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• In general, dredging is intended to maintain the depths indicated on the sea charts and to ensure the optimal and safe use of the St. Lawrence seaway twelve months a year.³

• In 2007-2008, the St. Lawrence seaway was maintained in conformity with the depths indicated on the sea charts.

• The annual meeting between CCG and dredging service recipients took place in May 2007. The clients were very satisfied with the services they received from CCG and did not request any changes to the current agreement. Clients were also informed of the fee increase for the new year that resulted from the change in the Consumer Price Index.

• Short Range Aids to Navigation identified as required to support commercial shipping in Canadian waters are operational not less than 99% of the time, in accordance with established levels of service.
• All vessel traffic services identified as required to support commercial shipping in Canadian waters are available from the Canadian Coast Guard's Marine Communications and Traffic Services Centres in accordance with established levels of service.

• Short Range Aids to Navigation identified as required to support commercial shipping in Canadian waters were operational not less than 99.0% of the time, in accordance with established levels of service.
• All vessel traffic services identified as required to support commercial shipping in Canadian waters were available not less than 97% of the time, in accordance with established levels of service.

• The current Marine Navigation Services Fee's rates and application were developed in co-operation with the commercial shipping industry in 1998.

• All ice information and routing services in support of commercial shipping in Canadian waters are available from Canadian Coast Guard Ice Operations Centres in accordance with the Icebreaking Program's levels of service.
• All requests for route assistance and commercial harbour breakouts in support of commercial shipping in Canadian waters will be responded to in accordance with established Icebreaking Program levels of service.

• All ice information and routing services in support of commercial shipping in Canadian waters were available from Canadian Coast Guard Ice Operations Centres in accordance with the Icebreaking Program's levels of service.
• All requests for route assistance and commercial harbour breakouts in support of commercial shipping in Canadian waters were responded to in accordance with established Icebreaking Program levels of service.

• The Icebreaking Services Fee's transit-based structure, rate and application were developed in 1998 by an Industry/Canadian Coast Guard Working Group that rejected a fee based on direct service. The Icebreaking Services Fee has remained unadjusted since then.
• Canadian Coast Guard officers in the region and from Headquarters liaise regularly with commercial shipping clients respecting icebreaking operations. This includes regular meetings in each region in the lead-up to each ice season and a post mortem at the end of each ice season.

• Where the service is available,⁴ ship to shore and shore to ship public correspondence communications are facilitated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in accordance with established Marine Communications and Traffic Services levels of service.

• 1,509 ship to shore/shore to ship telephone calls were placed via CCG personnel in accordance with Marine Communications and Traffic Services levels of service.

• The fees in place were established in 1994 and have remained unadjusted since then.

• Updated Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) nautical products will be provided in accordance with established levels of service that ensure the timeliness and accessibility of these products. Looking to core elements of CHS's Levels of Service, purchasers of charts and publications can expect that updates will be provided to these products within 4 months of the receipt of new critical information; that requests for products will be shipped within 5 working days following receipt of the order; and that 20% of CHS high-risk charts are reviewed annually.

• CHS achieved its targets for processing and disseminating critical information. On average, updates were issued to clients within the 4 month period.
• Orders for products were shipped within 5 days 97% of the time.
• 20% of CHS high-risk charts were reviewed.

• CHS's Levels of Service were developed between 2005 and 2007 in consultation with CHS clients, the Levels of Service Advisory Panel and the Canadian Marine Advisory Council (CMAC). CHS reports to the Advisory Panel and CMAC annually on progress on meeting the levels of service standards.

• Response provided within 30 days following receipt of request; the response time may be extended pursuant to Section 9 of the Access to Information Act. Notice of extension to be sent within 30 days after receipt of request.
• The Access to Information Act provides fuller details: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/A-1/index.html

• Statutory deadlines were met 95% of the time.

• The service standard is established by the Access to Information Act and the Access to Information Regulations. Consultations with stakeholders were undertaken by the Department of Justice and the Treasury Board Secretariat for amendments done in 1986 and 1992.

