Horizontal Initiative – Oceans Protection Plan

Partner organizations include:

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada;
• The Canadian Coast Guard;
• Natural Resources Canada; and
• Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The Oceans Protection Plan (OPP) is putting into place concrete measures to prevent and to better respond to marine pollution incidents, to address abandoned, wrecked and hazardous vessels, and to take action to restore coastal habitats and mitigate the impact of day-to-day vessel operations on marine mammals.

Through the OPP, Transport Canada and our partners are undertaking a number of actions to improve marine safety and enforce responsible shipping practices. These contributions are helping to:

• Protect Canada's waters and marine environment;
• Restore and protect marine ecosystems and habitats; and
• Improve collaboration with Indigenous and coastal communities.

An interdepartmental senior management oversight committee is in place to:

• Maintain oversight of activities;
• Facilitate coordination amongst departments; and
• Provide strategic direction on the OPP.

The committee is responsible for reviewing the interdepartmental tracking scheme and overseeing the interdepartmental delivery of the OPP.

Transport Canada (TC)

Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)

Canadian Coast Guard (CCG)

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Pillar 1- Initiatives involved in enhancing the prevention of marine incidents include:

• New information-sharing systems - the Government of Canada will work with Indigenous and coastal communities to design new information-sharing systems and platforms so they have access to real-time information on marine shipping activities to support safer navigation in local waters.
• Having established enhanced marine weather services, will gather data, publish the information and seek feedback/input from the users.
• Proactive Vessel Management - allow those involved in the marine safety system – governments, communities, Indigenous groups – to inform local traffic management.
• Safer resupply in Arctic communities – funding new tools and equipment to unload essential goods in northern communities.
• Stronger polluter-pay principle – remove the per-incident limit of liability on Canada's Ship-Source Oil Pollution Fund to provide unlimited compensation to responders and victims of a ship-source oil spill.
• Places of refuge:  Pre-identifying potential coastal locations where a ship in need of assistance can take action to stabilize the condition of the vessel in order to protect human life and the environment. The department is revising its National Places of Refuge Contingency Plan based on the results of engagement activities, research and the addition of new regional annexes.
• Anchorages Initiative - Research and analyze the environmental, economic, social, safety and security impacts of anchorages.
• Seamless Regime Response – develop a broad and integrated framework for preparedness and response to all spills beyond ship-source oil.

Initiatives involved in strengthening of responses to marine incidents include:

• A stronger Canadian Coast Guard - The Canadian Coast Guard's command systems will be strengthened where gaps have been identified. The Coast Guard will be given greater power to intervene directly to prevent marine incidents, such as where ship operators have been reluctant to act
• Collect baseline environmental data on B.C.'s North Coast.
• Increased emergency response: establish 24/7 response capacity to effectively manage marine incidents; improve ocean and environmental modeling capacity
• Enhance ECCC's capacity to enforce wildlife and environmental laws for the east and west coasts.
• Increased towing capacity - towing kits will be added to major Canadian Coast Guard vessels on the East and West to improve the capability to take swift action. Two new vessels will be leased with the ability to tow large commercial ships in distress.
• Advance legislative amendments to permit the use of alternative response measures (ARMs);
• Conduct scientific studies and develop operational guidance to support the use of ARMs

