Good morning, Madam Chair.
It's a real pleasure to be here with you to discuss the main estimates for 2018-19, which were tabled in mid-April.
Madam Chair, you have introduced our party, so I will skip that and save a little bit of time for the committee.
To begin with, I want to thank you for this opportunity to share the significant results we have achieved for Canadians. Through the main estimates for 2018-19, the department's total budget for this fiscal year amounts to $2.5 billion. This represents a net increase of $244.7 million over last year. This increase is due mainly to new funding for the oceans protection plan, for maintaining mission-critical services to Canadians, for the Atlantic fisheries fund, and for ongoing renewal and expansion of indigenous fisheries programs and initiatives.
I want to take this opportunity to provide some examples of how the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, or DFO, and the Coast Guard are using this funding to meet the needs and expectations of Canadians.
We're already seeing far-reaching benefits in coastal and indigenous communities on all three coasts from our oceans protection plan. For example, initial training has been completed for the crew of a new inshore rescue boat station in Rankin Inlet. Starting this summer, crew members will be able to provide assistance to mariners in local waters who are in distress or in need of help, and will also be able to share valuable information on boating safety when needed.
The Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre St. John's has been officially reopened. This sub-centre is being staffed around the clock by highly trained maritime search and rescue coordinators who coordinate the on-the-water responses to maritime rescue incidents in the unique, challenging, and often dangerous waters off Newfoundland and Labrador.
The oceans protection plan is also funding a unique training program on Vancouver Island that pairs traditional indigenous knowledge with the Coast Guard's search and rescue expertise. To date, 27 members of 20 first nations communities in B.C. have graduated from three coastal nations search and rescue courses that are helping to build on the role they already play in maritime safety in their communities.
The oceans protection plan's $75-million coastal restoration fund is also being implemented on all three coasts with the help of our many partners. Last year, Fisheries and Oceans received $167 million that was used to shore up a number of key program areas. They included Coast Guard assets and core activities; our science and fisheries management, including conservation and protection; as well as the physical infrastructure and information technology needed to carry out our mandate.
I'd like to give you a few very quick examples. Funding to operate and refurbish aging ships is helping us to ensure that the government will be able to provide reliable, essential marine services until new vessels from the national shipbuilding program are put into service. Commissioner Hutchinson and Mr. Pelletier will be able to provide to the committee any details on the Coast Guard's work.
As you know, budget 2018 provides $250 million over two years for improvements at small craft harbours across Canada. This is in line with the government's commitment to support harbours and local economies, and foster job creation. Members of this committee had expressed a desire to learn which of the projects will be going forward, including when engineering and construction work is to begin. I expect that the minister will very soon be in a position to share this information with you.
We're also working to ensure the sustainable use of the oceans' resources and improve how fisheries are managed on the high seas through monitoring, control, and surveillance, to curb incidents of illegal fishing and to improve international fisheries and oceans governance over the long term. Curbing IUU fishing is a priority for Canada. Actually, today Canada is joining the United Nations General Assembly and the global community in observing an official day, June 5, to promote awareness of the need to combat IUU fishing. Protecting species on the high seas and in our domestic waters is a priority.
As the North Atlantic right whale population returns, the government has put in place a number of measures to try and prevent any further deaths from occurring this summer.
I'll just let the committee know that late yesterday we received word that there are, in fact, 75 of the North Atlantic right whales in the gulf waters as of yesterday, so the population really is moving. It's quite a change.
Minister LeBlanc already announced several changes to the 2018 snow crab fishery in the southern Gulf of the St. Lawrence that will help protect right whales from getting tangled in fishing gear.
Important work is also happening on the west coast with respect to the recovery and the protection of the southern resident killer whales. We've actively been working to protect this endangered species by recently implementing closures to the chinook fishery in areas where those whales feed and forage, and by introducing new rules that prohibit vessels from approaching closer than 200 metres, which will help minimize noise disturbance and allow the whales to feed more easily. We also are continuing to work with our partners on issues related to critical habitat.
In addition to protecting mariners and the marine environment, federal funding for DFO is essential for achieving reconciliation with indigenous peoples, fostering trade, developing clean technologies, investing in coastal communities, and improving economic opportunities.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I will now turn it over to Ms. O'Donoughue, before taking questions.
