Supplementary information tables

Response to parliamentary committees and external audits

Response to parliamentary committees

West Coast Fisheries: Sharing Risks and Benefits

The report contains 20 recommendations to facilitate a transition toward a more equitable quota licencing regime for the West Coast commercial fisheries.

The Committee’s recommendations on how to improve the transparency of the existing fisheries management framework and how to revise existing policies and programs will help guide the Government as it continues to ensure that socio-economic, environmental and cultural objectives are being achieved.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada will thoroughly assess the recommendations as part of its ongoing efforts to review and improve policies, services and tools for fisheries on the West Coast and will continue to discuss these important issues with Canadians.

Response to audits conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (including audits conducted by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

2021 Reports 1 to 5 of the Auditor General of Canada: Report 2 – National Shipbuilding Strategy

This audit focused on whether the large vessel fleets of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard were being renewed in a timely manner. The Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) examined whether shipbuilding was on schedule and whether the new ships were being delivered in time for the retirement of the old ships. The OAG also looked at how the audited organizations managed the risks of delays, including how they mitigated the potential impact of delays on the navy’s and coast guard’s operations while waiting for new ships. The audit identified that key decisions improved the prospects for timely fleet renewal, but there is little room for further delay. The audit also determined that government had taken steps to extend the lives of its aging vessels and acquire interim capabilities to continue delivering essential services, but progress was delayed.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (the Canadian Coast Guard), along with two other Federal entities, was implicated in one of three recommendations made in the audit report. The Department agreed with the recommendation, and has planned actions with four key milestones to address the recommendation. This includes concrete actions to support the review of new and existing shipbuilding contracts to determine if schedules and performance reporting obligations are appropriate and being met, ensuring in-house capacity to review the quality of integrated project schedules, ensuring integrated project schedules are supported by performance findings and appropriate metrics to support progress updates, and leveraging internal offices to better understand and implement strategies to manage and enforce project schedules. All actions are expected to be completed Q2 through Q4 2021-22.

Response to audits conducted by the Public Service Commission of Canada or the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages

There were no audits in 2020-21 requiring a response.