Question Period Note: 2024–25 Departmental results report

• In 2024–25, my department contributed to Building Canada Strong by:
o Refocusing spending to support investments through sound financial management and leveraging the use of artificial intelligence in scientific research, including improvements to predictive ocean models;
o Supporting fisheries, reviewing regulatory processes, investing in the national network of small craft harbours, and the blue economy, including by publishing the Blue Economy Regulatory Roadmap;
o Building a united Canada by advancing reconciliation, including by supporting Indigenous-led conservation initiatives through the innovative Project Finance for Permanence initiative;
o Building a safer and more secure Canada, including by renewing the Canadian Coast Guard fleet through initiatives such awarding contracts to build two polar icebreakers.

• The main documents for the annual financial and reporting process of the federal government are the Budget, the Estimates, and the Public Accounts of Canada. Departmental Results Reports (DRRs) and Departmental Plans (DP) together form Part III of the Estimates. DPs set out plans, priorities, and expected results for the upcoming fiscal year; DRRs then inform parliamentarians and Canadians of the results achieved by government organizations against those plans, priorities, and expected results.
• This DRR outlines the Department’s results achieved in 2024–25, as well as the financial and human resources used to achieve those results.
• Notwithstanding the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) transfer to National Defence, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat requires that any CCG-related results and financial information be included in Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s 2024–25 DRR.
• The Department performed well overall against the plans and targets identified in the 2024–25 DP and made progress on its overall priorities
• The Department's total actual spending for 2024–25 was $5,215 million. This represents an increase of 15 percent compared to the total actual spending for 2023-24 ($4,546 million).The increase is primarily related to spending on CCG fleet projects and the Great Bear Sea Initiative.
• The Department's total authorities for 2024–25 were $5,522 million.
• Key accomplishments included:
o publishing the Blue Economy Regulatory Roadmap;
o operating and maintaining small craft harbours, including completing 218 repair, renewal and replacement projects;
o investing in the construction of a new small craft harbour in Arctic Bay;
o signing the Trilateral Accord to Address the Decline of Wild Pacific Salmon;
o implementing the Possession and Export of Elvers Regulations to support a safe and orderly elver fishery;
o announcing Canada’s national strategy to ensure the future of Atlantic salmon;
o working to identify areas of improvement in regulatory processes to ensure clarity for project proponents;
o advancing the use of AI in scientific research;
o continuing collaborative work on marine conservation areas and Indigenous-led conservation initiatives;
o collaborating with Inuit organizations on the best ways to implement and deliver programs in the north; and,
o awarding build contracts for two polar icebreakers.

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