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THE EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN CANADA Michael Tanner School of Geography University of Birmingham (UK) Abstract To some extent the history of environmental management in Canada has mirrored that in the United States, but it also has distinctive features. This history is considered in terms of three periods, (a) 1885-1909, (b) 1909-1960 and (c) the period since 1960. It is shown that, whereas in the early years attention was mainly directed at the setting aside of areas for special protection, environmental management in the later 20th century is concerned with the sustainability of all environmental resources. Decision-making has therefore been increasingly based on detailed surveys and scientific assessments. Another influence has been developments in the international environmental arena, where Canada has taken a leading role. The output of the contemporary environmental management system, which includes non-government organisations, is primarily seen in the production of reports of various kinds, including policy statements, strategies, guidelines, action plans and environmental impact assessments

Introduction Through much of Canada's history the dominating influence on the development of attitudes towards the environment has been the nation's reliance on the exploitation of natural resources. Most of these resources were potentially renewable, but the settlement of Canada, like that of the United States, was based on two potent myths. The first was that the advancing frontier was seen as a symbol of progress pushing back the hostile wilderness, an often romantic vision that lasted well into the 20th century. The second was a belief in an almost over-abundance of resources, which meant that, if the resources in a particular area became exhausted, the frontier could simply move on to take over new resources. It is these myths, coupled with the imperative of settlement and development, that led to an exploitative attitude towards the environment. As in other areas where similar processes were at work, any environmental damage that occurred was simply regarded as an inevitable consequence of winning the abundant resources that were available. In any case, the domestication of the wilderness by the elimination of those elements that were regarded as hostile was seen as synonymous with progress. This early reliance on natural resources was perhaps inevitable in view of the relatively limited areas that were suitable for agricultural development. Even today, only 7 per cent of the nation's land surface is farmland, more than 80 per cent of which is in the prairie provinces and was not settled and brought into agricultural production until relatively late. The 1

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exploration and settlement of Canada therefore depended initially on the exploitation of the staple products of fish and furs, and later on minerals and agricultural and forest products, primarily for export to Europe. Impacts on Resources The taking of these resources was regulated solely in the interest of commercial profit, so that the resources themselves were often ruthlessly destroyed, with Nature given little attention. There was a particular lack of concern for marine resources, which appeared to be even more abundant than the terrestrial ones. The Atlantic fisheries were exploited from the start, while later whales, walrus and seals attracted the attention of commercial hunters; on the west coast some two million seals were destroyed during the 19th century, before the hunters moved on to the fur seals and sea otters of California. In the east, the Great Auk, once so abundant along the Atlantic coastline that it provided a valuable source of food for fishing communities, was hunted to extinction by 1844, to be followed 35 years later by the Labrador Duck. A similar attitude was adopted to the taking of terrestrial wildlife, with little concern for what we now term sustainability. The destruction of the vast herds of bison followed a similar pattern to that in the United States, while the beaver, whose skin was once North America's most important export, was probably saved from extinction more by a change of fashion than anything else. In this early pioneer stage, the prairie lands were, to some extent at least, treated like the wildlife, with little thought to long-term productivity. This does not mean that the likely consequences of such an approach were ignored, for, as in Britain and the United States, the latter years of the 19th century were marked by the protests of an increasingly vocal minority who preached the cause of conservation. The evolution of environmental management in Canada since this time can therefore be seen as a response to growing concern about the depletion of once-abundant resources. This evolution is considered in terms of three periods: (a) 1885-1909, (b) 1909-1960, and (c) the period since 1960. 1885-1909 The starting date of 1885 is selected primarily because it saw the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway's (CPR) transcontinental route, an event of great symbolic importance, which helped to settle the prairies, linked the nation and opened up the Rockies. The year 1885 also marked the beginnings of the national park system, for the railway surveyors discovered spectacular scenery, which some wished to preserve. The first reservation at Banff, however, was intended not to preserve scenery, but to 2

