OTTAWA,
ON, April 29, 2024 /CNW/ - From the Atlantic
shores of Newfoundland and
Labrador to the Arctic Ocean in
Nunavut to the Pacific coast of
British Columbia, small craft
harbours are at the heart of Canada's coastal communities. They are vital
to fisheries sector, while supporting tourism and safe access to
waterways for everyone.
Today, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of
Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, and Mike Kelloway, Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard,
highlighted Budget 2024's investment in small craft harbours, which
are vital to the economies of fishing communities from coast to
coast to coast.
Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation proposes to provide
$463.3 million over three years,
starting in 2024-25, for the repair and maintenance of small craft
harbours, including those damaged by Hurricane Fiona. This is on
top of the Department's annual budget of $90
million for the Small Craft Harbours program. These
investments will support local economic development for generations
to come, providing safe and functional harbours for Canadians
working in the fisheries, aquaculture, construction, and marine
engineering sectors.
The government of Canada is
currently funding repairs and/or dredging at 42 harbours across the
country to ensure that they are in good working condition to
support our hardworking harvesters. Once Budget 2024 is adopted,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) will work to identify the
priorities of each region and will announce the breakdown of this
investment in due course.
Budget 2024 is a plan to deliver
fairness for every generation.
It is a plan to build a Canada
that works better for everyone, where younger generations can get
ahead, where their hard work pays off, and where they can buy a
home—where everyone has a fair chance at a good middle class
life.
First, the budget takes bold action to build more
homes. Because the best way to make home prices more
affordable is to increase supply—and quickly. It lays out a
strategy to unlock 3.87 million new homes by 2031. Key measures
include launching the new Public Lands for Homes Plan and
Canada Rental Protection Fund, enhancing the Canadian Mortgage
Charter, and creating a new Canadian Renters' Bill of Rights.
Second, it will help make life cost less. The budget
builds on the government's transformative expansion of Canada's social safety net—$10-a-day child
care, dental care for uninsured Canadians, the first phase of
universal pharmacare—and advances the government's work to lower
everyday costs for Canadians. This includes helping to stabilize
the cost of groceries, cracking down on junk fees, and lowering the
costs of banking. Budget 2024 also makes transformative new
investments, including a National School Food Program and the
Canada Disability Benefit.
Third, this year's budget will grow the economy in a way
that's shared by all. The government's plan will increase
investment, enhance productivity, and encourage innovation. It will
create good-paying and meaningful jobs, keep Canada at the economic forefront, and deliver
new support to empower more of our best entrepreneurs and
innovators. This includes attracting more investment in the
net-zero economy by expanding and delivering the major economic
investment tax credits, securing Canada's advantage as a leader in artificial
intelligence, and investing in enhanced research grants that will
provide younger generations with good jobs and new opportunities.
And it means ensuring Indigenous Peoples share in this growth in a
way that works for them.
Budget 2024 will also make Canada's tax system fairer by asking the
wealthiest to pay a bit more—so that the government can invest in
prosperity for every generation, and because it would be
irresponsible and unfair to pass on more debt to the next
generations. Budget 2024 is a responsible economic plan that
upholds the fiscal objectives outlined in the 2023 Fall Economic
Statement, and sees Canada
maintain the lowest deficit- and net debt-to-GDP ratios in the
G7.
Quote
"Small craft harbours are at the epicentre of our vibrant
fishing communities from coast to coast to coast. Canada, the nation with the longest coastline
in the world, must invest in resilient harbour infrastructure
capable of facing the climate challenges of today and tomorrow.
With Budget 2024, we're giving ourselves the means to achieve our
ambitions, by equipping our harvesters with modern harbours where
their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will carry on
our finest maritime traditions."
- The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister
of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard
"Small craft harbours are the heart of our community of Cape
Breton—Canso, in Nova Scotia – and
are real drivers of employment and economic development. This
investment will help with repairs and maintenance to keep our
harbours in good working condition so that our coastal communities
can continue to thrive for years to come."
- Mike
Kelloway, Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast
Guard
Related products
- Backgrounder: Harbour projects for 2024-2025
- Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation
- Budget 2024: Address by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
of Finance
- Budget 2024: Key Measures
SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada