Supplementary Information Tables

Details on transfer payment programs of $5 million or more

• Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management
• Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy
• Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative
• Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary
• Pacific Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative
• Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnership Program

Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management (Voted)

Start date: 2005-06

End date: Ongoing

Type of transfer payment: Contribution

Type of appropriation: Estimates

Fiscal year for terms and conditions: 2009-10

Strategic Outcome: Economically Prosperous Maritime Sectors and Fisheries

Link to department’s Program Alignment Architecture: Aboriginal Strategies and Governance

Description: Launched in October 2004, the Aboriginal Aquatic Resource and Oceans Management (AAROM) program provides for capacity building and collaborative management initiatives that support the involvement of Indigenous groups, working together, to obtain access to technical, scientific and administrative expertise in order to facilitate their participation in multi-stakeholder and other decision making processes used to manage aquatic resources and ocean spaces.

Indigenous groups transition from capacity building into collaborative management.

Provisions of Contribution Agreements under AAROM may include:

• establishing AAROM collaborative management structures or bodies;
• accessing skilled professional, administrative and technical expertise from within the Indigenous community or other external sources but excluding public office holders;
• participating in aquatic resource and oceans management planning - through the development of resource and oceans management plans and the coordination of community input into the development of plans;
• developing or providing input into the development of models, structures and processes to guide the interactions of external bodies and agencies with the respective Indigenous group;
• planning and holding consultation sessions with member communities on AAROM-related issues;
• participating in various government technical committees and other multi-stakeholder fora;
• developing, implementing and monitoring the AAROM capacity building strategies;
• developing enforcement capacity including Aboriginal Fishery Officers and upgrading the skills of Aboriginal Fisheries Guardians;
• collaborating in scientific research efforts related to aquatic resource and oceans management;
• participating in and providing input to various aquatic and oceans resource policy and management processes;
• undertaking scientific research activities to support appropriate watershed/ecosystem-based management efforts, including the collection and gathering of Aboriginal traditional knowledge;
• conducting community outreach, stewardship and awareness activities;
• conducting liaison activities with other relevant/interested parties;
• developing protocols on Aboriginal traditional knowledge-dealing with new and innovative approaches to collect, analyze and integrate this information into environmental and habitat assessments and management practices;
• ongoing program planning, administration and reporting activities of the AAROM Collaborative Management body; and
• negotiations and implementation of related AAROM agreements (and associated protocols) for which Fisheries and Oceans Canada is a signatory.

The AAROM program is applicable in areas where Fisheries and Oceans Canada manages the fishery, and where land claim agreements addressing those matters covered under the AAROM program are not in place. Where the Aboriginal group has signed a comprehensive land claims agreement, and one or more of the matters covered by the AAROM program are not dealt with in the agreement, the group would be eligible to apply for support in those matters not covered.

Results achieved: 39 AAROM agreements were signed in 2016-17 (31 Collaborative Management and eight Capacity Building), with 32 Indigenous organizations.

Comments on variances: The variance was the result of contribution funding allotted within the AAROM program from other Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s transfer payment programs, i.e., Integrated Oceans Management, Trade and International Market Access, and a re-profile from the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy.

Audits completed or planned: No audit was completed or planned for 2016-17.

Evaluations completed or planned: The next evaluation is planned for fiscal year 2018-19.

Engagement of applicants and recipients: Engagement with First Nation and other recipients throughout Fisheries and Oceans Canada Regions including: Newfoundland and Labrador, Gulf, Maritimes, Québec, Central and Arctic, and Pacific. Engagement includes strategic face-to-face meetings and negotiations at both the individual and aggregate level, bilateral ongoing communications with Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff, and through correspondence as required.

Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (Voted)

Start date: 1992

End date: Ongoing

Type of transfer payment: Contribution

Type of appropriation: Estimates

Fiscal year for terms and conditions: 2009-10

Strategic Outcome: Economically Prosperous Maritime Sectors and Fisheries

Link to department’s Program Alignment Architecture: Aboriginal Strategies and Governance

Description: Launched in 1992, the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (AFS) provides for negotiated arrangements with Indigenous groups around the harvesting, use and management of Indigenous food, social and ceremonial fisheries and, where applicable, communal commercial fisheries.

In 1994, Fisheries and Oceans Canada introduced a commercial access component to the AFS programs, the Allocation Transfer Program (ATP). Fisheries and Oceans Canada introduced the ATP to facilitate the voluntary retirement of commercial fishing licenses and the issuance of communal licenses to eligible Indigenous groups in a manner that does not add to the existing effort on the resource.

