Good morning, Mr. Chair.
The Canadian seafood stabilization fund was one of the emergency support programs implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was a temporary fund. It was established to support Canada's fish and seafood processing sector through the crisis, support economic recovery, and help in supporting broader food security objectives during a period of significant uncertainty in Canada and, of course, around the world.
The fund provided $62.5 million in new temporary funding to the fish and seafood processing sector. It helped fish and seafood processors put in place health and safety measures to help protect workers against COVID-19 and maintain Canadian jobs. It also helped to increase plant capacity to process, store, package and distribute healthy high-quality products, and to adapt processes and marketing to suit changing consumer demands.
In establishing this fund we took an approach to leverage already established programming infrastructure to deliver funding support in an effective and timely way. The fund was developed in collaboration with the regional development agencies, including the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Canada economic development agency for Quebec regions, and what was then called Western Economic Diversification Canada, now PacifiCan. The RDAs took a leading role in delivering this important funding to organizations on the front line.
This audit recognizes the speed with which the design and development of the emergency measures were put in place and the effectiveness of the coordinated response. Leveraging existing mechanisms from previously established programs and directing funding and delivery through the three RDAs that serve the Atlantic and Pacific regions removed the need to build a new program from scratch.
The audit found that despite the need for a rapid response the fund met requirements for accountability and transparency. It applied the needed oversight controls to the review and approval of applications, largely met service standards for funding decisions, and applied the proper oversight of spending by documenting the approval and tracking of payments to recipients.
The fund provided $62.5 million in support to 245 businesses and organizations in the Canadian fish and seafood sector, with approximately 5% of the funding going to businesses owned by women and 9% to indigenous-owned businesses. The funding helped the sector overcome challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing cold storage and inventory capacity, supporting retuning technologies and marketing efforts, and enhancing health and safety measures to minimize risks to workers.
Although the fund was intended to address the immediate and unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic, we recognized the importance of developing targets and indicators that help us measure and report on program contributions towards sustainable development commitments and to gender and diversity in order to improve assessment and outcomes. Therefore, the department agrees with the recommendation made by the Auditor General to ensure that future food-related initiatives measure and report on contributions to sustainable development and to gender-based analysis plus.
We addressed this recommendation by developing guidance material to support program managers or programs to better align program results with federal and departmental sustainability goals and GBA+. These guidance materials will be used by existing and future programs, including those supporting future food-related initiatives, thereby reinforcing the importance of considering both sustainable development and the needs of diverse groups across Canada in the planning and delivery of the programs as well as when measuring results.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.