Public statement on the strategic environmental assessment of the renewed Oceans Protection Plan

Since 2016, the Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) has improved Canada's already robust marine safety and environmental protection system, in support of ocean stewardship and sustainability.

The plan was renewed and expanded in 2022, with a new commitment of $2 billion, for a total investment of $3.5 billion. The renewed plan is a horizontal effort, with responsibilities shared across:

  • Transport Canada
  • Fisheries and Oceans Canada
  • the Canadian Coast Guard
  • Environment and Climate Change Canada
  • Natural Resources Canada
  • Health Canada, and
  • support from Public Services and Procurement Canada and Global Affairs Canada

The renewed and expanded plan is:

  • strengthening our marine safety system to prevent, respond to, and recover from marine incidents, including increasing roles for Indigenous peoples
  • improving how we protect and restore vulnerable marine ecosystems, including broadening our understanding of how marine transportation impacts Canada's oceans
  • investing in better evidence so we can better respond to a broader range of marine safety incidents and impacts, and
  • using the expertise and experiences of Indigenous peoples and coastal Canadians, making the marine transportation system more resilient, and making progress on Canada's commitment to reconciliation

Summary

As required by the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, Transport Canada did a strategic environmental assessment on the renewed Oceans Protection Plan to evaluate how it could impact the environment. The assessment also considered the goals and targets of the 2019-2022 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) and concluded that the plan will likely have important positive environmental effects.

Economy

The renewed plan will continue having a positive effect on how Canada moves goods. We expect Canada's marine traffic to continue growing significantly over the coming decade. The Oceans Protection Plan is modernizing marine inspection programs to make inspections more efficient. We're also working with marine users to explore collaborative approaches to marine traffic management. This helps improve the reliability and predictability of the marine transportation network.

Society

We expect the Oceans Protection Plan to continue reducing the chances or consequences of safety incidents. One of the plan's main outcomes is a marine safety system that effectively prevents and responds to marine incidents.

The plan continues to have a positive impact on local populations. It has brought together Indigenous peoples and other marine users to assess impacts of marine traffic on communities and the environment, and work together to develop and implement solutions to manage negative impacts.

Environment

The renewed plan will have a major positive impact on the environment by protecting Canada's oceans and coastal areas by helping us:

  • respond to and recover from environmental emergencies
  • collaborate with Indigenous partners
  • build our knowledge of coastal ecosystems
  • improve water quality and improve how we protect wildlife during environmental emergencies, and
  • improve our knowledge of species, habitats and ecosystems

Ties to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy

The renewed and enhanced Oceans Protection Plan continues to work towards decreasing the likelihood or consequence of pollution-related incidents for marine users and marine ecosystems. Many of the plan's initiatives contribute to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy's goal of Healthy Coasts and Oceans by helping us:

  • prevent and respond to oil spills
  • recover from spills, and
  • improve the evidence base for response planning

There's also a strong link to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy's goal of Safe and Healthy Communities, as one of the outcomes is to protect Indigenous and coastal communities from oil spills and the impacts of increased marine traffic.

The plan also aligns with the strategy's goal of Healthy Wildlife Populations, by protecting and restoring the environment, including increasing our capacity to prevent and respond to marine mammal incidents and better protect vulnerable marine ecosystems and wildlife. 

Follow-up and monitoring

The renewed Oceans Protection Plan is supporting reconciliation by creating roles for Indigenous peoples in the marine safety system. This marks a clear shift towards more inclusive ocean stewardship. Federal departments are working with Indigenous groups and stakeholders to develop programs.

We will regularly report to the public on our work, and highlight the results and benefits for Canadians. We will also use audits and evaluations to help us identify best practices and lessons learned to help us make adjustments as we launch programs.

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