I will set the context a little bit.
The government has been engaging broadly over a number of years to set up and launch the oceans protection plan, and this engagement is ongoing as it moves through implementation of the oceans protection plan. This suite of legislative amendments that we are discussing today is one of the commitments and important measures in that regard within the oceans protection plan.
The proposed amendments aim to strengthen safeguards to protect marine environments from the impacts of shipping and navigation activities. They enhance marine safety, with an emphasis on improving response and liability and compensation, and they strengthen deterrence and enforcement. They further support research and innovation for marine safety and environmental protection.
We are improving. These pieces of legislation haven't been modernized in a number of years—I think 25 years, at least in one case. We're proposing to strengthen the ability to put in place the appropriate safeguards to protect marine environments by strengthening regulatory authorities to protect marine environments and to carefully consider in that regard developing regulations that may be necessary to regulate, for example, navigation or operational measures in order to support efforts to protect sensitive ecosystems, including endangered whale populations.
Certain regulatory requirements could have variation orders to be more dynamic and nimble, for example, variation orders to address or respond to evolving environmental situations in particular geographic areas, such as unforeseen changes in whale population movements.
Interim orders would also be enabled to address urgent risks to the marine environment and marine safety where timing is critical. These interim orders would allow immediate action when required and when regulations do not currently exist. This would allow for the rapid addressing of risk to marine environments, and it would only be used on an exceptional basis. There are a number of transparency provisions included, such as tabling within Parliament and publishing in the Canada Gazette.
Other measures that are in the proposed legislative amendments have to do with enhancing marine safety and response. In Canadian waters, the number and volume of ship-source oil spills have actually been declining consistently since the 1990s, but traffic is growing. Measures are being proposed to have a single, clear federal voice for the Coast Guard to act very rapidly, earlier and more effectively should the need arise.
We're also committed to strengthening the polluter pay principle and modernizing the ship-source oil pollution fund. Amendments now to the Marine Liability Act include full compensation in the instance of an incident so that there would no longer be a per incident limit to the liability for claims, and backstops on how that would be addressed should a polluter not be available, willing or able to pay and how that could be.... The government would temporarily make a loan to the fund for this measure and would establish a modern levy mechanism to replenish the fund without relying on taxpayer dollars.
There are other measures in there, but this is to give you a very quick overview.
Going back to deterrence—