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protect the hot mineral springs from commercial exploitation. The area set aside in 1885 covered a mere 10 square miles, but it was extended to 260 square miles only two years later, when it became the Rocky Mountains National Park; its name was changed to Banff later. The act establishing the national park reserved the area "as a public park and pleasure ground for the benefit, advantage and enjoyment of the people of Canada", an almost similar wording to that establishing the world's first national park at Yellowstone in 1872, also focused on hot mineral springs (Dearden and Rollins, 1993). Three further national parks were established in the Rockies before the end of the 19th century, at Yoho, Glacier and Waterton Lakes, while Jasper followed in 1907. All of these were accessible by the railway and the first visitors arrived in the Rockies by rail. Although the land in the national parks remained under federal control, both the federal government and the CPR developed facilities for visitors to encourage use. Similar concerns led to the establishment of park reserves by provincial governments, like Algonquin Provincial Park which covered 2910 square miles and included 2500 lakes as well as extensive areas of wilderness. It was established by the Ontario government in 1893 for the "benefit, advantage and enjoyment of the people of the province". At this time, little conflict in principle was seen between preservation and development in the management of such areas. The early Canadian national and provincial parks therefore have two distinctive features. The first is the development of an 'urban' core where the sometimes luxurious visitor facilities were concentrated, which in the Rocky Mountains was usually around the railway station. The second is the expansion and contraction of their boundaries in response to the needs of the logging industry and other commercial interests; in Algonquin Provincial Park, for example, logging continued away from the designated hiking trails and amenity areas. There were a number of other developments in this period. In the east, concern about the development and privatisation of areas of high amenity value led to the designation of further national parks to protect them, like the Thousand Islands National Park established in 1904. Two other concerns emerged towards the end of this period that were to become major themes in the 20th century. As the frontier moved west and the arctic and sub-arctic areas were penetrated, there was growing concern about the drain on fish and wildlife resources. The closing of the western frontier was almost marked by the extermination of the bison, beaver and antelope (pronghorn), while populations of other animals were much reduced. Commercial hunters had a similar impact on wild populations of duck and other birds, but it was the new fashion at the turn of the century for ladies' hats to be adorned with feathers that intensified calls for action. The 3

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depredations of the feather trade had a similar political impact in Canada to that in Britain and the United States, where they led to the establishment of the first U.S. Wildlife Refuge at Pelican Island, Florida, in 1903. What was emerging was a political demand for governments to promote a more responsible attitude to the taking of Canada's wildlife resources. It was in this period that the first game reserves and bird sanctuaries were established, while protection was given to the Wood Bison in 1894, although this was not extended to the Caribou and Muskox until 1917. These developments were accompanied by the gradual regulation of hunting through such measures as bans on the sale of game, the introduction of hunting and trapping seasons, the keeping of accurate records and the licensing of hunters and trappers. Similar concerns were being expressed about the activities of the forest industries. Forests covered almost half of the nation's land surface and were a major feature of the landscape, but they tended to be regarded simply as a natural resource to be tapped without restraint and there was little or no attempt at control. An important reason for this was that, by the late 19th century, both federal and provincial governments had become dependent on the exploitation of forest resources, both as a source of revenue and as creator of employment, while timber was a major export commodity. At the same time, it was increasingly recognised that such uncontrolled exploitation not only impacted on the landscape but affected wildlife and fisheries, as well as causing floods and soil erosion. 1909-1960 By the early 20th century these concerns, which had their origins in the 1860s and 1870s, meant that the conservation movement in Canada was well under way. The early conservationists concentrated their efforts on protecting natural resources from over-exploitation, but their attention was increasingly directed at other issues. It was also during this second period that a number of factors combined to involve governments at both the provincial and federal levels in what became known as conservation. The starting point of 1909 is chosen because it was in this year that President Theodore Roosevelt called the North American Conservation Conference in Washington DC, which was attended by representatives of the United States, Canadian and Mexican governments. Canada's representatives returned to Ottawa with a "Statement of Principles" that is remarkably similar in concept, if not in language, to the declarations that have emerged from much more recent international environmental gatherings, like the Rio Conference of 1992. Partly as a result of the new awareness of environmental issues that the Conference encouraged, this period saw a number of developments 4

