Speaking Notes for the Honourable David Anderson, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans On Oceans at University of British Columbia

Vancouver, B.C.
January 20, 1998

INTRODUCTION

Three sides of our great country are bounded by oceans. Our total offshore space comprises over three million square kilometres, and we have long recognized the tremendous benefits that our oceans bring to us. Almost one-quarter of Canada’s total population lives in coastal areas.

The oceans bordering Canada are strikingly different from one another.

The Arctic is the world's smallest ocean. Its waters are vast and vary significantly from the ecosystems of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. A cold climate, sea ice, ground ice and permafrost limit biological activity and the diversity of marine life. Nevertheless, the Arctic waters are home to whales, seals, polar bears, fish and sea birds. In some ways its ice covered waters are somewhat sheltered from man's impact.

The Atlantic is the world's second largest ocean. It is home to major current systems and to the largest tides in the world, and supports a wide variety of marine life.

The Pacific Ocean is the world's largest ocean, and has a complex shoreline of rugged mountains, inlets, fjords and islands. There is a great richness and diversity in marine life in the Pacific Ocean.

In economic terms alone our oceans industries contribute roughly 24 billion dollars or about 4 per cent of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product each year to our country.

Canada’s ability to trade is an essential part of our well-being. Commercial shipping continues to be a mainstay for the regional, national and international exchange of goods, and there are many other privileges and benefits that we gain from the oceans and the unique and diverse ecosystems that they support.

The aboriginal relationship with the oceans and its resources is reflected in its culture and its traditions. This is the case with many other sectors of the Canadian society, whose past history is inextricably linked to the oceans.

In the past 25 years, Canada’s oceans activity has grown more than ever before. In fact, some people refer to our oceans as our next frontier. This growth, however, has placed tremendous stress and pressures on these strong and yet fragile regions.

Economic goals in the past have been pursued without enough care for the ecological impacts or the consequences for marine safety. For too long we have lacked an integrated approach toward the oceans and the bounty that they have provided to us.

We have not been sensitive enough to the care and sustainable use of our precious fishery resources. As your Minister, I have repeatedly emphasized that my watchword is conservation. This is, for me, the essential building block in every policy, every strategy and every action my Department undertakes.

One of the essential defining characteristics of Canadians, which is recognized worldwide, is our concern and care for the environment. We must always keep conservation and sustainability in the forefront of our actions for the oceans.

The role of DFO

Everyone recognizes that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has responsibilities for fish, but how many people ever think about the Oceans part of our name? The coming into force of a new Oceans Act just one year ago provides us with a unique opportunity to redefine our relationship to the oceans for which we have responsibility.

We are emphasizing a renewed focus on the oceans and the broad range of work and activities which takes place there. To name only a portion of my Department’s work, we provide services for:

• hydrography;
• navigation;
• search and rescue;
• and a wide range of Coast Guard programs.

We are involved in:

• marine scientific research;
• fisheries management;
• conservation and protection of marine resources and their habitats;
• Marine Environmental Quality;
• enforcement;
• and aquaculture.

On the international front, for years we have been pursuing a Canada/U.S. Pacific Salmon Agreement with our American neighbours. We are now hopeful that at least an interim arrangement for the next two years will be reached.

A great deal of DFO's efforts are focused on the oceans, but we are not alone in our labours. Many other federal, provincial, territorial, and local government agencies work in the oceans area and it is past time that we draw together to maximize our efforts and energies. We need a fully integrated approach in order to meet the demands of the present and the emerging needs of the future.

The new Oceans Act addresses Canada’s environmental economic and social oceans objectives. It also provides for the integrated management of the many activities affecting our oceans. The Act redefines our priorities and establishes my ministry as the federal lead for Canada’s oceans. We will establish clear linkages with all other federal, provincial territorial, and local government agencies, with First Nations and with the public as a whole.

Canada’s new Oceans Strategy, on which I will give further details, sets out how we will manage our oceans into the 21^st Century. This Strategy is based on the principles of:

• sustainability to meet our needs for the present without compromising the future;
• the integrated management of oceans activities to maximize our protection and conservation efforts and also to ensure that a strong and transparent decision making process is developed which involves stakeholders; and
• a precautionary approach that is erring on the side of caution.

There is also an international dimension to our new Oceans Act. Based on international law, Canada has declared in the new Act an exclusive economic zone.

In 1994, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea came into force. This Convention gives us an international framework for regulating the oceans, and provides us with the authority to deal with access to the seas, navigation, protection and preservation of the marine environment, pollution prevention and control, scientific monitoring and research as well as use of resources with a very heavy emphasis on precautionary approaches and conservation.

Because the 1994 United Nations Convention did not go far enough to deal with management and conservation of fish stocks on the high seas, especially those which straddle the boundaries, the United Nations Fisheries Agreement was developed.

When ratified, this agreement would allow Canada and other nations to proceed with a stronger and more effective high-seas enforcement program to ensure that global fishery resources are fully protected.

I will not tolerate irresponsible actions by others who seek only to exploit Canadian fish while undermining our efforts to ensure full conservation and protection of our vital resources.

I have a singular, clear priority and this has been best expressed in the departmental Vision statement for the Oceans.

OUR OCEANS VISION

To ensure healthy, safe and prosperous oceans for the benefit of current and future generations of Canadians.

