Vancouver, B.C.-  Prime  Minister Justin Trudeau has  announced a $1.5 billion five year  plan to protect  Canada’s  ocean coast lines.

The announcement comes one day after Minister of Transport Marc Garneau visited  Bella Bella,   where  efforts to  control a diesel spill   have been underway  since  a tug ran aground last month.

The plan,   has four main priority areas:

• creating a world-leading marine safety system that improves responsible shipping and protects Canada’s waters, including new preventive and response measures;
• restoring and protecting the marine ecosystems and habitats, using new tools and research, as well as taking measures to address abandoned boats and wrecks;
• strengthening partnerships and launching co-management practices with Indigenous communities, including building local emergency response capacity; and,
• investing in oil spill cleanup research and methods to ensure that decisions taken in emergencies are evidence based.

The funding will start to be  rolled out next year and will include

• Enhanced resources for  the Canadian Coast Guard, including new rescue stations, new towing capacity, and new communications equipment.
• New research into the impacts of increased shipping on marine ecosystems will be funded  and
• funding for new oil spill response methods.

The Federal Government is expected to release its final decision in the Kinder Morgan  pipeline project   by December 19th.

The Wilderness Committee  is rejecting today’s  Ocean’s Protection plan saying it will not  be effective in  dealing with a spill  from a tanker  carrying  diluted bitumen.  “Seven times the number of tar sands tankers in Vancouver’s harbour makes a spill an inevitability,” said Wilderness Committee Climate Campaigner Peter McCartney. “Today’s announcement doesn’t make west coast residents feel any less afraid of Kinder Morgan’s proposed risky pipeline project. ”

A world class  spill response regime  is one of  five conditions Premier Christy  Clark has  set  before her government  will approve either the Kinder Morgan, or Enbridge pipeline projects.   It is not yet known if the  just announced Oceans Protection Plan  will meet  the standards  for  B.C.’s  approval