Submission

Summary of the matter addressed in the submission:

The submission asserts that Canada is failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws, particularly Section 36(3) of the Fisheries Act, to prevent pollution of the marine environment by cruise ships and other vessels along its Pacific coast.

In submission SEM-23-007 (Vessel Pollution in Pacific Canada), the Submitter asserts that Canada is failing to uphold its obligations to protect the marine environment by allowing the continued operation of open-loop exhaust gas cleaning systems (often called “scrubbers”) that remove pollutants from ships’ exhaust emissions and the continued discharge of wastewater used to clean the systems directly into Canadian waters. The Submitter alleges that these systems capture harmful pollutants, like sulfur dioxides, heavy metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, to comply with international air emission obligations for the shipping sector, and that those pollutants are discharged directly into the water, harming marine and coastal ecosystems. The submission states that these discharges threaten vital ecosystems and endangered species, particularly discharges from cruise ships operating in the sensitive Canadian and transnational waters of the Salish Sea, Kwakwaka’wakw Sea and Great Bear Sea.

Summary of the response provided by the Party:

Canada responds by stating that it has domestic legislation related to the protection of the marine environment that is in line with international standards set by the International Maritime Organization and under the authority of various federal departments including Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Transport Canada (TC), and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). The Response provides an overview of each department (ECCC, TC, and DFO), including their mandates and relevant areas of authority.

The Party describes ECCC’s enforcement activities under the Fisheries Act, detailing the department’s efforts to enforce the environmental law provisions raised in the submission over the last 10 years.

The Party describes TC’s enforcement activities under the Shipping Act, including the Vessel Pollution and Dangerous Chemicals Regulations, and explaining its efforts to enforce the provisions raised in the submission over the last 10 years. The Party briefly discusses coordination between ECCC and TC.

The Response also describes various “…private remedies available in Canada to the public, including for individuals, fisherman and victims of pollution.” It concludes with a discussion of Canada’s efforts to monitor and address the potential impacts of increasing scrubber use in recent years.

Names and citations of the environmental laws in question:

The Fisheries Act, the Canada Shipping Act, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) as well as other international instruments.

Submitter(s):

Stand.earth, Represented by Benjamin Isitt