Departmental Plan 2020-2021

Operating Context

Through sound science, forward-looking policy, and operational and service excellence, DFO-Coast Guard employees carry out a broad mandate in support of Canadians. This includes ensuring:

• the sustainable management of Canadian fisheries and aquaculture;
• the protection of Canada’s oceans and aquatic ecosystems;
• that the Canadian maritime economy and all mariners operate in safe and navigable waters; and
• that Canada’s civilian fleet can respond to on-water incidents and continue to support its clients.

Canada has an abundance of ecologically diverse and economically significant freshwater and marine and coastal areas. The Department’s overarching goal is to protect Canada’s three oceans, its coasts, waterways and fisheries, and to ensure these remain healthy for future generations.

Factors influencing DFO-Coast Guard’s ever-evolving operational environment include trade diversification and economic trends, Indigenous reconciliation, climate change and severe weather events, growing interest in and accessibility of the Arctic, shifting demographics and income distribution, technological innovations, and variable geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions.

With a view to constant improvement, the Department continuously assesses how it conducts business, provides services, and delivers programs to clients and stakeholders, while helping Canada meet its responsibility to the world to steward its maritime and marine resources.