Sustainable and Green Initiatives

The Branch is responsible for strategic planning support for the development of policy, legislation, and program alternatives for departmental and governmental priorities and major sustainable and green initiatives. The Branch provides a leadership role in the development of policy, legislation and planning. It also provides facilitation and coordination support to other branches, and promotes consensus-building and consistency with governmental and departmental visions, goals and objectives.

The Branch represents the Department on interdepartmental, provincial, national, and international agencies, boards and committees. In addition, it also represents Manitoba on national forums for inter-governmental cooperation and on issues related to national and international environment and trade agreements.

The Department is responsible for the administration and enforcement of 46 Acts and 136 accompanying regulations, plus additional responsibilities under federal statutes. The Branch provides technical and analytical support to all branches with the interpretation of legislation and leads the development of new Acts and/or regulations, or amendments. The branch is the lead in supporting the Department's Executive Management Committee on departmental wide legislative priorities and initiatives.

Branch's work also involves the delivery of front-line services such as the licensing and permitting of approximately 500 resource tourism operations such as lodges and outfitters, under The Resource Tourism Operators Act. The Branch works with the regions and other branches of the department to support environmental protection and to promote the sustainable use and development of Manitoba's natural resources.

The Branch also supports sustainability programming and practices.