Question Period Note: Marine conservation

What is Canada doing to achieve its marine conservation targets?

• We are committed to conserving Canada’s oceans for future generations, and supporting strong and vibrant coastal communities.
• As of now, Canada proudly protects 14.66 per cent of its ocean. Through collaboration with partners and historic investments, we are committed to reaching ambitious targets of conserving 25 per cent by 2025, and 30 per cent by 2030.
• We recognize the importance of Indigenous-led conservation and our government recently announced up to $800 million to advance this work through a Project Financing for Permanence model.

Marine Conservation Targets
• On July 22, 2021, the Government of Canada announced a historic investment in marine conservation, providing $976.8 million in funding over five years to protect 25 per cent of Canada’s ocean by 2025.
• To reach the 2025 target, progress will be advanced on:
o New marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) to meet the 25 per cent target by 2025.
o Effective site management: Manage existing MPAs and OECMs to ensure they are effective in achieving their conservation objectives.
o Collaboration: Building upon and sustaining meaningful partnerships with provincial, territorial, Inuit and Indigenous governments, industry, and local communities to advance effective ocean planning and conservation activities.
o Advance marine spatial planning (MSP): Advance marine conservation within the broader context of MSP and Canada’s Blue Economy Strategy, to help enable ambitious marine conservation objectives while also allowing for sustainable growth in our ocean sectors as part of the development of a resilient blue economy.
o International advocacy: Continue to take a leadership role along with like-minded countries to advocate for conserving 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030.
• The Minister’s mandate letter has a reference to ensure Canada meets its goals to conserve 25 per cent of Canada’s ocean by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030.
• Canada currently conserves 14.66 per cent of marine and coastal areas, including 14 MPAs established by DFO under the Oceans Act and 59 marine refuges. Additional Areas of Interest have been announced as being pursued for Oceans Act MPA designation (e.g. Offshore Pacific, Eastern Shore Islands, Fundian Channel-Browns Bank, and Southampton Island), or as candidate marine refuges (e.g. Rockfish Conservation Study Areas).
• On June 8, 2022, the designation of the Eastern Canyons Marine Refuge under the Fisheries Act was announced to protect important and sensitive corals and coral habitat, including a large deep-water ‘frontier area’, off eastern Nova Scotia.
• In February 2023 at the 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5), Canada released new details on key areas where it is exploring marine conservation, in support of our target of conserving 25 per cent of our ocean by 2025. This built on announcements throughout the Congress that underscored Canada’s commitments to achieving the targets, including the announcement of the Northern Shelf Bioregion Network Action Plan, a marine refuge at Gwaxdlala/Nalaxdlala – also known as Lull Bay and Hoeya Sound, and the collaborative management and pre-publication of the proposed regulations for the Tang.ɢwan - ḥačxwiqak - Tsig̱is Marine Protected Area in the Canada Gazette, Part I for a 30-day public comment period.
• At IMPAC5, Canada also announced additional details on activities subject to its 2019 MPA Protection Standard. The protection standard is based on recommendations from the National Advisory Panel on MPA Standards and applies to new federal MPAs established since April 25, 2019.
• The MPA Protection Standard is founded on a whole-of-government approach and prohibits:
o Oil and gas exploration, development, and production;
o Mineral exploration and exploitation;
o Disposal of waste and other matter, dumping of fill, and deposit of deleterious drugs and pesticides; and
o Bottom-trawl gear. Trap-based fisheries are excluded.
• As part of the MPA Protection Standard, Transport Canada will consult with partners and stakeholders on how to enhance restrictions on certain vessel discharges that occur within MPAs.
• About 5.67 per cent of conserved marine territory in Canada is protected under OECMs. International voluntary criteria for OECMs were adopted at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)’s Conference of the Parties in November 2018 (COP14). In December, DFO released its marine OECM guidance to align with CBD guidance, and to implement Canada’s 2019 protection standard for OECMs.
• Canada’s recent announcement of Gwaxdlala/Nalaxdlala – also known as Lull Bay and Hoeya Sound – brings the number of marine OECMs recognized in Canada to 60. Gwaxdlala/Nalaxdlala is the first marine refuge to come out of the Northern Shelf Bioregion Marine Protected Area Network Action Plan.

Marine Spatial Planning
• MSP is a process that brings together relevant authorities to better coordinate how we use and manage marine spaces to achieve ecological, economic, and social objectives in a balanced way.
• The Department is advancing MSP in five bioregions (Pacific North Coast; Pacific South Coast; Bay of Fundy/Scotian Shelf; Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence; and, Newfoundland-Labrador Shelves) that will be informed by science and knowledge through collaborative governances structures consisting of federal, provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners and stakeholders.
• By working together to identify marine areas suitable for economic development and conservation, the process of MSP helps foster resilient, sustainable, and future-oriented ocean sectors, even in crowded ocean spaces.
• In enabling greater coordination amongst governments, the MSP process provides greater certainty to industry stakeholders and others who may have an interest in a given geographic area. As such, MSP is a critical activity to support Canada’s commitment to conserve its oceans, but also an important tool to enable economic growth in existing and emerging ocean sectors.

Post-2020 targets and the United Nation’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• The CBD provides 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 an international mechanisms to address biodiversity loss, through global policy change and action. Canada’s target to conserve 30 per cent by 2030 is aligned with a new global marine conservation target that is an expected outcome of post-2020 global biodiversity framework negotiations at the CBD.
• At the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the CBD, States Parties will adopt a new post-2020 global biodiversity framework, including new biodiversity targets to replace the current Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, including the Aichi Biodiversity targets, that will guide global biodiversity conservation and sustainable use efforts towards 2030 and beyond to 2050. Canada will welcome the world to Montreal in December 2022 for COP15, with the Presidency remaining under China.
• COP15 provides the opportunity to underscore Canada’s commitment to 25 per cent by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030, and advocate for the adoption of the same targets by other countries.

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