Thank you very much and congratulations, Mr. Chair.
Good day to committee members. Thank you very much for the invitation.
I'd like to respectfully acknowledge that I am joining you today from the traditional territories of the Mi'kmaq, the Wolastoqiyik and the Peskotomuhkatiyik.
I'm here today to talk to you about the delivery of the Canadian seafood stabilization fund by our department, ACOA, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
ACOA is a federal department charged with fuelling Atlantic economic growth. It works with business and community leaders to build a strong and inclusive economy. ACOA has a regular suite of programs, along with limited COVID-19 recovery measures, such as the Canadian seafood stabilization fund. We're helping Atlantic Canadians deal with the impact of the pandemic while supporting them to grow and to be more competitive and innovative at the same time.
As you may know, Canada’s fish and seafood processing industry is an essential part of our collective food security and our national economy. This sector has faced increased financial strain and market instability over the course of the pandemic.
The $62.5 million Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund, launched in April 2020, provided urgent support to our country’s fish and seafood businesses so they could deal with the unprecedented loss of markets for their products, remain stable, keep paying their employees and eventually recover their prosperity.
The Fund, delivered through regional development agencies like ACOA, helped address funding gaps created by the pandemic, taking primarily into account regional needs and realities of this important industry. The Fund supported investments to improve the health and safety of employees, as well as the efficiency of business operations.
Specifically, and to deal with a lot of the inventory issues, funding was provided to fish and seafood processors in Atlantic Canada to do the following: increase freezer, cold storage and live storage capacities to deal with excess inventories; implement health and safety measures with PPE for the plants; adopt new advanced manufacturing and automation technologies as firms adapted to new market realities and new opportunities; and adapt to changing consumer demands.
ACOA was mandated to deliver the program on behalf of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans because of our nimbleness and proximity to the businesses and the processors.
Through ACOA, the fund supported in Atlantic Canada 132 projects with 97 seafood processors, for total of $42.7 million. An estimated 10,800 jobs were safeguarded through this funding and the continuing operations through the pandemic.
I would be pleased to give a few examples, but I think the members of the committee have it in our report. In the interest of time, I will pass the mike back to the chair.
Congratulations, John.