Canada will invest up to $447 million to protect and restore marine ecosystems

As part of Canada's Oceans Protection Plan, the Ministry of Transport has announced an investment of up to half a billion dollars to protect and restore the nation’s coastal ecosystems.

With the world’s longest coastline, the Government of Canada is aware of the importance of marine and coastal areas to the livelihoods of its citizens and the country's economy.

Launched in 2016, the Oceans Protection Plan to date has focused on strengthening coastal and wildlife protection, improving marine safety, and advancing partnerships with Indigenous communities.

This next phase of the renewed and expanded plan will continue the original focus on protecting important coastal areas and proposes concrete actions such as funding coastal aquatic restoration projects, banning the use and transport of heavy fuel oil for ships in the Arctic, and mitigating the damage that shipping causes to marine habitats and coastal communities.

In keeping with its mission of addressing emerging issues, and then guiding and measuring environmental performance above and beyond existing or upcoming regulations, Green Marine will soon add a fifteenth performance indicator to its certification program specifically on aquatic ecosystem performance. The new indicator will become applicable to all Canadian and U.S. harbour authorities participating in the Green Marine program.