In its most recent budget, the government pledged to add $2 billion over nine years to the $1.5 billion already allocated to ocean protection. Speaking at a news conference on Bowen Island, BC, Trudeau said the government had now launched an expanded version of the Oceans Protection Plan. Initiatives already funded by the program include the opening of six Coast Guard stations in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador, the creation of an Indigenous-led Coast Guard Auxiliary in BC, the restoration of coastal aquatic habitats and the removal and disposal of hundreds of abandoned vessels. . It has also funded efforts to protect endangered species, including southern killer whales and North Atlantic right whales. The new money aims to expand such environmental and safety efforts to more areas. Trudeau said the latest plan was meant to keep oceans and coasts healthy, promote reconciliation and build a clean future. The initiative showed his government was “getting back into the field of saying our oceans need to be protected,” he said. “The federal government before us was closing Coast Guard stations, underinvesting, ignoring any kind of engagement with Indigenous peoples and firing scientists.” He said his government was doubling down on the oceans plan launched in 2016 and would “broaden and deepen”. Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, said the government will “work in partnership with Indigenous and coastal communities to protect Canada’s mariners, waterways and coasts now and for generations to come.” .