The SDS departmental goal contributes to the following federal sustainable development goals:

• Sustainable Development and Use of Natural Resources;
• Governance for SD; and
• Climate Change.

• A positive evaluation that indicates overall support for the way DFO has developed and implemented the Species at Risk Program

• The July 2006 Formative Evaluation of Federal Species at Risk (SAR) Program concluded that DFO has established an appropriate and effective management and administrative structure to support delivery of programs and activities related to the Species at Risk Act (SARA).
• The evaluation also identified challenges for DFO related to recovery strategies; data deficiencies; resources; reliance on other partners and other governments that are dealing with their own internal issues related to lack of capacity, resources or commitment; and delays in the development of a coordinated federal policy and guidance framework to support SARA.
• DFO has developed and implemented an Action Plan to address the evaluation's recommendations.
• In 2007-2008, DFO embarked on a transformation initiative to further strengthen the management of the SAR Program to both respond to the 2006 evaluation and to meet the growing demands of SARA.

• DFO will receive recommendations from stakeholders, and a response proposed to the Minister of Environment will follow

• In 2007-2008, the government worked on developing its response to the recommendations of the First Round Table on SARA.
• The Round Table was held in December 2006 (pursuant to section 27 of SARA).
• DFO's SAR Program contributed to and participated in the development of the response, which is documented in an April 2008 report prepared by the Minister of the Environment.
• The Round Table recommendations addressed five areas: Improving Efficiency and Accountability; Strengthening the Use of an Ecosystem Approach; Promoting a Conservation Legacy; Improving Consideration of Socio-Economic Factors in SAR Decision Making; and Facilitating the Engagement of Aboriginal Peoples.

• Completion of recovery strategies that are in development by Recovery Teams

• The status of aquatic species recovery strategies at the end of 2007-2008 was:
  • Total recovery strategies due: 37 (54 species);
  • Final recovery strategies posted: 26 (43 species);
  • Draft recovery strategies posted: 2 (2 species); and
  • Recovery strategies in development: 9 (9 species).
• The SAR Program has experienced some delays in the development of recovery strategies because of ongoing consultations with affected stakeholders and complexities associated with the identification and protection of critical habitat.
• The SAR Program is actively involved in initiatives to strengthen and enhance the development of recovery strategies.

• Progress against activities that support the implementation of Canada's Action Plan to Address the Threat of Aquatic Invasive Species
• Database, methodologies and tracking system developed
• Risk assessments completed

• In support of the implementation of Canada's Action Plan to Address the Threat of Aquatic Invasive Species:
  • Conducted research to address high-priority species, pathways of invasion and geographic locations;
  • Undertook activities associated with the rapid response to newly discovered introductions;
  • Developed a database, methodologies and a tracking system to monitor aquatic invasive species; and
  • Developed a national standard for assessing the risk of aquatic invasive species and completed biological risk assessments for Chinese Mitten Crab, Green Crab, Bloody Red Shrimp and spiny-rayed freshwater fish.
• Fully operationalized the Centre of Expertise for Aquatic Risk Assessment (CEARA). CEARA has been established to conduct biological risk assessments of high-priority aquatic invasive species.

• Committees established federally and in each Large Ocean Management Area

• Regional Implementation Committees (RICs) or equivalents for all Large Ocean Management Areas (LOMAs) have been established. The three national Interdepartmental Committees on Oceans (ICOs) continued to support integrated oceans planning and management among roughly 20 federal departments and agencies. In 2007-2008, Oceans Directorate convened two meetings of the Directors General Interdepartmental Committee on Oceans.

• Number of sectors represented on committees

• Each RIC or equivalent has an average of 20 participating federal and provincial/territorial departments and organizations. Committee membership and meaningful relationships will continue to be developed.

• Integrated Management Plans in place for all LOMAs

• An Integrated Management Plan has been completed for the Eastern Scotian Shelf LOMA. Plans for the other LOMAs are in various stages of development.

