Question Period Note: 2023-24 Departmental Plan

What are the key priorities highlighted in the 2023-24 Departmental Plan?

• The Department will:
o Conserve 25 per cent of Canada’s oceans by 2025, and 30 per cent by 2030;
o Work with Indigenous partners to manage resources and meet conservation objectives;
o Grow Canada’s ocean and freshwater economy;
o Tackle illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing; and
o Renew the Canadian Coast Guard fleet.

• This Departmental Plan outlines DFO’s expenditure plans, priorities, key plans, expected results, and associated resource requirements.
• The $763 million decrease in planned spending from 2022-23 to 2023-24 is primarily related to:
o changes to Indigenous programs to reflect the ongoing nature of negotiations and the completion of associated agreements;
o the ramp-down of Budget 2021 funding for the Small Craft Harbours program;
o changes due to specific annual deliverables for the Trans Mountain Expansion project; and
o changes in funding related to modernizing the Fisheries Act.

If pressed
• The $763 million decrease in planned spending from 2022-23 to 2023-24 is primarily related to planned changes in funding profiles as projects approach or arrive at their completion, such as changes to the Small Craft Harbours program due to the ramp-down of Budget 2021 funding.