Through the planning and execution of joint operations with our enforcement partners, we will be expanding the visibility of the program in an effort to reassure those partners of our commitment to provide effective efficient environmental enforcement, and to generate an appropriate level of deterrence to environmental offences. EPB Atlantic will also continue to facilitate and deliver specialized environmental enforcement training and continuing education opportunities to its staff and partners. The passing of new regulations and evolution of federal enforcement priorities will create some challenges for the program. The most immediate responses will come in the areas of New Substances Notification Regulations, National Pollutant Release Inventory and Biotechnology Regulations. Training is being planned and intelligence gathering has already begun in these areas.
Provincial cooperation seems to be improving on all fronts.
We have made significant advances in our relationships with the Province of New Brunswick, and our compliance monitoring project with the RCMP and the Province in PEI had proven to be a catalyst in getting both the RCMP and the Province working together. In Newfoundland, a joint forces operation spearheaded by our coordinator was a significant investigation in terms of the cooperative enforcement efforts that was required to complete the investigation, the fines that resulted after court action, and the general deterrence it has been to reduce illegal activity. Courts began to give out much higher fines for breaches of the Migratory Birds Convention Act in 1995. Some of the highest fines in Canada have been given by the judiciary in this region. This trend is still strongly supported by the public in spite of our economic climate.