Madam Chair, I will be speaking for approximately seven minutes and for the remaining eight minutes I will have questions for the minister.
I am happy to be here tonight to talk about some of the important investments that this government is making in our communities when it comes to supporting our fisheries and coastal areas, especially those in my riding. In Cape Breton—Canso, the hard-working women and men who make up our fisheries support rural and coastal communities. Their catches end up on tables across Canada, providing Canadians with high-quality, sustainable seafood, year-round.
We have heard tonight that fisheries are the backbone of many of our rural communities. We understand how important it is that our ocean environment is protected in order to support healthy, productive fisheries. That is why it is critically important to make investments that will support communities in accessing shared ocean resources and spur innovation as we deal with impacts due to climate change and ocean pollution.
I would like to talk about a few of the DFO investments that are particularly important in communities across my riding of Cape Breton—Canso. I would like to start with small craft harbours.
Investments in infrastructure are critical to economic development in rural communities. That includes marine infrastructure. Here in Cape Breton—Canso, marine infrastructure is vital to so many of our small communities that rely on the ocean for their livelihoods. Our government knows this. That is why, since 2016, there has been about $484 million invested in new funding for the small craft harbours program. This is on top of the program's ongoing regular annual budget of $90 million.
This represents more than 800 projects that are instrumental in keeping commercial fishing harbours safe and accessible for the benefit of coastal communities across this great country. These investments have supported the growth of coastal communities across Canada, but we cannot stop there. We need to continue to make these critical investments that will keep rural and coastal communities resilient, especially now during these unprecedented times.
I would like to focus now just a little on the Atlantic fisheries fund. Like small craft harbours, the government is committed to promoting innovation in the fish and seafood sector. That is why in March of 2017, $325 million was invested in the Atlantic fisheries fund. This fund allows the seafood sector even more future success by supporting market entry and growth, creating jobs and of course supporting coastal communities that rely on the marine economy.
This federal-provincial joint funding program has been used to acquire state-of-the-art processing equipment, implement innovative processes for automation, improve infrastructure and other projects that will generate great opportunities for the sector. This fund has supported many projects in my riding, focusing on the expansion of operations at various seafood processing centres like Louisbourg Seafoods in Canso, allowing them to reach markets around the world and, in turn, making a substantial investment to our economy.
In addition to the investments in the Atlantic fisheries fund and small craft harbours, our government also understands the importance of investing in clean technology, which is why, in 2017, $20 million was invested directly into clean technology for the industry. This program will help protect our environment while developing sustainable fisheries. It will also accelerate the use of sustainable and more efficient tools, practices and techniques in producing and harvesting Canadian seafood. I am happy that our government will continue to promote sustainable and inclusive growth for the middle class and that we are committed to protecting our oceans and marine resources for future generations of Canadians.
I would also like to spend a little time just talking about the measures this government has taken when it comes to combatting marine plastic pollution. It is the end of 2020 and we are entering 2021. We know now, more than ever, that we need to do our part to keep our environment clean of plastics and other pollution. This is especially true for our oceans.
Canada has shown leadership on innovation in fisheries, including industry-led initiatives addressing ghost gear and, for our whales, safe gear technology. Marine litter, particular ghost fishing gear, is one of the biggest threats to our oceans. I was proud to see that earlier this year, DFO hosted the first international Gear Innovation Summit to focus on important areas of industry innovation. This summit provided an opportunity for harvesters, technical experts, non-governmental officials and government agencies to share information and learn about innovative technologies and programming aimed at the prevention, reduction and retrieval of ghost gear, and reduce the impact of fishery activities on mammals.
During 2018, at the G7 meeting in Halifax, Canada strengthened its domestic and international commitment to address marine litter by signing on to the Global Ghost Gear Initiative. As a signatory to this initiative, our government is committed to improving the health of marine ecosystems, safeguarding human health and livelihoods and protecting marine life from harm.
The new ghost gear fund is one of the many actions announced under the strategy of zero plastic waste by this government to combat plastic waste in the environment, and it supports our commitment to the ocean plastics charter. This $8.3-million investment will assist indigenous groups, fish harvesters, the aquaculture industry, non-profits and communities to take concrete actions to support ghost gear prevention, retrieval and responsible disposal.
It will also support fish harvesters to acquire new gear technologies to reduce gear loss. This fund was identified by the Global Ghost Gear Initiative as the first time a national government has dedicated a specific funding program entirely to domestic and international ghost gear prevention and mitigation strategies. It is thanks to strategies like these that our government will be able to achieve its goals announced last week, the net zero emissions by 2050.
There is always more work to be done and we know this, but Canadians can count on this government to protect our environment, whether it is on the land or in the waters. We are making real investments to ensure that our environment will remain healthy for generations to come.
I would like to take the rest of my time to ask some questions of the hon. minister.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans does important work in every corner of my diverse riding around small craft harbours, as I just mentioned, whether it is working with harvesters in Chéticamp to support their livelihood or working with residents in L'Ardoise to explore ways to improve their community's environment. The work of this department is so critical and so greatly appreciated in my riding. Again, small craft harbours provide support to the commercial fishing industry, and we are indebted to them.
The small craft harbour program keeps the harbours that are critical to the fishing industry open and in good repair. Can the minister tell us about the work that is being done and how that has positively impacted rural communities like the ones in my riding?