• Creation of at least three new MPAs

• One new Marine Protected Area (MPA) was established in 2008 (Bowie Seamount, bringing the total to seven). As announced in Budget 2008, six new MPAs are to be designated within the existing Large Ocean Management Areas, and a national monitoring and reporting system will be implemented for all Oceans Act MPAs by 2012.

• Management plans in place for designated MPAs

• Management Plans for three MPAs have been approved, while management plans for another six MPAs are in progress.

• Percentage of negotiations completed with provinces and percentage of consultations undertaken with all stakeholders

• The Department has developed and is implementing a new Aquaculture Program initiative that will focus on governance and regulatory reform, regulatory science, innovation, and certification and market access.

• Ratification of the renewed aquaculture management framework by federal, provincial and territorial ministers

• Approval of the initiative was delayed a year; no progress has been made on federal/provincial/territorial implementation agreements.

• Number of federal/provincial/territorial implementation agreements signed

• Percentage of conservation frameworks that incorporate the precautionary and ecosystem approach

• The conservation framework has been developed and is being implemented. Included in this framework is a tool that will help the Department monitor the implementation of key initiatives that incorporate an ecosystem and precautionary approach. Regions are developing priorities and targets that we will report on for 2008-2009.

• Number of fisheries with self-rationalization programs

• Rationalization, restructuring and combining initiatives flowing from summit and round table fora are under way across Atlantic Canada. Many fisheries are implementing, while others are still considering options. In the Pacific Region, rationalization initiatives are under way for Groundfish, Crab and Salmon fisheries. An inventory of existing initiatives and gaps will be developed in 2008-2009, and where required, self-adjustment programs in other regions will be developed and implemented in the coming three years. All fisheries are to be rationalized/restructured and have self-adjustment mechanisms in place by 2010-2011.

• Completed guidelines for entering into such arrangements

• Rules are currently developed on a fishery-by-fishery basis. An inventory of existing rules/guidelines and gaps will be developed in 2008-2009.

• Completed national co-management policy framework

• The current work plan foresees finalized and published co-management guidelines in place in 2010.

• Number of roundtables, task groups and summits that address specific fisheries issues

• Outside regular resource management sessions, more than 20 sessions have been held nationally to address specific fisheries issues, both conservation and socio-economic. Some of these initiatives began in 2006 and continue to be active.

• Number of fisheries with stable sharing arrangements

• Three fisheries had stable sharing arrangements in 2007-2008 (two in the Quebec region and one in the Maritimes region)

• Number of disputes regarding access and allocation that are settled

• Three disputes regarding access and allocation were settled in 2007-2008 (two in the Quebec region and one in the Maritimes region)

• Number of education programs and communication and inter-governmental initiatives; number of partnerships and negotiated enforceable management measures; number of major case investigations

• Data are not available for 2007-2008.

• Establishment of administrative sanctioning regime

• Quota reconciliation is currently implemented in 37 active fisheries for vessels over 65 feet long.

• Expanded ticketing system

• Data are not available for 2007-2008.

• Evaluation of trainee performance by service provider

• Under the At-Sea Mentoring Initiative, 183 of the 220 deckhands and eight of the 43 wheelhouse trainees involved are "ready for work." Of the 35 wheelhouse trainees deemed "not yet ready," 20 were very close to (less than 10% below) the "ready for work" threshold.

• Development and implementation of software, regional partnership funds and contribution agreements with participating First Nations

• Nineteen Fisheries Operations Management contributions agreements signed.

• Number of Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy contribution agreements

• One hundred and forty-five Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy contribution agreements.

• Number of groups with signed contribution agreements

• Two hundred and thirty-three Aboriginal communities participating in the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy.

• Number of short-term Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management (AAROM) capacity-building contribution agreements

• Sixteen short-term AAROM capacity-building contribution agreements.

• Number of multi-year AAROM collaborative management agreements

• Twenty-two multi-year AAROM collaborative management agreements.

• Number of groups who have made the transition from capacity-building to collaborative management

• Five groups have made the transition from capacity-building to collaborative management.

