Canadian Government releases first result of environment measures for cruises

Friday, August 19, 2022

The Canadians have been clear that they expect a healthy environment, with clean waters and clean air—and the Government of Canada is committed to achieving these results.

Earlier this year, the Canadian Government implemented rules and regulations to ensure cruising could resume in Canada but do so safely. In March, the Canadians announced the vaccination mandates, and in April, environmental measures were implemented to combat marine pollution in the highly fragile Canadian waters.

The Canadian government released the first results of those measures this week, showing how the vast majority of cruise ships indeed managed to comply with the new regulations.

Earlier this year, the Canadian Government implemented rules and regulations to ensure cruising could resume in Canada but do so safely. In March, the Canadians announced the vaccination mandates, and in April, environmental measures were implemented to combat marine pollution in the highly fragile Canadian waters.

The Canadian government released the first results of those measures this week, showing how the vast majority of cruise ships indeed managed to comply with the new regulations.

A public health framework was implemented on March 7, 2022, to safely restart cruise ship activity in Canadian waters, requiring passengers and crew to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

On April 4, new environmental measures were introduced to mitigate marine pollution with the return of cruise ships.

The Honourable Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport said that the cruise ships are an important part of our economy and tourism sector, and they must all work together to reduce their impact on the environment, and keep our waters safe and clean for everyone. These new environmental measures are a first step towards making shipping cleaner and protecting our waters from coast to coast.

Under the new environmental measures, ships are prohibited from discharging greywater and sewage, treated or untreated, within three nautical miles (nm) from shore. Vessels are also prohibited from treating greywater together with sewage before it is discharged between 3 and 12 nm from shore to the greatest extent possible.  The ships were also forced to implement sewage treatment between 3 and 12 nm from shore using an approved treatment device. The environmental measures exceed international standards and place Canada amongst the countries with the most stringent requirements for discharging grey water and sewage worldwide.

Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard that protecting the oceans and their ecosystems is a top priority. These important measures, which exceed international standards, demonstrate how the Government of Canada is taking strong action to protect the oceans for the future. This charts a more sustainable course for the tourism industry.

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