Question Period Note: Ocean Mining

Ocean Mining

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is not aware of any requests to pursue seabed/ocean mining in Canada.

Seabed mining would be assessed based on best available scientific knowledge to ensure that any activity related to it can be done in a way that is ecologically sustainable.

Approving applications for seabed mining projects in Canada would involve a number of departments, each overseeing various Acts that protect Canada’s marine environment.

If pressed:
A key DFO role in assessing seabed mining would be to review applications in line with the Fisheries Act, which contains prohibitions against causing the death of fish by means other than fishing and causing the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat.

In April 2019, the Government of Canada announced a new protection standard for all future federal marine protected areas (MPAs). This standard prohibits mining in such MPAs, in addition to oil and gas exploration and exploitation, dumping, and bottom trawling.

• Ocean mining is the process of retrieving mineral deposits from the seabed.
• To date, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has not been asked to review any seabed mining applications.
• Approving applications for seabed mining projects in Canada would involve a number of departments, each overseeing various Acts that protect Canada’s marine environment. One of the key DFO roles in assessing seabed mining would be to review applications in line with the Fisheries Act, which contains prohibitions against causing the death of fish by means other than fishing and causing the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat.
• In terms of understanding impacts on ocean biodiversity, DFO researchers and other Canadian scientists participated in workshops organized by the International Seabed Authority on the development of regional environmental management plans for the North Pacific and the Northern mid-Atlantic Ridge held in 2020.
• These workshops reviewed scientific information available to inform the development of regional environmental management plans, such as information on the species and habitats in these areas and potential impacts to them from seabed mining.
• On April 25, 2019, the Government of Canada adopted a new approach to marine conservation, including a new marine protected areas (MPAs) protection standard. The MPA protection standard prohibits oil and gas exploration and exploitation, mining, dumping, and bottom trawling in all future federal MPAs. The standard follows recommendations provided to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard from the independent National Advisory Panel on Marine Protected Area Standards in 2018. Mary Simon (now Governor General) was a Panel Co-Chair.

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