Mr. Chair, it is a pleasure to speak in the House today.
The primary reason I am here today is to discuss the spending plans for Fisheries and Oceans Canada for the 2020-21 fiscal year. In these main estimates, I am seeking a total of $3.5 billion, which represents a $469 million increase over last year. For the most part, this increase is primarily the result of new funding to advance reconciliation between the Crown and indigenous peoples by implementing agreements and treaties, as well as engaging with indigenous communities and stakeholders on fisheries policy.
It also represents incremental funding to continue the Canadian Coast Guard's fleet recapitalization projects, which will help to modernize the fleet and extend the life of its existing vessels, ensuring that the Coast Guard can continue to deliver critical services in support of the safety of Canada's coasts, waterways and oceans.
Planned spending will help my department provide important economic opportunities to Canadians in coastal communities, sustain and rebuild fisheries to ensure that they remain healthy for future generations, and protect and promote our oceans, coasts and waterways.
As the federal minister responsible for fisheries and oceans, I am responsible for ensuring that our marine resources are managed for the long term and in the public interest. It is also incumbent upon me to advance Canada's commitment to reconciliation by ensuring that my department works in close collaboration with indigenous peoples to manage Canada's fisheries.
This can only be done through the co-development of new solutions that are consistent with the constitutional protections provided to aboriginal and treaty rights, and meaningfully advance Canada's important relationships with indigenous peoples, while ensuring a stable, predictable fishery for all participants.
Funding for reconciliation on indigenous rights issues will be used to implement reconciliation agreements and treaties, as well as engage with indigenous communities and stakeholders on fisheries policy. These landmark agreements are designed to help close economic gaps through the development of partnerships and co-management regimes, and by increasing aboriginal access to fisheries licences and quotas, thereby augmenting their participation in fishing related activities.
Our government is committed to working alongside indigenous peoples to collaboratively manage this vital resource and ensure that as stewards of our land and waters they have a rightful place at the table when it comes to the management of our fisheries.
One of the most important priorities is restoring the health of wild salmon stocks and other important fish stocks across Canada. As members know, our government announced an additional $107 million to support the implementation of stock assessment and rebuilding provisions in the renewed fisheries act to sustain Canada's wild fish stocks.
We also launched the B.C. salmon restoration and innovation fund and the Quebec fisheries fund, both modelled on the very successful Atlantic fisheries fund to support projects focused on building resilience thorough restoration, promotion of science partnerships, innovation and adoptive technologies.
Our government is also making an additional contribution of $5 million to the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund Society to support the important work of the Pacific Salmon Foundation to engage community groups in salmon conservation. These new funds will enable the foundation to be even more effective going forward.
These are among many activities that support our wild salmon policy implementation plan over the next five years to support important changes to the management of our aquaculture policies.
Keeping mariners safe and protecting our marine environment is a duty we entrust to the brave women and men in the Canadian Coast Guard. They are the backbone of one of the strongest marine safety systems in the world. Our government is committed to providing the Coast Guard with the tools it needs to keep Canadians safe and keep our economy moving.
In 2019, we announced the largest investment ever made to renew the Coast Guard fleet with 24 new large ships, 16 multi-purpose vessels, two Arctic offshore patrol ships, and six program icebreakers.
Additionally, our government also announced investments of over $2 billion for the comprehensive vessel life extension program for the Coast Guard's existing fleet. Building whole new classes of vessels takes a great deal of time, planning, money and effort. Repairs, refits and vessel life extension work must be carried out on the existing fleet until new ships are delivered under the national shipbuilding strategy.
We recently marked the completion of the first class of ships built under Canada national shipbuilding strategy with the acceptance of three offshore fishery science vessels. These are Canada's first-ever vessels purposely designed and built for vital offshore fisheries research, science and monitoring.
The Canadian Coast Guard would not be what it is today without the tremendous support of Canada's shipbuilding and marine industry, which fuels innovation and skills development, and creates new opportunities for workers and businesses across the country.
Our significant commitment to renew the Coast Guard fleet will provide our crews with state-of-the-art equipment and preserve the world-class marine safety regime that Canada enjoys.
On oceans protection, our government has exceeded its marine conservation targets to protect 10% of our oceans by the end of 2020. We are at nearly 14% now and already working toward our 25% target by 2025. That is with real protections that will have biodiversity benefits for generations to come.
This past summer, Canada joined the United Kingdom's global ocean alliance. One of the key focuses of this alliance is advocating for the adoption of the global target of 30% by 2030, which is a key pillar of next year's Convention on Biological Diversity, COP 15 meeting. Our historic $1.5-billion oceans protection plan is creating a world-leading marine safety system, restoring and protecting marine and coastal ecosystems and habitats, enhancing environmental and local emergency response, and strengthening our ability to trade with confidence and safety.
As we go forward, we will accelerate the use of tools such as marine spatial planning to allow us to plan our ocean spaces in collaboration with provincial and territorial partners, indigenous peoples, and industry and environmental stakeholders. Our government has invested in Canada's ocean supercluster, composed of businesses, academia and non-profits, to accelerate innovation in sustainable economic growth in our oceans. We are mobilizing internationally to deliver the scientific knowledge, innovation and capacity needed to strengthen oceans protection because science and innovation will be the critical pillar of the strong, blue economy.
Our government is committed to promoting economic opportunities for Canadians while ensuring our oceans and resources remain healthy for future generations. As part of the approval of the Trans Mountain expansion project, our government put forward eight accommodation measures to address concerns raised by indigenous peoples.
We are implementing four of these measures, which focus on building capacity and enhancing long-term relationships with indigenous groups. These measures seek to advance shared objectives for maintaining and restoring fish habitat, understanding and monitoring the cumulative effects and improving spill prevention response capacity. I look forward to sharing more about these and other developments with my fellow parliamentarians in the months ahead.
Our nation's prosperity depends on making sure that the benefits of growing the economy are felt by more and more people with good, well-paying jobs for the middle class. We are well positioned to deliver on the government's priorities, and the investments I have mentioned will allow DFO and the Coast Guard to continue to carry out the important work of service to Canadians.
