Question Period Note: Marine Conservation

• Our Government recognizes the importance of protecting Canada’s marine and coastal areas – this is why we have exceeded our 2020 target of 10 per cent ahead of the deadline.
• On August 1, 2019, the Tuvaijuittuq (“too-vai-you-wee-tuk”) Marine Protected Area in the High Arctic Basin was designated under the Oceans Act, to bring the total marine and coastal areas conserved in Canada to 13.81 per cent, up from just 1 per cent in 2016.
• Our Government will work with our partners in the provinces and territories, Indigenous communities, and Canadians from coast to coast to coast to create a plan to increase marine protection to 25 per cent by 2025, working towards 30 per cent by 2030.

Marine Conservation Targets
• In 2010, Canada agreed to marine conservation targets established under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to conserve 10% of coastal and marine areas through effectively managed networks of protected areas and other effective conservation measures (OECMs) by 2020. This is commonly referred to as Aichi Target 11. This commitment was reconfirmed in 2015 (United Nations General Assembly’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development under Goal 14).
• Budget 2016 allocated $81.3 million over five years to Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Natural Resources Canada to support marine conservation activities. The Budget also allocated $42.4 million to the Parks Canada Agency and Natural Resources Canada to continue to develop National Parks and National Marine Conservation Areas.
• In the 2016 Joint Statement on Climate, Energy, and Arctic Leadership, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Barack Obama reaffirmed their commitment to meet the global target of increasing the proportion of marine and coastal areas protected to 10 percent by 2020. They also committed to take concrete steps to substantially surpass these national goals in the coming years.
• In 2019, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard was directed in her mandate letter from the Prime Minister of Canada to work with the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to develop an ambitious plan (grounded in science, Indigenous knowledge and local perspectives) to conserve 25 per cent of Canada’s ocean by 2025, working towards 30 per cent by 2030. The Minister was also directed to advocate at international gatherings that countries around the world set a goal of 30 per cent conservation by 2030.
• Canada currently conserves 13.81% of marine and coastal areas, including 14 marine protected areas (MPAs) established by Fisheries and Oceans Canada under the Oceans Act. Additional Areas of Interest have been announced as being pursued for Oceans Act MPA designation (e.g., Offshore Pacific, Eastern Shore Islands, Southampton Island). Meeting the new marine conservation targets will require advancing work on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), including bioregional network planning for the establishment of new sites for conservation.
Conservation Networks
• The Oceans Act directs the Minister to lead and coordinate the development and implementation of a national network of MPAs, or conservation network, on behalf of the Government of Canada, and allows for the establishment of Oceans Act MPAs.
• A conservation network includes two distinct categories of measures – MPAs and OECMs. Government of Canada MPAs include Oceans Act MPAs, National Marine Conservation Areas, marine National Wildlife Areas and marine portions of Migratory Bird Sanctuaries and National Wildlife Areas. Government of Canada marine OECMs currently include marine refuges but may include other types of measures in the future (e.g. cultural sites/shipwrecks sites). MPAs and OECMs work together to safeguard important ecological components of the ocean and marine biodiversity as a whole.
• Conservation network development is a strategic approach to reaching our biodiversity conservation goals and will be integrated into a MSP approach, to ensure that our marine ecosystems are sustainably managed and are able to support economic, social, and cultural objectives in addition to conservation objectives.
Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs)
• In 2016, Canada developed interim operational guidance for identifying marine OECMs based on recommendations provided through peer-reviewed science advice.
• Based on Canada’s interim guidance, Fisheries and Oceans Canada evaluated existing fisheries management measures and species at risk critical habitat. There are currently 59 measures that meet the criteria, representing about 283,394 km2 or 4.93% of conserved marine territory in Canada.
• International voluntary criteria were adopted at the UN CBD’s Conference of the Parties (COP14) in November 2018. Following this, DFO is currently adjusting its 2016 domestic marine OECM guidance to align with CBD guidance as well as to implement Canada’s 2019 protection standard for OECMs. This updated guidance is anticipated in 2020.
Protection Standards
• On April 25, 2019, the Government announced a protection standard for all new federal MPAs. These standards will help safeguard areas of our oceans that need protection from the potentially harmful effects of four key industrial activities: oil and gas activity, mining, dumping, and bottom trawling.
• The Government also announced a second protection standard for all federal marine OECMs, in which a more flexible / risk-based approach will be used. All activities in federal marine OECMs will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis to ensure that potential impacts from human activities to the conservation objectives of the area have been avoided or mitigated effectively. Furthermore, when oil and gas extraction under a production licence begins in a federal OECM, the overlapping portion of the OECM would no longer contribute to meeting Canada’s international target.
Bill C-55/ MPA Establishment by Ministerial Order
• Bill C-55 received Royal Assent on May 27, 2019. It provides a new Ministerial Order power to establish an MPA for up to five years based on initial science and consultation. During this timeframe, additional science and consultation continue with a view to establishing the MPA over the long-term via Governor in Council regulations. The Ministerial Order provides short-term protection using a “freeze the footprint” approach to prohibit the allowance or authorization of new activities not authorized or legally occurring during the one year prior to the Ministerial Order coming into effect.
• The Government’s new protection standard for future Oceans Act MPAs only applies to MPAs established via Governor in Council regulations.
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada established the Tuvaijuittuq (“too-vai-you-wee-tuk”) MPA in the High Arctic Basin using the new Ministerial Order power. Additional efforts are underway with the Qikiqtani Inuit Association and the Government of Nunavut to assess the feasibility of establishing long-term protection measures for the area.
Post-2020 targets and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD)
• In response to mandate commitments, the Department is engaging other departments to begin to develop an ambitious plan to conserve 25 per cent of Canada’s oceans by 2025, working toward 30 per cent by 2030, and is preparing to advocate for countries around the world to set a goal of 30% conservation by 2030.
• These new domestic targets for marine conservation are aligned with new global marine conservation targets that are an expected outcome of post-2020 target negotiations at the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD) over the next year.
• Since 1992, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has provided Canada with a framework to protect its own biodiversity, supporting Canadian livelihoods and wellbeing, as well as the opportunity to influence global biodiversity policy.
• With 196 States Parties, the CBD is one of the most influential international mechanisms to address biodiversity loss, including marine and coastal biodiversity, through global policy change and action.
• At the upcoming 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the CBD, in October 2020, States Parties will adopt a new post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), including new biodiversity targets to replace the current 20 Aichi targets (2011-2020) that will guide global biodiversity conservation and sustainable use efforts towards 2030 and beyond to 2050.
• COP15 will provide Canada with the opportunity to influence new international policy on the sustainable use and harvest of marine resources and marine conservation.
• The majority of the marine elements of the CBD targets (with the notable exception of marine parks/conservation areas) will be implemented through DFO regulatory and legislative authorities.

New Protection Standards:
• Canadians expect us to take action to protect unique ocean ecosystems that surround Canada while ensuring coastal communities thrive, and that is what we’re doing.
• On April 25, 2019, the Government announced new standards to strengthen the conservation and protection of important marine ecosystems.
• This approach recognizes that, in the modern world, environmental sustainability and economic progress can go hand in hand.
If pressed by industry
• Our approach is a balanced one, that will provide high levels of environmental protection while also recognizing and providing for the continuation of economic activities that are not harmful to conservation objectives.
Eastern Shore Islands Area of Interest
• Our Government recognizes the importance of protecting Canada’s marine and coastal areas, such as the Eastern Shore Islands area, while supporting a healthy oceans economy.
• Next steps for this area include a third-party community assessment to collect and provide an objective assessment of issues and views on the proposed Marine Protected Area.