Strengthening marine safety and environmental protection

Canada is a maritime country with the longest coastline in the world. Marine shipping is a large part of our economy and critically important for our supply chains. The federal government has a strong role making sure that we have safe and efficient shipping that protects our waters. The legislation that sets out rules for marine shipping is the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, which includes rules on how to prepare for and respond to marine emergencies.

Since it was launched in 2016, the Oceans Protection Plan has strengthened protections for our coasts and wildlife, improved marine traffic and incident management, and advanced partnerships with Indigenous communities.

Announced in Budget 2022 and as part of the next phase of the Oceans Protection Plan, Transport Canada intends to propose changes to the Canada Shipping Act, 2001. This includes enabling proactive management of marine emergencies and having rules to cover more types of pollution.

The proposed changes are in four key areas:

1. Improving how marine emergencies are managed.
2. Preparing for and responding to marine incidents that involve hazardous and noxious substances.
3. Updating regulatory approaches including to better address local marine safety issues and environmental risks.
4. Ensuring people and companies follow the rules, and making sure the consequences are appropriate if they do not.

These proposed changes consider comments from Indigenous Peoples, coastal communities, and marine stakeholders in all coastal regions over the past few years.

We invite you to read and comment on our discussion paper, which includes information on the potential changes to the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, and explains the reasons for the proposed changes.

Specifically, we want to know:

• Which proposed changes are important and/or urgent for you?
• How would these proposed changes affect your communities and businesses?
• What could be the most important risks or benefits if we make these proposed changes?

Who is the focus of this consultation?

We want to hear from people that could be impacted by marine emergencies, including pollution spills. This could include:

• Indigenous Peoples
• Marine industry stakeholders and emergency responders
• Provincial, territorial, local governments or agencies
• Coastal communities
• Environmental organizations.

How to participate

We invite you to read our discussion paper and provide your views by October 7, 2022 by email to tc.opplegis-legisppo.tc@tc.gc.ca.

We encourage you to share your views. Participating will help inform the discussion and considerations on strengthening marine safety and environmental protection. Join the discussion under the "have your say" tab.