Provisions of negotiated fisheries agreements under the AFS may include:

• a harvest allocation to the Indigenous group for food, social and ceremonial purposes;
• terms and conditions pertaining to communal fishing licenses;
• enforcement provisions, including the training and engagement of Aboriginal Fisheries Guardians;
• arrangements for the co-management and stewardship of fisheries resources and their supporting habitats, including the restoration and protection of species at risk;
• co-management projects for the improvement of the management of fisheries generally, such as scientific research, stock assessment, fish enhancement and habitat management; and
• communal commercial fishing arrangements including the transfer of vessels and gear, as well as support for fisheries-related economic opportunities (e.g., demonstration fishery projects, aquaculture development, business planning support).

The AFS applies where Fisheries and Oceans Canada manages the fishery and where land claims agreements have not already put in place a fisheries management framework.

Results achieved: 131 Indigenous Organizations signed AFS agreements in 2016-17, which included capacity to manage food, social and ceremonial fisheries and to participate in aquatic resource and oceans management.

Comments on variances: The variance is the result of outgoing “in-year” funding transfers to Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development Canada in support of various negotiation tables with Indigenous Groups, funding reimbursements to Fisheries Protection and the Oceans Management programs from 2015-16, as well as a re-profile of funds to Aboriginal Resource and Oceans Management program from AFS to support agreement activities.

Audits completed or planned: No audit was completed or planned for 2016-17.

Evaluations completed or planned: The next evaluation is planned for fiscal year 2018-19.

Engagement of applicants and recipients: Engagement with First Nation and other recipients throughout Fisheries and Oceans Canada Regions including: Newfoundland and Labrador, Gulf, Maritimes, Québec, Central and Arctic, and Pacific. Engagement includes strategic face-to-face meetings and negotiations at both the individual and aggregate level, bilateral ongoing communications with Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff, and through correspondence as required.

Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative (Voted)

Start date: 2007-08

End date: Ongoing (Funding for the Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fisheries initiative was scheduled to expire in 2016-17. However, the funding for this initiative was made permanent through the budget allocation process for 2017-18.)

Type of transfer payment: Contribution

Type of appropriation: Estimates

Fiscal year for terms and conditions: 2007-08/2009-10: Implementation of the Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fisheries initiative (AICFI) was originally carried out using the established Terms and Conditions for the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (Negotiation and Implementation of Fisheries Agreements and Allocation Transfer Program) and Aboriginal Aquatic Resources and Oceans Management program. In 2009, a review of all Fisheries and Oceans Canada Aboriginal contribution based programs, including AICFI, has culminated in the development of the Integrated Aboriginal Contribution Management Framework, which includes the recently approved Integrated Aboriginal Contribution Management Framework Terms and Conditions, under which AICFI now operates.

Strategic Outcome: Economically Prosperous Maritime Sectors and Fisheries

Link to department's Program Alignment Architecture: Aboriginal Strategies and Governance

Description: The Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fisheries initiative (AICFI) was initially launched in 2007, as a five-year, $55.1 million program set to expire on March 31, 2012. The 2012 and 2013 Federal Budgets provided identical one-year $11.02 million extensions of the program. Budget 2014 provided an additional $22.04 million for the two-year renewal of the initiative ($11.02 million in 2014-15 and 2015-16) and Budget 2016 renewed the program at $11.02 million for 2016-17.

The long-term goal of the AICFI is to continue to create positive conditions towards concluding longer-term Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada led arrangements for Mi'kmaq and Maliseet First Nations in the Maritimes and Gaspé Québec to:

• enhance capacity in governance and management of Mi'kmaq and Maliseet First Nations commercial fishing enterprises;
• develop effective participation in sustainable, integrated commercial fisheries with a greater role in fisheries management; and
• help diversify existing fishing enterprises to support the full realization of economic potential of existing fishing licenses.

The AICFI has been developed to proceed along two separate paths of deployment. The first is through individual Mi'kmaq and Maliseet First Nations where the individual First Nations can apply for funding for components of the initiative provided they have completed the prerequisite planning as per component requirements. This will allow First Nations the ability to personalize their development to their own needs and development schedule.

The second path of deployment is through associated aggregate bodies which may apply for funding to proceed with the development of the Commercial Fishing Enterprise Business Development Unit as well as co-management and various training and mentoring projects. Aggregate bodies will develop expertise that can be shared with individual First Nations which will provide smaller First Nations a larger voice within the commercial fishery and provide a higher value for dollar on mentoring and training sessions.

Results achieved: 92 AICFI agreements were signed in 2016-17 (Two – Governance Structure Enhancement; 50 – Management Practice Enhancement; and 33 – Business Development) with 33 Mi’kmaq and Maliseet First Nations and seven Collaborative Management with aggregate bodies).

Comments on variances: AICFI’s annual allocation was reduced due to the repayment of a loan that was obtained in 2016-17 from another Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s program area, (i.e. the Recreational Fisheries program) to support additional eligible projects that were not included in the program’s original forecast. The remainder of the AICFI funding was fully expended in 2016-17 as planned and resulted in a minimal variance, due to an under estimate of a forecasted activity.