• Number of groups with signed Aboriginal Inland Habitat Plan (AIHP) contribution agreements

• Fourteen groups have signed AIHP contribution agreements.

• Regional funding distribution (DFO and joint DFO and Environment Canada)

• There are 25 groups with signed Aboriginal Funds for Species at Risk (AFSAR) contribution agreements.
• AFSAR regional funding distribution is as follows: Pacific $220,800, Central and Arctic $146,002, Maritimes $157,405, Gulf $64,654 and Quebec $167,591.

• 10% increase in the number of participants who have completed Strategic Environmental Assessment training and awareness sessions

• In 2007, there was more than a 20% increase in the number of DFO participants in Strategic Environmental Assessment training and awareness sessions and activities.

• Module 1 and 2 completed by 2008

• Module 1, "Environmental Awareness Training," is intranet based and available on the Office of Environmental Coordination website.
• Module 2, "Greening Your Office," was developed and incorporated into the Environmental Awareness Training module.

• Further integrate climate change, severe weather event and natural disaster considerations into the planning, risk management and operational readiness of Coast Guard response capabilities

• The establishment of the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) National Co-ordination Centre (NCC) was completed in Spring 2007. In the event of a major emergency, centralized co-ordination helps to ensure that CCG senior management has prompt, accurate information upon which to base decisions and support high-level Government of Canada decision-making.
• As part of its Aids to Navigation of the 21st Century initiative, CCG has converted as many steel buoys to plastic and lighted buoys to light emitting diode (LED) technology as current technology permits, thus completing an SDS commitment that was planned for 2009-2010.

• Climate change considerations are integrated in the Report on Plans and Priorities and engage all sectors

• DFO recognizes climate change affects many aspects of its Science activities and that understanding and predicting climate change and its impacts is important. The Department's Science Program has accordingly established the Climate Change Science Initiative (CCSI) to provide for a focus on national climate-change research priorities. Research under the initiative will start in 2008-2009 and will be aligned with three major themes:
  1. Understanding the role of oceans in regional climate;
  2. Assessing the effects of climate change on ecosystem composition, structure and function; and
  3. Investigating emerging issues that could affect ecosystem health.
• DFO is leading six Canadian International Polar Year science projects and participating in five others to better understand the Arctic Ocean's role in global climate and the effect of climate variability and change on Arctic marine ecosystems.

For over 30 years, Canada's commercial seal harvest in the Northwest Atlantic has been the target of campaigns to end the harvest of these marine mammals. In the 1970s and the 1980s, these campaigns resulted in the collapse of the international sealskin market. When Canada resumed the harvest with increasing quotas and catches in the mid-1990s, the anti-seal harvest campaigners stepped up their efforts to end the commercial harvest, and Canadian sealers and First Nations are now facing the very real possibility of a complete ban on the importation and use of seal products in Europe. Campaigns in recent years have been characterized by misinformation and appeals to emotions through the use of inflammatory images and language.

http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/​CommitteePublication.aspx?COM=10480&Lang=1&SourceId=206172

Government Response:

http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/​committee/391/fopo/govresponse/rp3067100/391_fopo_rpt04_gr-e.html#Preamble

The Committee began a study into fisheries beyond the 200-mile limit in October of 2006. The Committee's study culminated with the tabling of this report on February 20, 2007. The report delves into a number of different areas, including the issue of bottom trawling in unregulated areas of the high seas, the possibility of prohibiting bottom trawling by foreign fishing fleets on Canada's continental shelf, the regulations and penalties applicable to Canadian fishermen vis-à-vis foreign fishing fleets on Canada's continental shelf, various provisions in the proposed amendments to the NAFO Convention text, and the level of Canada's surveillance and enforcement activity in the NAFO Regulatory Area (NRA). The Government Response was tabled in the Senate on June 22, 2007.

