Global Ecolabelling Network.

Environment Canada continues (2005–present) to undergo a structural transformation to centralize authority and decision-making, and to standardize policy implementation.