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House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans examination of the 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates “C” for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans
March 24, 2022

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Speaking Notes for The Honourable Joyce Murray, P.C., M.P. Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
House Committee on Fisheries and Oceans: 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates ‘C’
Ottawa, Ontario March 24, 2022

Good morning, Mr. Chair. It’s a pleasure to be joining you today here on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe peoples, alongside senior officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard.

I’ll start by providing a brief overview of my Department’s 2021-22 Supplementary Estimates ‘C’ before speaking about some of the high level items in more detail.

Following my remarks, I’ll be happy to answer any questions you have about these proposed expenditures.

Through this Supplementary Estimates exercise, I’m seeking $243.2 million.

Much of this funding will be used for three key initiatives:

Mr. Chair, last week I attended Seafood Expo North America, what many affectionately refer to as “the Boston Seafood Show.”

I met stakeholders, discussed our growing blue economy and promoted Canada’s world-class fish and seafood.

The fish and seafood sector is critical to our country’s economy. And, in excellent shape thanks to the stewardship of harvesters and industry.

In 2021, Canada exported $8.7 billion worth of fish and seafood to 119 countries.

In 2020, the commercial fishing, aquaculture and processing sectors employed over 68,000 people.

Harvesters depend on small craft harbours. Ninety percent of Canada’s fish and seafood moves through DFO’s national network of small craft harbours.

Keeping almost 1,000 commercial harbours safe, accessible and in good repair requires considerable time, effort and money.

The funding I’m requesting today will speed up repair and maintenance of DFO’s core small craft harbours in communities across the country.

It will also be used to divest non-core harbours and close inactive harbours that are unsafe but can’t be divested.

Mr. Chair, as I mentioned during my last appearance, our government is making a generational investment to stabilize and restore Pacific salmon and salmon habitat for the people, communities and ecosystems that depend upon their sustainability.

The funding I’m requesting today will go towards the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative, which uses a collaborative approach to address Pacific salmon declines and ensures federal investments are focused on areas that have the greatest impact.

Some of the areas we’re targeting are the implementation of key activities across all four of the PSSI pillars such as:

The Department is continuing work to ensure new and ongoing investments in Pacific salmon are appropriately aligned in response to the historic declines, and the development of conservation approaches and plans to support the recovery of prioritized populations.

With this funding, we will provide sustainable harvest opportunities for the Indigenous, commercial and recreational sectors through effective stewardship and integrated ecosystem planning.

Mr. Chair, between December 2020 and July 2021, the Canadian Coast Guard led a unified response to a petroleum leak stemming from an historic shipwreck near Bligh Island, British Columbia.

By the time the environmental response concluded, 60 tonnes of pollutants were removed from the ship and surrounding waters at a cost of $31.3 million.

The government funded this environmental response operation given the urgency of the situation, and because the shipwreck occurred in 1968. This exceeds the time limitation to claim response expenses against the vessel owner under Canada’s Marine Liability Act.

Mr. Chair, my Department is well positioned to deliver on our government’s priorities.

The funding I’m seeking today will allow Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard to continue carrying out its important work on behalf of the people we serve.

I’m happy to answer any questions related to this work.

Thank you.

Departmental information

DFO Financial Outlook, March 2022

Total planned authorities

Bar graph: Total planned authorities.

Total planned authorities

  • 2012-13 to 2020-21 authorities represent year-end authorities, as per Public Accounts
  • Does not reflect potential future renewal of sunsetters
Description

2012-13
Operating (Vote 1): $1,308.2M
Capital (Vote 5): $396.4M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $88.9M
Total: $1,793.5M

2013-14
Operating (Vote 1): $1,342.8M
Capital (Vote 5): $409.2M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $88.2M
Total: $1,840.3M

2014-15
Operating (Vote 1): $1,218.7M
Capital (Vote 5): $486.4M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $91.5M
Total: $1,796.6M

2015-16
Operating (Vote 1): $1,324.6M
Capital (Vote 5): $843.0M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $96.9M
Total: $2,264.5M

2016-17
Operating (Vote 1): $1,457.9M
Capital (Vote 5): $1,064.9M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $102.0M
Total: $2,624.8M

2017-18
Operating (Vote 1): $1,596.3M
Capital (Vote 5): $972.8M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $159.7M
Total: $2,728.8M

2018-19
Operating (Vote 1): $1,700.9M
Capital (Vote 5): $1,641.3M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $272.9M
Total: $3,615.1M

2019-20
Operating (Vote 1): $2,028.1M
Capital (Vote 5): $1,141.3M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $374.9M
Total: $3,544.3M

2020-21
Operating (Vote 1): $2,014.5M
Capital (Vote 5): $1,129.8M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $1,004.8M
Total: $4,149.1M

2021-22
Operating (Vote 1): $2,164.4M
Capital (Vote 5): $1,467.2M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $1,280.8M
Total: $4,912.4M

2022-23
Operating (Vote 1): $1,945.6M
Capital (Vote 5): $1,241.3M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $620.1M
Total: $3,807.0M

2023-24
Operating (Vote 1): $1,846.0M
Capital (Vote 5): $867.7M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $456.0M
Total: $3,169.7M

2024-25
Operating (Vote 1): $1,856.1M
Capital (Vote 5): $690.3M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $272.3M
Total: $2,818.7M

2025-26
Operating (Vote 1): $1,803.1M
Capital (Vote 5): $515.4M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $254.3M
Total: $2,572.8M

2026-27
Operating (Vote 1): $1,604.5M
Capital (Vote 5): $469.2M
Grants & Contributions (Vote 10): $154.1M
Total: $2,227.7M

Pie chart: Resources - aligning to results.

Resources - aligning to results

  • DFO is a highly decentralized department, managing a 2022-23 budget of ~$4.0 billion
  • The Department has recently received an injection of funding to implement key initiatives, notably:
    • $732 million from 2021-22 to 2025-26 for the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative in order to improve salmon conservation through effective stewardship and integrated ecosystem planning
    • $660 million from 2021-22 to 2025-26 for marine conservation targets in order to establish new marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), negotiate Impact and Benefit Agreements with Inuit organizations, and initiate a marine spatial planning process in the Western Arctic
  • In addition to its steady on-going funding, Small Craft Harbours received $300 million in temporary funding through Budget 2021 to repair, renew, and replace small craft harbours across the country
  • Some funding initiatives such as Indigenous programs are progressing and moving from peak funding to steadier states.  Some examples include: advancing reconciliation on Indigenous rights issues; and implementation of BC agreements
  • One time funding for initiatives such as the Fish Harvesters Benefit Program and other time-limited programs will see a decrease to their funding profiles in the upcoming years, resulting in a return to more normal authority levels
Description

Fisheries 35%
Marine Operations and Response 32%
Marine Navigation 10%
Aquatic Ecosystems 9%
Internal Services 7%
Real Property 7%