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Federal Marine Protected Areas Strategy

Appendix 2: Roles and Responsibilities of Other Government Departments in Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Establishment and Management

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Executive Summary Protecting Our Marine Environment A Time For Action Building a Network – An Innovative Approach Benefits of a Marine Protected Areas Network International Agreements and Commitments Linkages to Federal Initiatives Guiding Principles for Implementation The Strategic Framework Appendix 1 Appendix 2 Appendix 3
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Government Department	Roles and Responsibilities
Transport Canada	Transport Canada , along with Canadian Coast Guard, is responsible for administering the provisions of the Canada Shipping Act which include regulation of navigation, as well as ship source pollution prevention, including control of ballast water. Depending upon the marine protected area, any or all of these responsibilities could have significant bearing on the effective management of a marine protected area.
National Defence	The Canadian Forces (CF) are responsible for conducting surveillance and sovereignty enforcement within Canada's ocean boundaries. Canadian Forces assets support the management and surveillance activities of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Where marine protected areas are established, particularly in the offshore, the CF's presence will contribute greatly to effective enforcement of marine protected area regulations.
Natural Resources Canada	Natural Resources Canada provides the legislative and regulatory framework in which non-renewable resources are managed on the east and west coasts, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Bay . In addition, the Geological Survey of Canada is the principle source of marine geoscience information for the nation. In the course of the identification and selection of marine protected areas, geo-physical mapping has become an important tool in understanding the biophysical components of the marine environment. In addition, the provision of non-renewable resource information is a requirement in the consideration of marine protected area establishment.
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada	Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has a role to play in both the management of non-renewable resources of the Arctic Ocean, and is also the department with primary responsibility for meeting the federal government’s constitutional, treaty, political and legal responsibilities for Aboriginal Peoples.
Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC)	Foreign Affairs Canada (FAC) addresses international issues to manage Canada-U.S. boundary waters and along with Justice Canada , shares responsibility for maritime boundary disputes, a consideration where marine protected areas may abut Canada ’s borders. In addition, FAC in collaboration with DFO, is responsible for reviewing foreign requests to conduct marine scientific research in offshore waters under Canada ’s jurisdiction. It is in this role that FAC will play the most direct part in the management of marine protected areas.

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