TC: $56,825,668

DFO/CCG: $186,648,525

ECCC: $13,076,108

Total: $256,550,301

• Continuing to partner with Indigenous communities and organizations across Canada on the Enhanced Maritime Situational Awareness (EMSA) system pilot project to test a new user-friendly system that will increase access to local near real-time maritime information – including vessel traffic – and support marine safety and environmental protection for Indigenous partners, coastal communities and stakeholders.
• Continue to deliver the enhanced marine weather services and gather feedback from the marine community regarding the utility of the information.
• Up-to-date hydrographic products for targeted high priority commercial ports across the country; modern near-shore hydrography and charting in priority and high risk areas on the BC Coast, Newfoundland and Labrador, Gulf of St. Lawrence and Great Lakes Basin; modern Arctic hydrography and charting for enhanced electronic navigation chart (ENC) coverage of lesser than sufficiently surveyed areas within the Northern Marine Transportation Corridors; fully refurbished marine oceanographic and hydrographic Permanent Water Level Network for tide, current, water level parameters.
• Continue development of dynamic, real-time e-navigation products for six ports: Kitimat, Port Metro-Vancouver, Fraser River Port, Straits of Canso, Port of St. John as well as the St. Lawrence River, including national business model service delivery development.
• Assess the effectiveness of the draft national Proactive Vessel Management framework that is being piloted in the Arctic and on the North Coast of British Columbia; and analyze the results of the pilot projects to determine the feasibility of a national roll-out.
• Developing options for a preparedness and response framework for ship-source hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) releases.
• Participation in key emergency management meetings, exercises and training to ensure proper coordinated responses to emergencies and events.
• Continue to undertake research and analysis to examine legal, operational, and commercial considerations that have bearing on anchorage practice and management. Continue to engage with Indigenous groups and local communities to gather feedback on anchorage use.
• Launch and hold engagement sessions with partners to develop a governance model for the Northern Low-Impact Shipping Corridors that promotes safe shipping while mitigating impacts on the environment, and identifies sensitive geographic areas.
• Continue to identify areas of environmental concern for marine wildlife and their habitats
• Continue to assess the effects of oil (dilbit) on marine birds.
• Continue to complete coastal sensitivity analysis to identify at risk coastal resources.
• Environmental emergency officers will continue participating in regional preparedness meetings, exercises and responding to emergencies.
• Continuing to enhance ECCC's capacity to enforce wildlife and environmental laws for the east and west coasts by cross-training officers on both wildlife and environmental legislations to respond to reported incidents that may contravene 5.1 of the Migratory Bird Convention Act and 36(3) of the Fisheries Act.
• ECCC will enhance its marine patrols related to the Disposal at Sea Regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, and to the general prohibition section of the Fisheries Act applicable in the Pacific and Atlantic areas.
• Complete National Wildlife Emergency Response Framework.
• Continuing to test new ECCC oil spill modelling capacity and deliver ocean focused enhancements.
• Engage with relevant stakeholders to validate and identify gaps in response regime, and incorporate findings, as appropriate, into recommended options.
• Attendance at relevant IMO meetings and other international fora in order to strengthen Canada's ability to provide leadership on key international maritime policy issues and to advance Canada's position.
• Collaborating with Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik, and Nunatsiavut to implement 15 additional projects that support safer sealift / resupply services in Northern communities under the Federal Investments in Safety Equipment and Basic Marine Infrastructure in Northern Communities Initiative.
• Increasing the Coast Guard's operating season of up to 49 additional sea days to extend the season in the Arctic; Coast Guard will provide more service along identified corridors, advance the implementation of low impact shipping corridors and enable partners to collect the required bathymetric data to chart the Corridors.
• Plan to tender and award the hangar portion of the NASP Complex and begin construction. Additionally, completion of the design and tender documents for the Accommodations Unit.
• Environmental emergency officers will continue participating in regional preparedness meetings, exercises and responding to emergencies.
• Continuing to enhance ECCC's capacity to enforce wildlife and environmental laws for the east and west coasts by cross-training officers on both wildlife and environmental legislations to respond to reported incidents that may contravene 5.1 of the Migratory Bird Convention Act and 36(3) of the Fisheries Act.
• ECCC's Enforcement Branch will enhance its marine patrols related to the Disposal at Sea Regulations under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, and to the general prohibition section of the Fisheries Act in the Pacific and Atlantic areas.
• Complete National Wildlife Emergency Response Framework.
• Continuing to test new ECCC oil spill modelling capacity and deliver ocean focused enhancements.
• Continued capacity building of Transport Canada personnel through training, exercising and coaching on incident response.
• Development and review of policy, procedures and tools that are aligned with Transport Canada's Incident Management System, including digital platforms.
• Operational Network (OpNet) Modernizing 90% of MCTS remote sites with installation of back up links – then Modernizing 100%.
• Remaining nine MCTS centre network plans completed.
• Installation of the first two new radar sites on the West Coast and one in Atlantic.
• Continued implementation of Coast Guard's Risk-based Analysis of Maritime SAR Delivery (RAMSARD) area reviews.
• Purchase and deployment of mobile command posts – continue procurement and administration of contracts (estimated at 25% of total requirements); commission new assets as they are procured; carry out life-cycle management activities as required on equipment procured to date.
• Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) Staffing Factor – Continuation of MCTS AB-initio classes as required to meet the MCTS staffing requirements.
• Continued development toward fully capable Primary Environmental Response Team in Port Hardy to provide initial response in the area.
• Continued enhancements to national environmental response training strategy (Coast Guard) including identifying national training requirements, reviewing and redesigning courses as required, delivering regional training on exercise design and delivery and revised or new courses.
• Continued enhancements to national exercise protocols (Coast Guard) including reviewing exercise documentation to address all hazards; updating environmental response exercise program documentation.
•  Establishing an evergreen exercise calendar; including the Coast Guard-led exercises and those led by other partners; planning, designing an executing exercises, participating in other government department exercises to gain operational experience with federal response partners in ICS.
• Delivery of six new Search and Rescue lifeboats to the Coast Guard's six new lifeboat stations and procurement for an additional Search and Rescue lifeboat. Full operation of six new stations with interim vessels.
• Continued procurement and life-cycle management on environmental response equipment and staffing required for life-cycle management activities.
• Finalize construction of the environmental response depot near Port Hardy, BC and continue to equip depot moving toward operation for 21/22.
• Developing options for a long-term national approach for emergency towing capacity.
• Continue to develop the legislative regime and operational framework, supported by science, to allow the use of Alternative Response Measures.
• Continued ARMs-related scientific studies on oil properties, fate and behaviour, countermeasures, detection and monitoring, shoreline protection and cleanup to advance evidence-based decision-making.

