Book 1, Tab A2 - Corporate Key Messages

• Canada's oceans are rich, diverse, and vital to our economy
• Our fish and seafood industry brings tremendous economic value to communities across Canada and employs more than 60,000 people in good-paying, middle class jobs from coast-to-coast-coast
• In 2022, Canada exported $8.4 billion in fish and seafood to 112 countries
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) manages over 200 fisheries across Canada’s three coasts through sustainable and responsible fisheries management that is driven by science
• I recognize that fisheries, oceans, aquatic habitat and marine waterways are of great social, cultural, spiritual and economic importance for Indigenous peoples across the country, and because of this, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard has an important role to play in advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples
• As stewards of the longest coastline in the world, it is our shared responsibility to keep our oceans healthy, so we can grow ocean industries sustainably as part of a blue economy
• Through marine conservation measures, we have protected 14.66 per cent of our oceans, and have committed to protecting 25 per cent by 2025, working toward 30 per cent by 2030
• Through the Canadian Coast Guard, the Department also has a strong role in ensuring the safety, accessibility and security of Canadian waters, as well as enabling robust economic activity and trade via marine shipping and transport
• We must move our fish and seafood sector forward in a way that is economically prosperous, environmentally sustainable and globally competitive
• To do this, we must reinvigorate and reimagine the future of this sector through strategic partnerships, investments, innovations and clean technologies
• Our stakeholders are keen to move forward with building more robust, profitable and diverse fisheries and maritime sectors, and I am eager to begin working with them