Office of the Premier
From: Fisheries and Oceans Canada (canada.ca)
Improving the environmental sustainability of our seafood sectors while ensuring they remain competitive in the marketplace is a shared goal of British Columbians. The Government of Canada is committed to supporting that goal through targeted investments in new technology. These are solutions that will help the sector become cleaner, greener and more sustainable.
Today, the Member of Parliament for Burnaby North—Seymour and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Terry Beech, on behalf of the Minister, the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, announced funding of over $5.4 million from the Fisheries and Aquaculture Clean Technology Adoption Program to support 36 projects that are contributing to clean economic growth in British Columbia. The Province of British Columbia also announced a contribution of more than $785,000 in funding towards these projects.
The Fisheries and Aquaculture Clean Technology Adoption program is a $20-million program (2017-21) that provides funding to help businesses incorporate clean technologies into their day-to-day operations. It is intended to accelerate the use of more sustainable and efficient tools, practices and techniques.
By supporting our commercial fisheries and aquaculture sectors’ investment in clean technologies, the Government of Canada is ensuring the continued growth of a healthy and sustainable blue economy. These sectors contribute approximately $4.5 billion annually in gross domestic product and provide thousands of jobs across our country — many in Indigenous, rural and coastal communities. During the pandemic, these investments have helped strengthen Canadians’ access to fish and shellfish food resources by supporting the small and medium sized-businesses that are the bedrock of the fish and seafood industry.
The 36 projects for which funding is announced today are helping fisheries and aquaculture businesses adopt greener practices that will upgrade waste/wastewater treatment facilities, increase energy efficiency, create more reliance on green energy such as solar, upgrade sonar, decrease reliance on Styrofoam and reduce fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.
Quotes:
“As we work to strengthen Canada’s blue economy, sustainability must underpin all our investments and actions. Through the Fisheries and Aquaculture Clean Technology Adoption Program, we’re helping our partners in British Columbia implement more sustainable practices, and therefore become more competitive in their markets. These are good, long-term investments that will help Canada’s seafood sector employ more people and generate more revenue for decades to come.”
The Honourable Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard
“British Columbia’s fisheries and aquaculture sectors provide thousands of good middle-class jobs, many of which are in our coastal, rural, and Indigenous communities. With investments through the Fisheries and Aquaculture Clean Technology Adoption Program, our government is working with industry to ensure their business is as sustainable and productive. That’s how we will ensure that our fisheries and aquaculture sectors will continue to grow and generate good jobs and world-class seafood for the long-term.”
Terry Beech, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Member of Parliament for Burnaby North—Seymour
“The Fisheries and Aquaculture Clean Technology Adoption Program helps B.C. family-owned businesses reduce their environmental footprint while promoting a clean coastal economy. The projects announced today will help wild fisheries and aquaculture operations in our province adopt greener practices that will improve energy efficiency while reducing their environmental impact.”
Fin Donnelly, Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Province of British Columbia
Quick Facts:
- The Fisheries and Aquaculture Clean Technology Adoption Program was part of a commitment in Budget 2016 of over $1 billion to support clean technology in Canada’s natural resource sectors.
- Today’s announcement of funding for 36 projects in British Columbia brings the total number of projects supported to date to 80 nationally.
- The Government of Canada is developing a Blue Economy Strategy (dfo-mpo.gc.ca) to grow its ocean sectors through job creation, inclusion and conservation. Canadians are invited to share their views in an online engagement portal (dfo-mpo.gc.ca) , which will collect diverse perspectives from coast to coast to coast, helping shape a strategy that will contribute to sustainable oceans, drive investment in ocean industries, and create jobs in coastal communities as Canada charts its economic recovery from COVID-19. Online engagement is open until June 15, 2021.
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Associated links:
- Fisheries and Aquaculture Clean Technology Adoption Program (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)