Transport Canada

Department of Fisheries and Oceans

Canadian Coast Guard

Pillar 2 - Preservation and Restoration of Marine Ecosystems include:

• Collection of baseline data and cumulative effects assessment - working closely with Indigenous and coastal communities, the Government of Canada will create a pilot baseline program to better understand the cumulative effects of shipping on coastal ecosystems.
• Protect aquatic ecosystems - new measures will be funded that implement a real-time whale detection system to alert mariners to the presence of whales, which will help them avoid interactions and vessel strikes.
• Addressing abandoned vessels - The Government is implementing a national strategy that focuses on the prevention and removal of these problem vessels.

TC: $20,514,558

DFO/CCG: $49,448,318

Total: $69,962,876

• Announcing funding for additional projects to assess and remove abandoned boats.
• Advancing the national strategy on vessels of concern by continuing to update a national inventory of vessels of concern across Canada, and advanced the development of a Risk Assessment Methodology which provides a risk-based strategy to prioritize vessels in the national inventory to determine the scope and scale of the issue, implement and enforce the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act; advance options to enhance vessel owner identification systems; and create a long-term vessel remediation fund.
• Review of inventory and implement system enhancements to address vessels of concern.
• Continuation of TC/DFO grant and contribution programs to support the removal of small legacy vessels; completion of the mid-term evaluation.
• Coastal Environmental Baseline Monitoring Program – finalize regionally specific stressors and ecosystem components of concern to be studied for additional regions; ongoing sampling, refinement of sampling protocols, analysis of results, linking with other programs; assessments of baseline conditions will be conducted for pilot locations.
• Mitigating the Risk of Marine Shipping on the Environment, including Impacts of Underwater Noise from Ships—preliminary science advice to be provided based on current research findings; recommendations developed on how a National whale detection and warning system could be deployed.
• Oceans Noise strategy for Canada progress underway; one monitoring program on noise to be developed by 2021. Engage in two consultations (per year) with regulators and industry groups.
• Coastal Restoration Fund implementation – continued processing and implementing 30-50 projects/proposals; continued regional engagement with proponents, review of proposals, development of contribution agreements and evaluation/monitoring project.

Transport Canada

Department of Fisheries and Oceans

Canadian Coast Guard

TC: $19,723,882

DFO/CCG: $5,500,027

Total: $25,223,909

• Through funding approved, continue to  support projects under the Indigenous and Local Communities Engagement and Partnership Program (ILCEPP)  to support the participation of Indigenous communities in long-term work on Oceans Protection Plan initiatives.
• Continuing engagement through a coordinated national approach, advancing partnerships across all coasts.
• Continuing to build regional Indigenous partnerships to deliver on Oceans Protection Plan results through the Reconciliation Framework Agreement (RFA) for Bioregional Oceans Management and Protection which was announced on June 21, 2018. 14 Central and Northern British Columbia First Nations are participating in the Agreement.
• Advancing the key elements and objectives identified in the Oceans Protection Plan Commitment to Action and Results with the First Nations Fisheries Council, signed in March 2019.
• Continuing to provide marine training targeted at underrepresented groups under the Marine Training Program.
• Continuing to provide emergency response and waterway management training to Indigenous communities in British Columbia to increase their knowledge and skills, and support the important role they play in marine safety in their communities.
• On-going promotion and implementation of community-boats pilot to fund Indigenous communities participation in marine emergency response through membership with the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
• Collaborative Situational Awareness Portal (CSAP) – Modification of web platform application prototype (version 2) that reflects input from Indigenous groups and marine stakeholders; complete engagement of interested indigenous groups and marine stakeholders on version 2 of the web platform application prototype.
• Continuing to perform up to 500 hours of surveillance in the Arctic

