Sydney, NS – Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, was at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Sydney, Nova Scotia, on May 30 to highlight funding from Budget 2024 allocated to the Canadian Coast Guard.
The College equips personnel with the skills they need to serve Canadians on all coasts. This investment, totaling $397 million over five years, will ensure the Canadian Coast Guard has the necessary training capacity, seagoing personnel, support staff and provisions to operate new vessels to be delivered for the fleet of the future.
Under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the Government of Canada has made significant investments in the renewal of the Canadian Coast Guard fleet, bringing a modern, versatile approach to program delivery.
The new funding announced in Budget 2024 is to operate the future Canadian Coast Guard vessels. It includes recruitment and training of seagoing personnel to crew the new ships, and funding to build robust capacity to support vessel operations.
Budget 2024 also provided $130 million over six years to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with $20 million ongoing to address marine fuel cost pressures. This funding will help to address the unpredictability and volatility of marine fuel costs.
To date, three large vessels and 18 small vessels have been delivered to the Canadian Coast Guard under the National Shipbuilding Strategy. This includes three Offshore Fishery Science Vessels, 16 Search and Rescue lifeboats and two Channel Survey and Sounding Vessels.
As of the end of 2023, over $26.5 billion in National Shipbuilding Strategy-related contracts have been awarded to businesses throughout the country. $5.38 billion of this amount is related to contracts for the Canadian Coast Guard.
(Minister Lebouthillier second from left in Facebook CCG photo)
