Question Period Note: Tabling of the Auditor General of Canada Fall 2022 Reports

What is the Government doing to ensure safety and security in Arctic waters associated with increased vessel traffic?

• I would like to thank the Auditor General for providing recommendations to respond to safety and security risks and incidents associated with increased vessel traffic in Arctic waters.
• The Canadian Coast Guard agrees with the recommendations.
• My department is committed to work with partners to address gaps in Arctic maritime domain awareness, and increase information sharing.
• To support Canada’s presence in the Arctic, we will provide the equipment, infrastructure, assets, and capabilities required to meet the maritime security interests of Canadians.

• The Office of the Auditor General of Canada carried out an audit on Marine Navigation in the Canadian Arctic in 2014. At the time of that audit, ship traffic in the Arctic had increased substantially. As expected, it has continued to increase both in terms of the number of vessels travelling in the Arctic and the distances travelled. Vessel traffic declined in 2020 and 2021 due to pandemic measures, but traffic is likely to increase again once these measures are lifted.
• The Office of the Auditor General of Canada also carried out an audit on the National Shipbuilding Strategy in 2021.
• In June 2021, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada notified the Department that they would be conducting an audit on Protecting the North, which later was scoped as the audit on Surveillance of Arctic Waters. The work for this audit will be published in the Fall 2022 Reports of the Auditor General of Canada.
• The objective of this audit is to determine whether key federal organizations built the maritime domain awareness required to respond to safety and security risks and incidents associated with increased vessel traffic in Arctic waters.
• The entities in the scope of this audit include the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Defence, Public Services and Procurement Canada, and Transport Canada.
• The audit concluded that the federal organizations audited had not taken required action to build maritime domain awareness to adequately respond to safety and security risks that are associated with increasing vessel traffic in Arctic waters, and measure to address any gaps were insufficient. The audit also concluded that delays in services and infrastructure (including ships) puts at risk the needed presence of the respective departments in Arctic waters.
• The audit has two recommendations, directed to the respective entities in scope, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard.
• The Department agrees with the audit recommendations and is taking action to address them, as outlined the Management Action Plan that identifies the timelines to address the recommendations, as part of the Department’s commitment to continuous improvement and accountability to Canadians.
• The Department, however, has stated that the audit report, particularly the second recommendation pertaining improvements to address delays in the delivery of equipment used for maritime surveillance in the Arctic, was previously recommended in the Auditor General’s audit of the National Shipbuilding Strategy. While improvements in this area are imperative, the actions to do so are duplicative of what has been committed in the Management Action Plan for the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

If pressed
• Canada’s maritime domain awareness in the Arctic is critical to ensure that Canada can respond to incidents that may impact Canada’s security, safety, environment and economy.
• The Canadian Coast Guard is committed to assessing and analysing its capacity, gaps and solutions to strengthen capabilities for surveillance of Arctic waters.
• The Department has committed to the development of an Arctic Maritime Security Strategy, in collaboration with key interdepartmental security partners to provide risk-based Arctic marine domain awareness solutions.