Atlantic Canada is at a turning point. The region's history and economic development have historically been inextricably linked to the ocean. Global macro-economic and demographic trends point to the world's oceans figuring much more prominently in meeting the foreseeable food and energy needs of a growing global population and warming planet. Building on its oceans expertise, Atlantic Canada is well-positioned to take advantage of these emerging opportunities and create a globally competitive ocean and marine resources industry and associated innovation ecosystem. But doing so requires the implementation of robust and comprehensive regulatory regimes for the safe and sustainable development of new ocean resources.
We propose new regulatory regimes for ocean resource activities in Atlantic Canada, focusing on the aquaculture and ocean-based renewable energy industries. Though two vastly different ocean activities, both are poised for growth and offer tremendous opportunities for Atlantic Canada. And both are hindered by a common obstacle: the absence of regulatory conditions permitting their safe and sustainable development outside provincial territory. We propose both can best be developed through a comprehensive and responsive regulatory regime based on the joint federal-provincial system that has successfully governed Atlantic Canadian offshore oil and gas activities for the last several decades.
As published by the Canadian Institute of Resources Law (CIRL) | Occasional Paper #61
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