Federal government must track progress toward zero plastic waste goal: audit report
Most federal programs aimed at reducing plastic waste are working, but the government isn't measuring its progress toward its overall goal of zero plastic waste by 2030, according to a new audit from Canada's environment commissioner.
The government launched an initiative in 2019 to create a circular economy for plastics by 2030 -- meaning nothing goes to waste.
In his audit released Tuesday, environment commissioner Jerry DeMarco found that waste-reduction efforts in key federal departments were generally working well.
That included efforts by the Fisheries Department, which is meeting its targets to remove lost or discarded fishing gear -- also known as ghost gear -- from the water.
Environmental groups estimate as much as three-quarters of the plastic in the world's oceans comes from abandoned or lost fishing nets and related gear.
However, DeMarco said the government doesn't have clear targets and monitoring systems to know whether it's on track to meet the goal of zero plastic waste overall.
"Until this is done, they will not know whether they are on track to meeting the goal," the report said.
DeMarco said tracking is especially important because reaching the goal will require co-ordination from the provinces and territories, municipalities and the private sector.
Statistics Canada's most recent report on where plastic ends up was released in March, and the most recent data it included were from 2020.
If methods don't change, it will be 2034 before StatCan has information about the 2030 target.
DeMarco called on the agency to prioritize the data.
The audit noted that the federal public plastics registry will help fill the data gap.
That program, announced last week by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault on the sidelines of UN negotiations toward an international plastics treaty, will require plastic producers to report on what they're making and where it ends up.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has agreed to a series of recommendations, including creating a data framework by March 2025 to measure progress toward the zero-waste goal.
DeMarco also issued a report assessing the Innovation, Science and Economic Development Department's $8-billion Net Zero Accelerator fund and found it had "significant shortcomings."
The department is not tracking the program's value for money in actually reducing emissions, the report said.
The program has allocated funding to 17 projects, but only five of those included a signed commitment to reduce a specific amount of emissions.
The audit calculated the cost of reductions for those five projects at $143 per tonne, but the remaining 12 projects were estimated to cost $523 per tonne because they didn't have specific targets.
Overall, the fund has only achieved a six-megatonne reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions.
"To put it in perspective, six megatonnes is less than one per cent of total emissions in Canada. So they really do need to attract the large emitters to get more bang for their buck," DeMarco said.
The program was also cumbersome to apply for, with companies spending, on average, 407 hours to complete the application and 20 months to complete the full process.
Of the 55 large emitters in the country, only 15 applied for the funding -- and just two signed on.
In a separate report released Tuesday, DeMarco found the Agriculture Department has no strategy to meet Canada's 2030 or 2050 climate targets four years after it was first directed to create one.
The federal government called for such a strategy in the 2020 fall economic statement and again in 2021, and DeMarco said he was surprised and disappointed to see it still had not happened.
"It wouldn't be such a problem if we saw that the programs were making strong headway already in the absence of a strategy," DeMarco said.
Without a strategy in place, the department has been undertaking "extensive science-based work," but DeMarco said there's no way of knowing if that work is overlapping.
The agriculture sector accounted for about 10 per cent of the country's total greenhouse-gas emissions in 2021.
The federal plan for meeting the 2030 emissions reduction targets lays out a sector-by-sector path forward.
The audit noted that through its various programs, the Agriculture Department estimated that by 2030 the sector will cut its emissions by 11.21 million tonnes, which is less than the 13 million tonnes it estimated in 2022.
One reason for that change is because the department initially included emission reduction estimates from tree planting on agricultural lands, but later removed them.
So far, DeMarco said, the sector has achieved less than one megatonne of emissions reduction -- about two per cent of its target.
The audit looked at three programs aimed at cutting methane emissions and found that they "had not yet quantified any expected greenhouse-gas emission reductions from their projects" to help meet Canada's goal of reducing such emissions by 30 per cent below 2022 levels by 2030.
DeMarco is calling on the department to establish a sustainable agriculture strategy that includes measurable outcomes and reporting on the cost of mitigation programs.
Adam van Koeverden, the parliamentary secretary to the environment minister, said work on a strategy is underway.
"Our government is being pushed in the right direction toward more action, more efficient work," he said.
The federal government says it has accepted the commissioner's recommendations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW What a wildfire survivor says she regrets not grabbing before leaving home
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
World No. 1 golfer charged with police officer assault before PGA Championship second round
World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler was arrested and charged with the assault of a police officer in what he called a 'chaotic situation' before being released in time to start his second round at the PGA Championship on Friday.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
B.C. optometrist warns against trending eye colour change procedure
A medical procedure that can permanently change a person's eye colour may be trending on social media, but a B.C. optometrist is warning about the significant risks associated.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
An airplane passenger was spotted in an overhead bin. This was the reaction
Airplane overhead compartments. Home to luggage of all shapes and sizes, the odd coat or two, several duty-free bags, a fair bit of dust and… passengers?
WATCH Infectious disease expert warns measles 'a very real threat'
A Canadian epidemiologist is warning the measles presents a 'very real threat' to public health if Canada doesn't maintain a high vaccination rate.
Judge considers dismissing indictment against Alec Baldwin in fatal shooting of cinematographer
A New Mexico judge is considering Alec Baldwin's request to dismiss a grand jury indictment against him at a virtual court hearing Friday.
LIVE @ 11:30 MT Four 1970s homicides linked to serial killer, Alberta Mounties to reveal Friday
A dead serial sexual offender and killer has been linked to four homicides in the 1970s in Alberta, RCMP say.
Local Spotlight
'Another pair of eyes watching over me:' How a B.C. woman's service dog saved her from drowning
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
Starbucks fan on decades-long journey to visit every store in the world
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
'Sacred work': Sask. First Nation learning how to conduct its own underground searches
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
'It could mean a cure': Cautious optimism for groundbreaking ALS research at Western
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
B.C. musician's song catches attention of Canucks
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
'We're on standby': Team ready to help entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Thieves caught on camera stealing pet chicken from North Vancouver backyard
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.