It was agreed, — That the Fifth Report from the Subcommittee on Agenda and Procedure, which read as follows, be concurred in as amended:
Your Subcommittee met on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, to consider the business of the Committee and agreed to make the following recommendations:
1. That in connection with the study of Urban Conservation Practices in Canada, the Committee proceed to the consideration of a draft report and that meetings be scheduled, if possible, on Tuesday, February 26, Thursday, February 28 and Tuesday, March 5, 2013 for this purpose.
2. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee undertake a study on Habitat Conservation in Canada to find ways in which the National Conservation Plan can complement and enhance current habitat conservation efforts; that the focus of the study be on terrestrial ecosystems and be scoped to respond to the following questions:
- What types of stakeholders are involved in habitat conservation and how much does this account for total efforts in Canada?
- Does Canada have publicly available knowledge and expertise on habitat conservation? What are the sources of this information and how is it disseminated?
- What are the most effective habitat conservation groups or organizations and what actions do they take?
- How is “conserved land” defined and accounted for in Canada and is that definition different from other countries?
- When it comes to recovering a species, how do best management practices and stewardship initiatives compare to prescriptive, government-mandated measures?
- How can the federal government improve habitat conservation efforts in Canada?; and
that this study include two meetings on the protection of wetlands in Canada.
3. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee conduct a review of changes to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and of the Government’s Great Lakes Action Plan; and prepare a report to the House with answers to the following questions:
- What geographic locations within the Great Lakes Basin are identified areas of concern and, of those, which areas are seen as priorities?
- What efforts are currently underway to remediate the areas of concern and what further efforts are planned?
- What progress, if any, has been achieved to date in remediating areas of concern?
- What best practices or other reasonable guidance, if any, might the Committee recommend to facilitate the further remediation of areas of concern within the Great Lakes Basin?
4. That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee have one one-hour meeting to hear updates on Environment Canada’s oil sands monitoring program and that the Committee report its findings to the House.