Marine pollution preparedness and response

The Canadian Coast Guard is the lead agency that responds to marine pollution in Canadian waters when the source of pollution is:

ships
unknown sources
oil handling facilities, as a result of loading or unloading oil to or from ships
foreign waters that could affect Canadian waters

Emergency planning and preparedness

To ensure we are always ready for an emergency, we:

maintain plans that outline how to respond to marine spills across Canada and along the maritime border between Canada and the United States
have specialized equipment and dedicated response teams in each region of Canada
participate regularly in exercises and training with partners
maintain constant and open communication with pollution response partners, including:
- port authorities
- local first responders
- Indigenous and coastal communities
- provincial and municipal governments
- United States Coast Guard
- other international partners

Our pollution responders are highly trained to use a wide range of tools and equipment. They clean up spills of all sizes and mitigate potential environmental impacts from hazardous vessels and wrecks.

Response

We receive all reports of marine pollution in Canadian waters 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. To ensure an appropriate response, we:

assess the risk
provide notifications to partners, including Indigenous and coastal communities
work with the polluters and partners
respond or oversee the response to incidents

Figure 1: Map showing the CCG’s ER facilities and equipment described below — **Figure 1: Map showing the Canadian Coast Guard's environmental response facilities and equipment caches located across Canada.**

Polluter responsibilities

Owners of vessels that pollute must:

report marine pollution immediately
implement their pollution emergency plan
use their own resources to clean-up the spill or hire a designated response organization (certified by Transport Canada) to do so on their behalf
pay for the clean-up and damages

If the owner fails to address their hazardous or polluting vessel, the Canadian Coast Guard can issue a direction to compel them to act, which may lead to penalties if the owner does not comply.

The Canadian Coast Guard may conduct the clean-up or hire a private contractor when:

the polluter's response is insufficient or inappropriate; or
the owner of a hazardous or polluting vessel is unknown

Cost of pollution

Canada follows the “polluter pays” principle. This means the polluter is responsible for all the cost of pollution.

If the Canadian Coast Guard has to conduct clean-up, costs may be recovered from the owner or through Ship and Rail Compensation Canada.

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Marine pollution preparedness and response

Emergency planning and preparedness

Response

Polluter responsibilities

Cost of pollution

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