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that were to have a lasting influence on the way in which Canada's environment was managed. One of the "Principles" agreed in Washington had been the establishment of a Commission of Conservation. The federal government acted quickly on this and the Commission it appointed in 1909 did much to provide a scientific basis for environmental management, as well as broadening the conservation agenda. Its method of working was to set up separate committees on forests, fish and wildlife, lands, minerals and fuels, water and public health. These committees carried out research and published influential reports, reflecting the Progressive Movement's belief in the scientific basis of decision-making. The Commission of Conservation therefore formed part of the new expert bureaucracy that was emerging in many countries, although its efforts to co-ordinate policies in the conservation area did not endear it to the more traditional elements of government. In many ways, the Commission was years ahead of its time, even though it viewed "conservation" as being synonymous with planned development, but it was abolished in 1921, when it was technically absorbed by the Forestry Branch. Another immediate outcome of the Washington meeting was the formal recognition of common environmental problems with the United States. Under the Boundary Waters Treaty 1909 the two governments established the International Joint Commission to resolve disputes and also to report on the growing problem of pollution. Similar action was taken on waterfowl which, because of their migrations along the flyways linking their breeding areas in the north of the continent with their wintering areas further south, were clearly a natural resource for which the two countries had joint responsibility. The depredations of both sportsmen and commercial hunters had caused growing concern and some protection was afforded by the Migratory Birds Treaty 1916, which also regulated the hunting of non-game birds. This period also saw developments in the national parks. In 1911, the Dominion Parks Branch was established as the first national parks service in the world and was able to take the first tentative steps at management. As the central administrative agency the Branch was also responsible for overseeing the filling out of the national parks system, to which were added a number of game preserves. The largest of these was the Wood Buffalo National Park established in 1922, which covered 17,300 square miles, although the National Antelope Parks established on the prairies were later abolished when pronghorn populations made a remarkable recovery. Similar growth took place in the provincial park systems, reflecting the emergence of outdoor recreation as a social and political force. In Ottawa, the National Capital Commission established Gatineau Park, which provided a little bit of "wilderness" within sight of the Parliamentary Buildings. 5

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Rather different action was necessary in the core agricultural region of the prairies, which was stricken by the "Dust Bowl" of the 1930s. Much of the area was only settled in the early 20th century, but within little more than a quarter-century, a combination of severe drought, inappropriate farming practices and agricultural depression led to widespread soil erosion and rural poverty. The response of the federal government was to establish the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration in 1935, which was given responsibility for restoring the social, economic and ecological balance of the region. This it attempted to do by encouraging the introduction of conservation techniques, coupled with the abandonment of cereal production in some areas and the development of water resources for irrigation. Its long-term significance is that its establishment drew the federal government into active environmental management beyond its direct responsibilities for national parks and similar areas. Period since 1960 In many ways, the year 1960 is an early date for the beginning of the modern era of environmental concern. It is chosen primarily because it saw the creation of the federal Department of Forestry with its own Minister, reflecting continuing concern about the activities of the logging industry. In the following year, the influential "Resources for the Future" Conference was held in Montreal. Over the next two decades there was increasing recognition of the environmental costs of development, although attitudes related to ideas about "the imperative of development" were retained for a surprisingly long time. This has been a period characterised most obviously by a growing concern about the effects of pollution of all kinds. Attention was particularly focused on the problems of the Great Lakes, whose scale made the rapid deterioration in water quality caused by sewage effluents and industrial wastes seem even more dramatic. It was also clear that these problems could only be solved by joint action between Canada and the United States and responsibility for seeking solutions was given to the International Joint Commission. The Commission identified a number of areas of concern and made proposals that were implemented by the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement 1972 and the amendments agreed in 1978 and 1987. During this period, a number of factors combined to intensify concern about environmental issues. In part, it was simply the rapidly growing scale of development projects, which is perhaps best illustrated by the harnessing of the hydro-electric potential of more distant resources, especially in the north. This was linked to two other developments, which had an important political dimension. The first was the emphasis on the 6

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"Opening up of the North", the 40 per cent of Canada's land surface that lies north of the 60th parallel. Its development began during and after the Second World War, with the establishment of military bases, airfields and radar stations, and its strategic importance was later heightened by the Cold War. Similarly, its economic importance was dramatically increased by the discovery of oil and natural gas in the Canadian Arctic, which led to the federal government's "Road to Resources" programme in western Canada. The second was the emergence of concern about the rights of native peoples. During the 1960s, the rights of minority groups everywhere became matters of national and international concern, reflected most strikingly in the Civil Rights movement in the United States. In Canada, native peoples had long been regarded by the federal government as a transitional problem. It was assumed that they would, in time, be assimilated into the dominant culture of Canada and its main response was to adopt policies to encourage this assimilation. During the 1960s and 1970s, there was a native political resurgence in Canada that was partly stimulated by two major development projects which brought together the concerns of native peoples with those of the environmentalists. The first of these was the James Bay Development in northern Quebec, that was launched in 1971 without any consideration of its impact on the local population of Cree Indians. Such consideration was not thought necessary, for the development of its hydro-electric potential was self-evidently the most efficient way to use what was perceived to be a desolate area. In fact, little was known about the ecology of the area and the way in which it was used by the local people, but the Cree were eventually forced into an agreement and the development went ahead. The second was the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, first proposed by the federal government in 1970 to transport mainly American oil and natural gas from the Prudhoe field on the Arctic Ocean south to Alberta. Both the scale of the project and its engineering complexity were a source of controversy, while it was widely felt that its environmental impacts and its relationship to native land claims had been inadequately considered. Eventually these issues were examined by a Royal Commission, which interpreted its brief very broadly and recommended a 10-year delay in the project and the prior settlement of native land claims. It was out of the concern about such projects that the Environmental Impact Assessment process emerged; it was formally adopted in Canada in 1973 (Massam, 1988). Structural Reorganisation of Government Another response to the increasing importance of environmental matters on the political agenda has been the institutional reorganisation of 7

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government at the federal level. To some extent, this was part of the rationalisation of ministerial responsibilities that began in the 1960s (Doerr, 1981). New Ministries created at this time included Energy, Mines and Resources (1966), Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1966) and Urban Affairs (1971), but the key event was the establishment of the Department of the Environment in 1971 as the central environmental ministry. This was created by merging elements from a number of other ministries into the Department of Fisheries and Forestry in order to bring together the various environmental programmes that had grown up in different parts of the federal government (Adie and Thomas, 1982). Since then, there have been regular adjustments to the structure of government in this area. For example, in 1979 the new Department of Fisheries and Oceans was created from part of Environment, while later in the same year Parks Canada was moved to the Department. Similarly, the Forestry Service was transferred to Agriculture Canada in 1984 and Parks Canada was moved again in 1993, this time to the new Department of Canadian Heritage. The broadening of federal government responsibilities for the environment has been accompanied by the adoption of science-based approaches to planning and management. Decision-making is increasingly informed by the results of detailed surveys and the monitoring of environmental indicators, the results of which have been made widely available, like Environment Canada's "State of the Environment" reports. Similarly, planning has been increasingly carried out within the framework provided by carefully-defined ecological systems. The growing importance of environmental responsibilities within the federal government has been paralleled both by developments at the provincial level and by the increasing influence of environmental interest groups and similar organisations. There are now numerous interest groups of all kinds at every level of government. Although most see their primary role as lobbying to persuade governments to take action, some carry out surveys and conduct scientific research, the results of which may contribute significantly to the knowledge base in this area. Recognition of the importance of such work has been reflected in the provision of government sponsorship, like that for the Science Council of Canada, which has produced a number of authoritative reports since it was established in the mid-1960s. These include reports on soil degradation in Canada (Science Council of Canada, 1986) and on the sustainable development of water resources (Science Council of Canada, 1988). Similar influential reports have been prepared by purely private organisations, like Wildlife Habitat, Canada and the World Wildlife Fund of Canada (WWF). For example, in 1989 WWF published its Prairie Conservation Action Plan, with the slogan "Let's Leave Some Wild in the 8