Audits completed or planned: No audit was completed or planned for 2016-17.

Evaluations completed or planned: No evaluation was completed or planned for 2016-17.

Engagement of applicants and recipients: Engagement with First Nations and other recipients is carried out through formal face-to-face meetings throughout the Maritimes and the Gaspé region of Québec, through bilateral ongoing communications with Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff, and through correspondence as required.

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (Voted)

Start date: April 1, 2013 (renewed contribution agreement came into effect this date)

End date: March 31, 2018 (existing agreements expire on this date, however new agreements are currently being negotiated)

Type of transfer payment: Contribution

Type of appropriation: Estimates

Fiscal year for terms and conditions: 2012-13 (amended 2015-16)

Strategic Outcome: Safe and Secure Waters

Link to department's Program Alignment Architecture: Search and Rescue Services; Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary

Description: To fund the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary (CCGA), non-profit corporations provide strategically located, trained and qualified members and vessels that are prepared and available to support Coast Guard search and rescue activities, and other Coast Guard mandated activities.

Results achieved: In 2016-17, the program completed a two-year Arctic Search and Rescue project. The Arctic Search and Rescue project team met with 45 coastal Arctic communities to assess maritime risks and build Auxiliary capacity in Arctic communities. This led to the establishment of five new Auxiliary units, resulting in over 200 additional Auxiliary members and 14 community-based units available for response, including six units in the Northwest Territories, six units in Nunavut, one in Churchill, Manitoba (that borders the Arctic) and one in Nunavik. There are an additional 11 potential community-based Auxiliary units currently in various stages of establishment. With more communities showing interest, and new programs to support community participation in the Auxiliary program, such as the Indigenous community-boat volunteer program and the creation of an Arctic Auxiliary chapter, the number of Auxiliary units is expected to grow. As well, the Arctic Search and Rescue project was extended for another year and therefore engagement with communities continues throughout 2017-18.

Comments on variances: Not applicable. There should not be spending variances since this is from Grants & Contributions funding that must be spent in the year or it is returned to the Crown.

Audits completed or planned: No audit was completed or planned in 2016-17.

Evaluations completed or planned: An evaluation of the search and rescue Services program, which includes the CCGA, was completed in March 2017. The next evaluation is planned for fiscal year 2021-22.

Engagement of applicants and recipients: The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) continues to provide funding and support to the more than 4,000 volunteers of the CCGA. Through five regional contribution agreements, the CCG provides more than $5.5 million in annual contributions to the Auxiliary to support their participation in maritime search and rescue activities and any other CCG mandated activity, mutually agreed to in writing. This includes funding for training, exercising, reimbursement for costs related to incident responses, administration expenses, and national insurance coverage. This continued support ensures that the CCGA is prepared and available to respond when tasked to search and rescue incidents. In 2016, CCGA units responded to 1,910 maritime search and rescue tasking’s out of a total 6,783 maritime search and rescue incidents (approximately 28%).

Through the Arctic Search and Rescue project, the Search and Rescue Services program completed a pilot of the risk-based analysis of maritime search and rescue delivery in the four Arctic search and rescue areas. All 41 search and rescue areas across Canada will be reviewed cyclically, using this risk-based methodology, over a six to seven year cycle. This will assist CCG in determining future search and rescue requirements, such as where to expand Auxiliary presence.

Pacific Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative (Voted)

Start date: 2007-08

End date: March 31, 2016 (Funding for the Pacific Integrated Commercial Fisheries initiative was scheduled to expire in 2016-17. However, funding for this initiative was made permanent through the budget allocation process for 2017-18.)

Type of transfer payment: Contribution

Type of appropriation: Estimates

Fiscal year for terms and conditions: 2007-08/2009-10: Implementation of the Pacific Integrated Commercial Fisheries initiative (PICFI) was originally carried out using the established Terms and Conditions for the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy (Negotiation and Implementation of Fisheries Agreements and Allocation Transfer Program) and Aboriginal Aquatic Resources and Oceans Management program. In 2009, a review of all Fisheries and Oceans Canada Aboriginal contribution based programs, including the PICFI, has culminated in the development of the Integrated Aboriginal Contribution Management Framework, which includes the recently approved Integrated Aboriginal Contribution Management Framework Terms and Conditions, under which the PICFI now operates.

Strategic Outcome: Economically Prosperous Maritime Sectors and Fisheries

Link to department's Program Alignment Architecture: Aboriginal Strategies and Governance

Description: On July 16, 2007, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard announced the PICFI, which is designed to support increased First Nations participation in integrated commercial fisheries, where all commercial harvesters fish under common and transparent rules, a higher standard of accountability for all resource users, and strengthened collaboration and cooperation amongst all fishery interests.

