441-01564 (Environment)

1. The Government of Canada is committed to protecting the health and safety of Canadians and the environment from the potential risks of marine pollution. This includes working to improve water quality and our marine environments from coast to coast to coast.

There are certain existing federal rules that may apply to ship recycling activities. Under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 or the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, the federal government has powers to address any pollution discharge, or mitigate the risk of pollution discharge, from any vessel still in the water. In addition, the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act (subsection 36(3)) prohibit the deposit of any deleterious substance in waters frequented by fish or to any place where it may enter water frequented by fish, unless authorized by federal regulations. Further, any in-water portion of ship recycling activity may require approval under the Canada Navigable Waters Act if it occurs in navigable waters.

The European Union (EU) implemented its ship recycling regulations (the EU Ship Recycling Regulation) in 2020. These regulations largely replicate the standards and provisions set out in the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (Hong Kong Convention) which Canada endorsed in 2009 but has not ratified.

Canada supports the intent of the Hong Kong Convention as it is designed to set a level playing field to improve conditions in ship recycling facilities while diminishing the impact of ship recycling operations on human health, safety, and the environment – particularly in countries that have robust ship recycling operations but lack conditions and systems to keep workers safe and minimize environmental impacts.

In 2021 and 2022, Canada engaged four key provinces that currently have, or are considering having, recycling operations for larger ships (British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia). This was done because many of the provisions of the Hong Kong Convention fall under provincial jurisdiction – notably around waste management, land-use zoning, and occupational health and safety. Each of these provinces confirmed their existing legislative authorities already adequately embody the intent and objectives of the Convention. Each of these provinces also indicated their willingness to work with the federal government to advance environmentally sustainable ship recycling in Canada.

The Government of Canada is currently analyzing if there are opportunities to strengthen the federal approach with respect to the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships. This includes examining requirements that are specific to vessels under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and the Hong Kong Convention.

2. Provinces and territories are responsible for the protection of workers and occupational health and safety at ship recycling facilities, as well as regulating the handling, storage, transportation, and disposal of waste produced when a ship is recycled. This essentially makes most activities related to ship recycling facilities subject to provincial/territorial jurisdiction. For this reason, no federal assistance program has been considered at this time.

3. Marine operators across the Federal Government are working to ensure the federal fleet is managed in a sustainable manner that achieves best value for Canadians, which includes value for money, operational readiness, environmental protection and increased collaboration with Indigenous communities. To achieve this, a suite of government-wide procurement instruments have been established that support all stages of vessel disposal, including technical assessments, dismantling, and recycling (if/when required). Currently, supply arrangements for marine technical services and small vessel disposal are in place. A new Request for Supply Arrangements (RFSA) for medium and large Vessel Disposals was posted in June 2023. By leveraging these procurement instruments, the Federal Government is ensuring a consistent approach to disposal services.

To move toward a more predictable approach to vessel disposal planning and engagement, the Government of Canada has begun incorporating planned Fleet disposal contracts as part of regular Federal Marine Procurement updates at various Marine conferences and events across Canada. In addition, since April 2023, industry engagement sessions and workshops have been conducted to ensure suppliers, communities and organizations understand Canada’s planned program of work and standards for vessel disposals. The material presented at these events will also be made available on CanadaBuys.

Marine operators across the federal government are working to ensure the federal fleet is managed in a sustainable manner that achieves best value for Canadians, which includes value for money, operational readiness, environmental protection and increased collaboration with Indigenous communities. To achieve this, a suite of government-wide procurement instruments have been established to support all stages of vessel disposal, including technical assessments, dismantling and recycling (if/when required). Currently, supply arrangements for marine technical services and small vessel disposal are in place. A new Request for Supply Arrangements for medium and large vessel disposals was posted in June 2023. By leveraging these procurement instruments, the federal government is ensuring a consistent approach to disposal services.

To move toward a more predictable approach to vessel disposal planning and engagement, the Government of Canada has begun incorporating federal vessel disposal forecasts as part of regular Federal Marine Procurement updates at various Marine conferences and events across Canada. In addition, industry engagement sessions and workshops are being conducted to ensure suppliers, communities and organizations understand Canada’s planned program of work and standards for disposals. The information presented at these events is publicly available on CanadaBuys.

Part 1: The Government of Canada is committed to protecting the health and safety of Canadians and the environment from the potential risks of marine pollution. This includes working to improve water quality and Canada’s marine environments from coast to coast to coast.

There are certain existing federal rules that may apply to ship recycling activities. Under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 or the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, the federal government has powers to address any pollution discharge, or mitigate the risk of pollution discharge, from any vessel still in the water. In addition, the pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act (subsection 36(3)) prohibit the deposit of any deleterious substance in waters frequented by fish or to any place where it may enter water frequented by fish, unless authorized by federal regulations. Further, any in-water portion of ship recycling activity may require approval under the Canada Navigable Waters Act if it occurs in navigable waters.

The European Union implemented its ship recycling regulations (the EU Ship Recycling Regulation) in 2020. These regulations largely replicate the standards and provisions set out in the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (Hong Kong Convention) which Canada endorsed in 2009, but has not ratified.

Canada supports the intent of the Hong Kong Convention as it is designed to set a level playing field to improve conditions in ship recycling facilities while diminishing the impact of ship recycling operations on human health, safety, and the environment – particularly in countries that have robust ship recycling operations but lack conditions and systems to keep workers safe and minimize environmental impacts.

In 2021 and 2022, Canada engaged four key provinces that currently have, or are considering having, recycling operations for larger ships (British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia). This was done because many of the provisions of the Hong Kong Convention fall under provincial jurisdiction – notably around waste management, land-use zoning, and occupational health and safety. Each of these provinces confirmed their existing legislative authorities already adequately embody the intent and objectives of the Convention. Each of these provinces also indicated their willingness to work with the federal government to advance environmentally sustainable ship recycling in Canada.

The Government of Canada is currently analyzing if there are opportunities to strengthen federal legislation with respect to the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships. This includes examining requirements that are specific to vessels under the EU Ship Recycling Regulation and the Hong Kong Convention.

Part 2: Provinces and territories are responsible for the protection of workers and occupational health and safety at ship recycling facilities, as well as regulating the handling, storage, transportation, and disposal of waste produced when a ship is recycled. This essentially makes most activities related to ship recycling facilities subject to provincial/territories jurisdiction.

For this reason, no federal assistance program has been considered at this time.

However, amendments to the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act were recently concluded with the passage of Bill C-47, the Budget Implementation Act, that enables the Government of Canada to establish a vessel-owner financed Vessel Remediation Fund. This Fund, once fully operational by 2025-26, will provide a stable source of resources to be used to address and remove priority abandoned or wrecked vessels posing hazards in Canadian waters, except for the largest and most complex cases. This Fund will also support research and capacity building into environmentally sustainable vessel recycling and disposal.