Question Period Note: Renewing and Expanding the Oceans Protection Plan

Renewing and Expanding the Oceans Protection Plan

Building on Canada’s first $1.5B Oceans Protection Plan originally announced in 2016, Budget 2022 provides an additional $2.0 billion over nine years to renew and expand the Oceans Protection Plan.

For Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard, this will represent an additional investment of 1.1 billion over nine years.

The efforts under the Oceans Protection Plan support four key priorities:
• Strengthening the marine safety system to prevent, respond to, and recover from incidents;
• Enhancing protection and restoration of vulnerable marine ecosystems;
• Investing in the evidence necessary to enable effective response and prevention measures; and
• Incorporating the expertise and experiences of Indigenous Peoples in various aspects of marine safety and ecosystem protection.

These measures will help ensure that Indigenous and coastal communities, industry, investors, and all Canadians can have confidence in our marine safety system.

Our economy will keep growing while our environment is protected.

• In 2016, the government announced the Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) to protect Canada’s coasts and waterways and enable their safe and responsible commercial use. Under the Plan, the government has improved monitoring of marine traffic across Canada and restored the health of over 60 aquatic habitats nationally. Today, marine traffic continues to increase in support of Canada’s growing economy, and the federal government is taking additional steps to strengthen marine safety, protect marine ecosystems, and create stronger partnerships with Indigenous and coastal communities.
• The renewal of the OPP builds on the series of historic investments in marine safety and environmental protection made under the previous Plan ($1.5 billion over five years), and will contribute to the Government’s priority of growing a strong, resilient, and sustainable ocean-based economy that will benefit all Canadians. As risks associated with marine traffic and impacts to marine ecosystems are evolving, strengthening and expanding the implementation of OPP further across the country is required to ensure Canada’s marine safety and environmental protection system is able to withstand disruption and adapt to evolving changes to the sector.
• In June and July of 2021, the Government of Canada launched virtual consultations as part of our commitment to involve Indigenous peoples and other marine stakeholders in shaping the next phase of the Oceans Protection Plan.
• Critical investments for DFO and CCG include: $1.1 billion over 9 years, starting in 2022-23, 74.5 million in remaining amortization, and $74.5 million ongoing.
• Benefits to Canadians
• Since the Oceans Protection Plan was launched in 2016, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change have impacted our economy, our marine environment, and the resiliency of our supply chain. Indigenous communities are applying their traditional knowledge and input to shape the protection of our waters more than ever before. The marine industry has evolved, applying new digital and automated solutions to their operations. To mitigate the environmental impacts that Canada’s economic recovery may have on our coasts and waterways, the Oceans Protection Plan must also evolve.
• The next phase of the Oceans Protection Plan does just that. It builds on the results of the past five years and adds additional areas of focus, including expanding emergency prevention and response for all types of goods, ensuring healthy and resilient supply chains, safe navigation of large and small vessels, and increasing protections on remote routes.

None