Canada has the longest coastline in the world, and 95% of it is unprotected. The government of Canada has promised to protect 10% of its oceans by 2020, however, there are no defined minimum standards for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in our legislation. Every harmful activity – from tanker traffic to oil and gas exploration to bottom trawling to fish farming – is potentially allowed in Canada’s marine protected areas.

Right now we have an opportunity to tell the Canadian government that MPAs need full protection from exploitation to be effective.