Question Period Note: Whale Sanctuary

*The conservation and protection of Canada's marine resources, including marine mammals, is a top priority for the Government of Canada.
• Should a proposal to establish a whale sanctuary in Canada be put forward it will be reviewed at that time, with other government authorities as appropriate.
• Our Government believes whales and dolphins should not be kept in captivity which is why we included these provisions in the modernization of the Fisheries Act, which became law this summer.

• The Whale Sanctuary Project is a U.S. organization that is working to establish a model for coastal cetacean (whale, dolphin and porpoise) sanctuaries for previously captive whales to live out the rest of their life.
• Nova Scotia has been identified as an ideal location for a sanctuary of 40 hectares along the Atlantic shore.
• Public information meetings have been held in coastal communities in Nova Scotia by the Whale Sanctuary Project, including Dartmouth, Liverpool, Port Hawkesbury, Sherbrooke and Sheet Harbour.
• [Redacted].
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada has met with members of the Whale Sanctuary Project and the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries & Aquaculture for an overview of the preliminary details for this project. At this time, no formal proposal has been submitted.
• The Department would evaluate a proposal for a whale sanctuary with consideration of the habitat provisions under the Fisheries Act, Fishery (General) Regulations licence to release or transfer fish (including whales) and the Species at Risk Act if a listed species
• Bill C-68 passed Parliament on June 20, 2019.
• Bill C-68 prohibits the capture of a cetacean from Canadian fisheries waters for public display unless the Minister authorizes an exception for rescue or rehabilitation.
• Bill C-68 also contains a regulation-making authority that would allow the Minister to put conditions around the import and export of cetaceans including their display in aquaria or transfer to a sea sanctuary should those facilities be established in the future. The authority can also be used to curtail captive breeding programs through a prohibition on the import of live cetaceans or their reproductive materials.
• The capture of cetaceans from the wild falls within federal jurisdiction. Although the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard has the authority to issue a licence for the capture of a live cetacean from Canadian fisheries waters for public display purposes, no such licence has been issued since the early 1990s.

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