Transport Canada

Department of Fisheries and Oceans

Canadian Coast Guard

Natural Resources Canada

TC: $1,089,438

NRCan: $1,200,000

DFO/CCG: $20,213,601

Total: $22,503,039

• Advancing knowledge and the scientific advice provided to oil spill responders to inform the response approach to a spill and the resulting decision-making.
• Continuing spill test studies of oil behavior with time where both microbial activity and water toxicity for fish will be monitored.
• Increase understanding of how water toxicity evolves during natural remediation of water to better inform decisions.
• Share knowledge from scientific studies on spill tests through conferences and publications.
• Continue towards implementation of an enhanced drift prediction system in support of improved emergency responses related to environmental incidents such as oil spills in six ports: Kitimat, Port Metro-Vancouver, Fraser River Port, Ports of Canso, Port of Saint John as well as the St. Lawrence River.
• Synthesis of research results into guidelines and procedures for response organizations continues, toward establishing a network of multi-partner oil spill response technology research for spill cleanup.
• Continued development of oceanographic predictive models that are better informed by the inclusion of real-time data from Ocean Network Canada.
• Research on fate, behavior and biological impact - complete review of preliminary results from external research projects funded in years 1-3 to determine knowledge gaps and inform priorities for funding for years 4-5; continue to engage external Canadian research institutions to carry out research on biological effects; carry out scientific research and obtain data on behavior of various refined products under seasonal oceanographic conditions and treatments in a wave tank setting; report on the biodegradation of various refined product types with treatments; continue with biodegradation studies. Continue collaborative laboratory- and spill tank-scale studies designed to determine, and potentially enhance, natural degradation pathways for crude oil and selected pre-treated and refined products.
• Report on results and share knowledge with oil spill modellers. In particular:
  • With academic collaboration, continue to publish the results of tank tests where conventional crude and diluted bitumen are spilled into fresh water at temperatures from 2°C to 25°C including toxicity and biodegradation studies with time for selected conditions.
  • Publish a review of natural petroleum biodegradation mechanisms in aqueous environments.
  • In collaboration with Environment Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and academia, initiate studies of newly-discovered oxidized compounds that extend toxicity effects beyond those related to the presence of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
  • With academic collaboration, conduct hydrodynamic studies of NRCan spill tanks to be able to correlate tank energies to field conditions.
  • With academic collaboration, conduct tank tests including fat head minnow toxicity and biodegradation studies of selected fuels and pre-treated products spilled in fresh water.
  • Extend laboratory-scale biodegradation studies of petroleum in fresh water to salt water conditions.
  • Participate and contribute in the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-sponsored working groups designed to improve numerical model performance by updating and expanding oil analytical methods and models used for predicting oil spill fate and behaviour.
• Participate in field-scale spill tests being led by academics. In particular:
  • Continue to contribute oil analytical and biodegradation research support to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) - funded field oil spill projects being run and the IISD ELA in Ontario.
  • Complete analyses of soil and sediment samples collected from bunker C spill sites in British Columbia (1973) and Nova Scotia (1970) to assess petroleum contents remaining and compare to empirical data acquired during spill simulations.

• Continuing to raise awareness about the Oceans Protection Plan and marine safety, including engaging and receiving ongoing input from Canadians through Let's Talk Oceans Protection Plan.
• Promoting the Oceans Protection Plan to Canadians, particularly Indigenous Peoples and coastal communities, through communications products (e.g. videos, infographics, web content), social media, media announcements, ad campaigns, and media relations.
• Measuring Canadians confidence in the marine safety system through 3rd round of Public Opinion Research (Summer 2021).
• Continuing to host marine shipping safety and environmental protection multi-sector Dialogue Forums in Pacific Region
• Developing follow up Forums and targeted engagement opportunities as OPP initiatives evolve.
• Continuing to implement the Pacific Region OPP outreach strategy to key stakeholders (the Province of BC, local governments and industry) launched in Spring 2020.
• Continue to provide What We Heard reports for policy development and decision making.