Canada’s participation at the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission

Statements

OTTAWA, ONTARIO – The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, issued the following statement today:

Canada is committed to working with our global partners to better understand and protect the world’s oceans and coastal areas for generations to come.

This week, Canada is participating in the 29^th Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Assembly in Paris, France. Canada has been a member of the IOC since its inception 56 years ago.

The IOC plays an important role in ocean monitoring; it coordinates a vast network of the physical, chemical and biological data of the oceans. Governments, industry, scientists and the public use this information to act on various marine issues. This data also provides an important knowledge base for understanding climate change.

The IOC, through its Global Ocean Observing System, leads the largest ocean monitoring project in the world – Argo. Canada has proudly contributed to the Argo program since it was launched seventeen years ago. Argo takes the climatic pulse of the oceans by using a global array of robotic floats that record data on ocean temperature, salinity and pressure.

Today, I am pleased to announce that Canada is increasing its support to the Argo program. We recently purchased 18 new floats to collect real-time ocean-monitoring data of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. We are also increasing our support to the Argo Information Centre, which manages close to 4,000 Argo floats that are in operation around the world. Together, this $340,000 investment in floats and operational support will help provide up-to-date information on evolving ocean conditions.

Our Government is making significant investments in ocean sciences, clean technology and climate change adaptation to ensure that we steward our oceans and marine resources with care. Last November, we announced a $1.5 billion national Oceans Protection Plan to improve marine safety and responsible shipping to protect our waters for future generations.

Canada will continue to work with our international partners to drive progress on understanding changing ocean conditions. We look forward to hosting the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in September 2017 and to prioritizing climate change and clean economic growth during Canada’s G7 presidency.

On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to wish all IOC delegates a successful and productive Assembly.

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For more information:

Media Relations
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
613-990-7537
Media.xncr@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Laura Gareau
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
613-992-3474
Laura.Gareau@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Internet: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

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Date modified:: 2017-06-23