Advancing Canada’s Oceans Action Plan  

Recommendations for Budget 2006

Recommendation
Make a $600 million investment in the Oceans Action Plan in 2007, over 5 years (2007-2011), in order to complete a national system of marine protected areas and to develop and implement integrated oceans management plans for Canada’s oceans.    

Background and Rationale
The health of our oceans is amongst the most pressing sustainability challenges facing Canada today. As recognized in the recent report from the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, while Canada has world-class oceans legislation, little or no progress has been made to date in implementing this legislation.  

Since the Government passed the Ocean Act in 1996, our total ocean area under protection has only increased from 0.43% to 0.51%. In contrast, during that same time period, Australia increased the amount of their oceans under protection from 4.5% to 7.5%.  

In the 2005 fiscal year, Canada’s Oceans Strategy moved from an unfunded initiative to an under funded initiative with an allocation of a modest $28 million dollars over two years for Phase 1 of the Oceans Action Plan. Substantively more funding will be needed in the future if the Oceans Action Plan is to deliver on its crosscutting environmental, sovereignty, sustainable development and economic objectives.  

Total Investment
$600 Million (over 5 years)  

Contact
Lorne Johnson, WWF Canada
613-232-8706  

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