Federal ship-recycling standards
Petitioners ask the Government to support Bill M-68 by establishing enforceable federal ship‑recycling standards aligned with the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, providing loans or grants for compliance, and creating a federal Crown‑vessel recycling strategy. The government responds it is reviewing options; no specific federal requirement or assistance program exists yet, and PSPC is developing a federal recycling strategy.
Why we would sign this petition
- Creates binding federal rules to reduce worker and environmental risks from shipbreaking and aligns Canada with the EU standard, giving clearer national requirements.
- Provides loans or grants so experienced shipbreakers can fund upgrades and comply with new standards, easing implementation costs.
- Establishes a federal recycling strategy for Crown vessels, improving oversight, disposal planning and helping meet international obligations such as the Basel Convention.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- May duplicate or overlap provincial and territorial responsibilities for worker safety and waste management, creating jurisdictional complexity.
- Loan or grant programs could be costly, risk favoring established operators, and lack specified accountability or eligibility details.
- A national standard modelled on the EU rule may not suit Canada’s varied coastal conditions; targeted federal–provincial coordination or phased measures could be more practical.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
PETITION TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED We, the undersigned residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons in Parliament Assembled to the following: Whereas There are significant risks to workers and the environment associated with shipbreaking due to the presence of a wide variety of hazardous materials in end-of-life marine vessels, Unlike other jurisdictions, Canada lacks standards on shipbreaking and unregulated shipbreaking activities which are putting our oceans, coastal communities and workers at risk, The lack of domestic oversight of shipbreaking and disposal of end-of-life marine vessels frustrates Canada's ability to ensure compliance with its international obligations under the Basel Convention; Therefore, We, the undersigned, Citizens and Resident of Canada call upon the Government of Canada to support Bill M-68 and: 1. Develop enforceable federal standards to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of shipbreaking that meet or exceed those set out in the EU Ship Recycling Regulation. 2. Provide assistance through loans or grants to long-term, reputable shipbreaking companies to facilitate implementation of new federal standards into their operations. 3. Develop a strategy for recycling end-of-life federally owned marine vessels.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Transport and Internal Trade Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Mike Kelloway The marine transportation industry is vital to the Canadian economy, which includes the safe and environmentally sound way of recycling ships at the end of their life. In Canada, the responsibility for regulating waste management is shared among federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments. Provinces and territories, for their part, are responsible for the protection of workers and occupational health and safety at ship recycling facilities. They also regulate the handling, storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous waste produced when recycling a ship, regulate and authorize waste management operations such as landfills and recycling activities, and have the authority to regulate property and civil rights. There are certain existing Transport Canada rules that may apply to ship recycling activities. Under the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 or the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act, the department has powers to address pollution discharge, or mitigate the risk of pollution discharge, from a vessel that is still in the water. Further, under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act (CNWA), Transport Canada regulates an owner that proposes to construct, place, alter, rebuild, remove, or decommission works that are in, on, over, under, through?or across any navigable water. However, under the CNWA, Transport Canada’s mandate focuses on the interference of the work on navigation rather than the ship recycling operation.? Transport Canada is currently analyzing if there are opportunities to strengthen the federal approach with respect to the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships. This includes examining requirements that are specific to vessels under the European Union Ship Recycling Regulation and the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. There is currently no federal requirement specific to ship recycling. For this reason, no federal assistance program has been considered at this time. Response by the Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable Jenna Sudds The government continues to work towards ensuring the federal marine fleet is managed in a sustainable manner that achieves best value for Canadians, which includes operational readiness, environmental protection, value for money, and increased collaboration with Indigenous communities. A suite of government-wide procurement instruments have been established and continue to be developed to support vessel disposal and recycling, which includes technical and environmental assessments. Currently, supply arrangements are in place for marine technical services, which includes various streams of vessel condition surveys, small vessel (< 65 feet) disposal, and medium/large vessel recycling. Suppliers are qualified on an ongoing basis. Industry engagement sessions and workshops are being planned for fiscal year 2025-2026 and onwards to ensure suppliers, impacted communities and marine organizations understand Canada’s planned program of work. The material presented at these events will also be made available on CanadaBuys. Finally, Public Services and Procurement Canada is leading an interdepartmental initiative to establish a formalized strategy for recycling end-of-life federally-owned marine vessels. This strategy will include: an overview of the forecasted volume of federal fleet to be recycled, applicable regulatory and policy framework, the impact of applicable trade agreements, mapping of vessel recycling permit requirements across Canada, an analysis of various methods of disposal, current national vessel recycling capacity, and process maps for relevant partner departments.