The PICFI was initially launched as a five-year $175 million program to lay the foundation for an integrated, stable and prosperous fishery in British Columbia, where all commercial harvesters, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, operate under common and transparent rules. The initiative received one-year extensions from 2012-14 ($22.5 million and $22 million respectively). Budget 2014 announced a two-year ($44.1 million) renewal of the initiative ($22.1 million in 2014-15 and 2015-16). An additional one-year extension of PICFI ($22.5 million – 2016-17) was announced in Budget 2016.

The initiative includes the following four distinct yet integrated elements:

• increased First Nation participation in integrated commercial fisheries, British Columbia-wide, in advance of treaties, through the voluntary relinquishment of commercial licenses and quota to support First Nations self-sufficiency through economic development, build a foundation for future treaties, and bring First Nations more fully into integrated management processes;
• First Nation capacity building to support the development of First Nations commercial fisheries enterprises so that the commercial fishery access provided is effectively utilized and managed;
• fisheries accountability measures to support enhanced fisheries monitoring, catch reporting, and greater enforcement, to enable the development of a traceability system, and to ensure all fishery participants are confident that integrated management plans are being respected and that the fisheries resource is being managed in a sustainable manner; and
• new Pacific co-management models to establish new mechanisms for increasing the collaboration of resource users in commercial fisheries decision making, to facilitate joint problem-solving among interested groups, and to better achieve sustainable resource management approaches that meet conservation goals.

Results achieved: 78 PICFI agreements were signed in 2016-17 (Two – Enhanced Accountability; 13 – Access; 55 – Capacity-Building; and eight – Co-management).

Comments on variances: The variance was the result of a slight under-estimate of the total annual forecasted activities.

Audits completed or planned: No audit was completed or planned in 2016-17.

Evaluations completed or planned: No evaluation was completed or planned in 2016-17.

Engagement of applicants and recipients: Engagement with First Nation and other recipients is carried out through formal face-to-face meetings throughout British Columbia, bilateral ongoing communications with Fisheries and Oceans Canada staff, and through correspondence as required. Commercial harvesters are engaged through broad communications and formal advisory processes.

Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnership Program (Voted)

Start date: June 6, 2013

End date: March 31, 2019

Type of transfer payment: Contribution

Type of appropriation: Estimates

Fiscal year for terms and conditions: 2013-19

Strategic Outcome: Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems

Link to department's Program Alignment Architecture: Fisheries Protection; Partnerships and Regulatory Arrangements

Description: The Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships program (RFCPP) promotes multi-partner initiatives and supports projects led by recreational fishing and angling groups, as well as conservation organizations, aimed at improving Canada’s recreational fisheries. These groups have established expertise and collaborative approaches in fisheries conservation and are well positioned to deliver habitat restoration projects that benefit recreational fisheries.

Program funding allows recipients to take action to restore, rebuild and rehabilitate compromised and/or threatened fisheries habitat in areas that are important to the sustainability and productivity of Canada’s recreational fisheries. For example, the Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships program funds groups to deliver activities such as making in-stream and streamside habitat improvements, removing barriers to fish migration, stabilizing riverbanks/reducing erosion, re-vegetating shorelines and/or enhancing structures to allow the free passage of fish to natural habitats.

The Recreational Fisheries Conservation Partnerships program focuses primarily on funding small and medium size projects (i.e., in the $20,000 to $100,000 range) but has a maximum contribution limit of $250,000 per project per year. Canadian government (i.e., federal, provincial, territorial and municipal) support cannot exceed 75% of total project expenditures, while federal support cannot exceed 50% of total project expenditures.

Results achieved: As of September 13, 2017, the program has achieved many of its milestones for 2016-17 including:

• supporting 187 restoration projects;
• leveraging $10,664,695 in other support, a ratio of 1.57;
• securing 574 partners;
• engaging 2338 volunteers; and
• restoring 3,141,417 sq. / m of habitat for recreational fish.

The above data is based on the 2016-17 funding recipient reports received to date. As additional reporting information is received, the results will be reflected accordingly.

Comments on variances: The variance identified is due to fluctuation in costs related to the implementation of the RFCPP projects (e.g., seasonal price variations) and/or cancelation of projects due to environmental conditions (e.g., bad weather). Further, a number of the projects identified for 2016-17 are ongoing (i.e., multi-year projects) and variances may also be a result of a shift in budgets to the subsequent years from changes in projects due to accessibility issues caused by environmental factors or access to certain materials, equipment, or expertise.

Audits completed or planned: No audit was completed or planned in 2016-17.

Evaluations completed or planned: An evaluation of the Fisheries Protection program, which includes the RFCPP, was completed in December 2016. All recommendations outlined in the evaluation were incorporated into the following funding cycle (e.g. monitoring of the area restored).

Engagement of applicants and recipients: There is an initial call for proposals and then bilateral communications with staff where required throughout the process.