Report:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/39/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/fish-e/rep-e/rep06feb07-e.htm

Government Response:

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/reports-rapports/200mile_2007/200mile_2007-eng.htm

Recommendation — Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Health Canada, and National Defence should formalize training for regional and departmental coordinators and quality assurance personnel to ensure that information about all issues related to acquisition and travel card management within a department is understood by those personnel, and that the information is disseminated to program managers.

Recommendation — In consultation with the Treasury Board Secretariat, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada, the Parks Canada Agency, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Environment Canada should develop and/or enhance systems and procedures to enable them to monitor their compliance with the Inuvialuit Final Agreement's contracting provisions. To ensure compliance, these systems and procedures should monitor each federal organization's activities for

• notifying the Inuvialuit of contracts related to activities within the Region;
• awarding the Inuvialuit all contracts that are subject to public tender and related to activities within the Region, when the Inuvialuit submit the best bid;
• awarding the Inuvialuit a reasonable share of contracts that are not subject to public tender, that are related to activities within the Region, and for which the Inuvialuit are capable of supplying the required goods and services on a reasonable basis; and
• providing the Inuvialuit with contracts that relate to activities within the Region's national parks and landmark, on a preferred basis.

It is important to note that an interdepartmental working group has been established by Treasury Board Secretariat for the development of an amendment to the Treasury Board Contracting Policy, which will update the process for government procurement in the context of comprehensive land claims agreements. The amendment will clarify departmental responsibilities for monitoring and reporting requirements of Crown procurements undertaken in regions covered by comprehensive land claims agreements, including the Inuvialuit Final Agreement.

In addition, the five audited departments will give full consideration to this recommendation as they review and, where necessary, enhance current systems and procedures to monitor the awarding of contracts to the Inuvialuit that are not subject to public tender, when they are capable of supplying the goods and services on a reasonable basis. Work on processes governing federal procurement to include provisions for contracting in national parks is already under way, and will be developed to capture the same information for other comprehensive land claims agreements.

No recommendations for DFO.

No recommendations for DFO.

No recommendations for DFO.

Recommendation — Fisheries and Oceans Canada should apply a systematic risk-based approach to early detection and develop the ability to respond rapidly when new invasive species are detected in order to prevent them from becoming established or to control them.

Risk assessment is the foundation of a risk-based approach to any management program and aquatic invasive species are no exception. Since Budget 2005, when the Department received an annual budget of $2 million, the Department has put in place the building blocks to establish a systematic risk-based approach and has been working with Canadians to mitigate the impacts of aquatic invasive species.

With regard to a rapid response capacity, the Department alerts stakeholders and other jurisdictions in a timely fashion when a new nonindigenous species is discovered. The Department provides them with advice on appropriate response measures when required.

Recommendation — As lead departments responsible for international environmental agreements, Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Transport Canada, and Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada should provide Parliament and Canadians with complete, understandable, and current information on objectives, means, expected results, and results.

On its websites, the Department will present up-to-date information with regards to the plans and measures taken by these organizations on environmental issues, and will define the roles of Canada with regard to them. The Department will also reflect the above information in a consistent fashion in its departmental reports to Parliament and to Canadians, such as the Report on Plans and Priorities, the Business Plan, the Departmental Performance Report, and relevant integrated fisheries management plans. These documents will be updated starting in the next fiscal year, while the websites will be updated in an ongoing manner and as a result of revisions to the above-mentioned documents.

No recommendations for DFO.

Recommendation — Given its commitments and the history of this file, Fisheries and Oceans Canada should decide on a regulatory approach for genetically engineered fish and clearly communicate the rationale and timeline for implementation of this approach.

The recommendation also suggests that Fisheries and Oceans Canada clearly communicate the rationale and timeline for implementation of this approach. The rationale for implementation of this approach is based on the fact that CEPA, 1999 provides a regulatory framework for animate products of biotechnology that is in place and is effective, and the NSNR(O) are currently already undergoing regulatory review. DFO's responsibilities under the MOU include undertaking risk assessments and assisting Environment Canada and Health Canada with administration of the Regulations. As DFO is already implementing this approach, no further timeline is required.