One of the building blocks in the new Oceans Act is described as Integrated Management in all marine waters, but more specifically in the coastal zone. Integrated Coastal Zone Management, or ICZM, is not a new buzzword to add to our eco-vocabulary. The bottom line is that if we truly want to progress as a country we must recognize the critical need to work together, especially among government agencies.

At the federal level alone in Canada, we have 23 separate departments and agencies that have a relationship to the oceans. If the provincial and territorial governments, as well as First Nations, local communities and others are included, we represent a formidable capability. The whole truly is much greater than the sum of its separate parts. This is the underlying principle of Integrated Management, whether it be in estuarine, coastal or offshore waters.

The Oceans Act provides us with additional measures to conserve and protect the Oceans. To this end we are moving forward with the development of a National Policy and Framework for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPA). Oceans Act Marine Protected Areas may conserve and protect marine resources and their habitats, including:

1. commercial and non-commercial fishery resources;
2. endangered or threatened marine species;
3. unique habitats; and
4. marine areas of high biodiversity.

And we are also moving forward with Marine Protected Areas.

On the Pacific Coast, Canada and British Columbia will be working together to build a system of marine protected areas to help safeguard the oceans – for ourselves, our children and all other life that depends on the seas.

The Pacific Coast is one of the world’s most diverse and productive environments. The Pacific Ocean is a source of food, employment, recreation, and spiritual renewal. We rely on it in other ways too.

Take a deep breath and thank the sea. More than 80% of the earth’s oxygen comes from ocean plankton, those tiny microscopic floating factories that take in carbon dioxide and churn out life-sustaining oxygen. This is also an essential protection for us from the effects of global warming.

But recently our oceans have shown signs of stress and it is past time for us to take strong and decisive actions to do something about this. The sea, we have learned, is not inexhaustible, and our challenge now is to sustain our oceans…..so that our oceans can continue to sustain us.

I have a full set of strategic actions for 1998:

Marine Protected Areas are not a panacea for all that ails the ocean, but they are a stepping stone on the path towards sustainability. In the Pacific Region we will be moving forward with an Oceans Act MPA Policy and Framework to establish MPAs. Furthermore unified Federal/Provincial approaches, including a new Marine Protected Areas Strategy, will be made available for public input during the coming months. The Strategy will be finalized by this summer.

I want to move as quickly as possible past the talking stage and to start to take clear and firm actions to achieve our goals.

I am pleased to see progress being made in B.C. on Integrated Coastal Zone Planning. Specific activities for Integrated Coastal Zone Management include:

• the Central Coast of B.C. This is linked to the Province’s initiatives to develop a Land and Resource Management Plan for the terrestrial side in this area.
  
• We will also be focusing attention on the Strait of Georgia. This recognizes the huge impact which urban, commercial and industrial development have had on this sensitive area of the Pacific coastline. It will also acknowledge the very wide range of agencies who are active in the area, and we intend to link up with the Department of Environment’s new Georgia Basin Initiative and its long term goals for the region.

• Gwaii Haanas in the Queen Charlotte Islands will also be a priority for me through joint actions among Heritage Canada, DFO and the First Nations. We are committed to preserving the cultural heritage of our country’s first peoples in this pristine region.

We will continue to improve our understanding of the changing nature of the ocean, and the effects that we can have on fish and other aquatic life. We will work to develop new technologies to expand our ocean monitoring capabilities.

I will be launching Canada’s new Oceans Strategy here in B.C. tomorrow and one of the cornerstones of the strategy is consultation.

The oceans are not owned by anyone. They are shared among all of us and in many ways are part of what makes us unique as a country.

One key objective of our new Oceans Strategy is to make people more aware of the importance of the oceans and how they relate to their everyday life, no matter where they live. To achieve this we will be building consultation processes that involve all stakeholders and the public.

I want to have your insights and views and to hear what you consider to be the main issues and priorities. This is not a do-it-yourself project. Everyone who has a stake in the oceans needs to be involved. There is no set of step-by-step instructions that came with the package. The oceans have been very forgiving to us and just because we did not do it right the first few times does not mean that we do not get another chance. This time we want to succeed. We will succeed.

I need everyone who cares about our Oceans to see themselves as having an important role to play. I would like opinions and views from a wide cross-section of stakeholders and members of the Canadian public about:

• what advisory or management processes should we look at?
• who should be involved?
• what are the important needs and priorities?
• how do we achieve sustainability, the balance between economic use and essential protection and conservation?

In addition to consultations on the development of the Oceans Strategy, we will be holding information sessions in a number of coastal communities during February and March to seek public input about the new concept of Pacific Marine Protected Areas.

To strengthen the opportunities for input, I am also calling for:

• direct involvement by First Nations;
• from people who have livelihoods based on the oceans;
• and from people who use the resources for recreation or other uses.

Some early examples of these consultation processes have been developed for the Skeena River in the northern coastal area and the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

CONCLUSION

Tomorrow I will officially launch on the West Coast the United Nations International Year of the Ocean. This year will provide us as Canadians who care about our magnificent oceans with an ideal opportunity to move forward strongly with a renewed vision and set of priorities.

Together we have the capability to conserve and to develop our abundant and diverse resources. We will show world leadership in protecting and strengthening our oceans so that they remain a legacy for the future of our great country and for future generations to enjoy.

Thank you.