There is a persistent rumour that our government is less than dedicated to protecting Canada’s precious environment, and it’s time to put that rumour to rest once and for all.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper was a featured speaker at the 9th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in late May in Bonn, Germany. He reminded Canadians and the rest of the world that we enjoy biological diversity on a grand scale in Canada and we plan to keep it that way.

Canada occupies the second-largest land mass of any country in the world. Home to more than 100,000 species of plants and animals, our beautiful hinterland is recognized worldwide and an important part of Canada’s heritage. The Outdoors Caucus that I helped to create in Ottawa promotes the responsible use of our great outdoors. It is the hunters and anglers of Canada who are most interested in preserving our fragile environment. I know we must protect our collective backyard, and this government knows it, too.

Prime Minister Harper told the Bonn conference: “The spectacular rain forests of the West Coast are perhaps best known to Europeans, but in fact, 46 percent – nearly half of our country – is carpeted with vast forests and woodlands. Our soft, fertile prairies stretch to the horizon in all directions and the tough granite mantel known as the Canadian Shield is pitted with pristine lakes and etched with roiling rivers. In fact, it is the largest reservoir of freshwater in the world. Canadians are very proud of this country. It is our inheritance from nature. Indeed, our national identity is largely defined by our relationship with our land.”

Last year, our government entered into a partnership with a private, non-profit organization called The Nature Conservancy of Canada. Its goal is to acquire and conserve more than 200,000 hectares of ecologically sensitive lands across southern Canada. Some of this land is close to developed and developing urban areas. After only one year, The Nature Conservancy of Canada has acquired some 70 properties to protect more than 50 species at risk.

Canada is working hard to build and expand its network of protected areas. Today, over 10 percent of Canada's land mass and three million hectares of ocean waters have been protected by federal, provincial and territorial governments. If that doesn’t sound like much, 10 percent of Canada’s land mass is bigger that France and Germany combined. These protected areas include famous national parks like Banff, Fundy, Gros Morne, and Nahanni, where our government announced a significant expansion last summer.

Contrary to rumours circulated by the opposition, this federal government is taking the environmental bull by the horns. We are acutely aware that Canada is home to a fragile biological diversity, and we have every intention of delivering it nicely intact to future generations.

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The audio version of Garry's June 16, 2008 op-ed column can be heard by clicking here