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West" (World Wildlife Fund, 1989). Although the activities of such interest groups are reflected most obviously in the preparation of advisory reports of various kinds, some voluntary bodies also establish and manage nature reserves and similar areas, like the wide-ranging Nature Conservancy Council of Canada and Ducks Unlimited, which concentrates its attention on the protection and creation of waterfowl habitat. International Environmental Politics The work of both governments and interest groups has also been affected by the growing influence of international environmental politics in Canada. This is partly a reflection of the international or global scale of some environmental problems, like acid rain and global warming, but it also stems from more local problems. One outcome has been a recognition that political boundaries do not always provide the most appropriate framework for effective management, leading to attempts to control the exploitation of resources and environments adjacent to Canadian jurisdiction. The first example was the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act 1970, which was intended to enforce pollution standards on ships passing through Arctic waters. Better known is Canada's response to concern over overfishing in international waters in 1977, when it decided to extend its fisheries jurisdiction to a 200-mile fishing zone. There has also been the adoption of new attitudes to international cooperation. Canada has played a leading role in the international environmental community for the last quarter-century and has been very influential in some areas. International influences are reflected within Canada in the emphasis on biodiversity and sustainable development, as well as in the production of wide-ranging reports, like the World Conservation Strategy of 1986 (Environment Canada, 1986) and the Green Plan of 1990. This latter report was designed as an action plan to guide federal policy by setting targets and schedules; for example, it calls for the government to set aside 12 per cent of the nation's land as protected areas. At the same time, the longstanding cooperation with the United States has continued, as with the North American Waterfowl Management Plan of 1986 (Canadian Wildlife Service, 1986). Conclusions Environmental management in the modern industrialised world has become a multi-dimensional process involving all levels of government from the international to the local. In Canada, this is given an added dimension by the question of federal-provincial relations, which has been particularly complex in the resources area. This process is best 9

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conceptualised in terms of a number of policy communities, each of which comprises the elected representatives and government officials in a particular policy area, together with representatives of relevant nongovernment organisations. The operation of these policy communities is most evident in the production of various kinds of report, reflecting a major change of emphasis in thinking about the environment at both national and international levels. In the early years, the main concern of environmental management was the identification of areas of land and other resources thought worthy of preservation in the interests of posterity. The output of the environmental management system was therefore measured primarily in terms of the number and extent of protected areas. In the contemporary world, the designation of areas for special protection remains an important mechanism for achieving the objectives of environmental policy. At the same time, the main focus of attention has switched from the question of which areas should be selected for protection to the much more difficult question of how not only these areas but the environment as a whole should be managed in order to preserve the sustainability of the Earth's life-support systems. As a result, the output of the environmental management system in Canada, like that in other advanced nations, is now measured in terms of the production of guidelines, strategies, action plans and policy documents of all kinds. Author Notes Michael Tanner lectures on environmental management in the School of Geography at the University of Birmingham. His main research interest is in the management of water resources with particular reference to conservation and recreation. He was also Research Officer to the Water Space Amenity Commission 1974-76 and Visiting Professor at Oklahoma State University 1981-82.

References Adie, Robert F., and Paul G. Thomas (1982) Canadian Public Administration: Problematical Perspectives, Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice-Hall Canada Canadian Wildlife Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service (1986) North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services.

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Dearden, Philip, and Rick Rollins (Eds) (1993) Parks and Protected Areas in Canada: Planning and Management, Toronto: Oxford University Press. Doerr, Audrey D (1981) The Machinery of Government in Canada, Toronto: Methuen. Environment Canada (1986) World Conservation Strategy - Canada: A Report on Achievements in Conservation, Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services. Massam, Bryan H. (1988) Environmental Assessment in Canada: Theory and Practice, Canada House Lecture Series No. 39, London: Canadian High Commission Science Council of Canada (1986) A Growing Concern: Soil Degradation in Canada, Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services. Science Council of Canada (1988) Sustainable Use of Water for the 21st Century, Report 40, Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services. World Wildlife Fund Canada (1989) Prairie Conservation Action Plan, 1989-1994, Toronto: World Wildlife Fund Canada.

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