Statement
May 17, 2019 - Ottawa, ON Canada is an ocean nation. With the world's longest coastline and surrounded by three oceans - our marine ecosystems are home to an abundance of marine life and support over 350,000 Canadian jobs. Our oceans face a number of urgent threats: from warming oceans due to climate change, to concerning declines in biodiversity. Recognizing the need to take action, the Government of Canada committed to protect 10% of our oceans by 2020. With the passage of Bill C-55 yesterday, we are on track to protect more than ever our ocean space to meet this target. This bill will amend the Oceans Act, which will empower the Government of Canada to strengthen the protection of marine ecosystems that are at risk. I look forward to the next step of Royal Assent when this bill comes into law.
