Minister Brown hosted the Council of Atlantic Environment Ministers in Stanhope, Prince Edward Island. Attending the meeting were New Brunswick Environment Minister Margaret-Ann Blaney and Nova Scotia Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau.

“I am very pleased with the progress we made on important environmental issues,” said Minister Brown. “My colleagues and I are committed to developing a sustainable, regional approach on a number of issues such as waste water effluent,

assisting coastal communities prepare for climate change, and we will explore developing a regional online exam to certify pesticide applicators,” said Minister Brown.

To support climate change monitoring and building expertise, the Ministers agreed to encourage the federal government to renew funding for the Regional Adaptation Collaboration, a three-year program to help communities in Atlantic Canada adapt to climate change.

“I was very pleased to attend this important meeting on Prince Edward Island,” said Minister Blaney. “As ministers responsible for the environment, my colleagues and I are committed to working to address the common environmental issues facing our provinces.”

“As Atlantic provinces, we share similar challenges and we are working together to address issues that affect our environment,” said Minister Belliveau. “Good ideas are worth sharing, and our provinces have much to learn from one another, particularly in the areas of water conservation, solid waste management and protecting our air quality.”

As a result of the discussions, the Ministers committed to sharing work and research currently being carried out in Atlantic jurisdictions on the issue of hydraulic fracturing.

The Ministers agreed to work co-operatively to advance these regional environmental priorities at the national level.