Canada’s fisheries are the backbone of so many coastal communities and a driving force in our national economy. At the same time, the seafood sector is a rapidly shifting environment – competition is intensifying, consumers are increasingly emphasizing sustainability and quality. This is why the Government of Canada and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador today is making strategic investments through the Atlantic Fisheries Fund. These funds will help the industry innovate, invest in new technology, and collaborate with scientists, marketers, and other institutions in order to maximize the value of their product.
The Government of Canada is committed to protecting our aquatic ecosystems. We are developing new partnerships and investing in research that is improving our knowledge and generating new technologies to mitigate and prevent marine incidents, such as oil spills. Specifically, we are investing in research to understand the threat of diluted bitumen exposure to the health of salmon, which helps us better prepare and protect our ecosystems on the West Coast.
Few species have captured Canadians’ hearts and minds as strongly as the endangered Southern Resident killer whale. Known for their beauty, intelligence, and cultural significance, these creatures are facing unprecedented stressors directly related to human activities. With only 74 individuals remaining, it has never been more critical to understand the threats affecting these iconic mammals and their environment.
Today, the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard (DFO), announced the contract award of $176.3 million to Peter Kiewit Sons ULC Burnaby B.C. (Kiewit) to design and construct a permanent fishway at the Big Bar landslide site. With work on the new fishway to begin in the winter of 2020, it is expected to be operational by the start of the 2022 Fraser salmon migration.
The inshore fisheries on Canada’s East Coast are often family run businesses that drive the local, regional, and national economies. They are the pride of their communities and it is imperative that we support their continued growth and stability, now and into the future.
Canada is an ocean nation with the longest coastline in the world. Canadians rely on healthy, marine ecosystems to sustain our economy, our food supply, and our coastal communities. But the ocean is a shared resource, and protecting it requires a coordinated global effort. Fueled by scientific evidence, coordinated efforts, and transformative action, Canada has joined other nations in developing a roadmap to a sustainable blue economy where protection, production and prosperity go hand in hand.
The Honourable Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, will participate in a high-level virtual panel discussion about Canada’s domestic blue economy, hosted by the Ocean Frontier Institute. Minister Jordan will be joined by Karin Kemper, Global Director for the Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Global Practice at the World Bank.
The health of our marine and freshwater environment and the wildlife it sustains are critical to our country’s culture, well-being, and the economy. Yet some of the species that find their home in the waters, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and marshes in Quebec are at risk due to climate change, habitat loss and other factors. The Government of Canada is taking action not only to protect these species, but to actively rebuild their populations.
The Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk, providing $55 million over five years, supports a new approach to conserving aquatic species at risk, through targeted federal investments. These investments are intended to support the protection efforts of all partners in the community, and to support the ability of Indigenous to conserve ecosystems and aquatic species in Quebec and Canada.
The health of our marine and freshwater environments and the wildlife they sustain are critical to our country’s culture, well-being, and economies. Yet some of the species that find their home in the waters, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and marshes throughout the country are at risk due to climate change, habitat loss and other factors. The Government of Canada is taking action not only to protect these species, but also to actively rebuild their populations.
