Through the Oceans Protection Plan, the Government of Canada is working to improve our ability to work together with Indigenous communities, the marine industry, regional, municipal, provincial and territorial governments to respond to marine pollution incidents that involve oil and/or hazardous and noxious substances.
Marine pollution incidents are complex and often involve notifying many partners, making fast decisions, mobilizing and dispatching different response resources, and trying to minimize how a spill impacts the environment and human health. While Canada already has plans in place for many kinds of pollution incidents from different sources (like tankers or pipelines) and different kinds of pollution (like oil), there are still areas we can improve to make sure that our response to marine pollution is seamless and effective.
As part of this work, the Government of Canada is proposing to develop a coordinated system to respond to all such marine pollution incidents.
Creating a coordinated system will clearly define the roles and responsibilities for all partners involved to make sure that our response to these types of marine pollution incidents is timely, efficient, and minimize the pollution’s impact on human health and the environment. This includes helping to develop a formal role for Indigenous communities to prepare for and respond to marine pollution incidents.
We invite you to review our proposal and respond to a few key questions to help us shape this framework in the years to come.
Link to the Marine Pollution Preparedness, Response and Recovery Discussion Paper
Please note the deadline for comment is May 31, 2023. The gathering of feedback on this proposal is the first of many steps in creating the proposed system. Please feel free to distribute to any colleagues and partners that may be interested in this initiative.