Question Period Note: CESD – Zero plastic waste

• I thank the Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development for providing recommendations to reduce plastic pollution and achieve the goal of zero plastic waste by 2030.
• Fisheries and Oceans’ Ghost Gear Program continues to meet its objectives to address abandoned, lost or derelict fishing gear in Canada’s coastal and marine areas.
• My Department welcomes the recommendations and will continue to work closely with Environment and Climate Change Canada to help the government reduce plastic pollution and aim for zero plastic waste by 2030.

• On May 9, 2023, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development notified Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) that it is commencing a performance audit on Canada’s Zero Plastics Waste Initiative. The audit focused on whether DFO, Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Statistics Canada led by Environment and Climate Change Canada were on track to achieve their intended contributions to the Canada‑wide goal of reaching zero plastic waste by 2030 to reduce the impact of plastic pollution on the environment. The DFO Ghost Gear Program was framed as a successful program that has met its commitments.
• The report includes six recommendations, two of which are directed to DFO as well as the other implicated departments.
• The two recommendations are as follows:
o 3.49 Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Statistics Canada should complete the identification of all risks at every level of the initiative and should review and monitor them on an ongoing basis; and,
o 3.54 Environment and Climate Change Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Crown‑Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Statistics Canada should put mechanisms in place to monitor the effectiveness of risk responses. This should include target dates for tracking progress on the completion of risk responses.
• The Department welcomes the audit recommendations and takes steps to address them. As outlined in its Management Action Plan, the Department identifies timelines to address the recommendations, as part of the Department’s commitment to continuous improvement and accountability to Canadians.

If pressed
• My Department put risk mitigation measures in place and established mechanisms to monitor their effectiveness.
• Monitoring of these risks continued for the duration of Zero Plastic Waste funding of the Ghost Gear Program.
• Final results are currently being gathered.