Ministerial Statement – Minister Highlights Activities to Strengthen Offshore Protection

  • Natural Resources

December 5, 2019

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Siobhan Coady, Minister of Natural Resources.


Mr. Speaker, protecting our offshore environment and the safety of our offshore workers are fundamental principles. That is why I recently hosted a meeting with representatives from our department, the C-NLOPB and Natural Resources Canada to discuss further opportunities to strengthen the protection of the offshore environment.

During our meeting we discussed compliance and enforcement, looking at best practices from other areas, and penalties and order-making power. I also held a separate meeting with operators that focused on improving safety performance and environmental protection of the province’s offshore. We discussed things such as enabling proactive measures when modernizing our regulatory framework, and improving the collaboration and communication in our offshore.

As a result of these meetings, just this week the C-NLOPB hosted their first annual Spill Prevention and Response Forum here in St. John’s. The forum featured over one hundred participants from regulatory agencies, government departments, oil and gas industry companies, along with fishing industry representatives. The forum was an opportunity for participants to take a collective review of the lessons learned from the spills that have occurred in our offshore and take the necessary measures for prevention. I understand it was a very productive and valuable session.

As we move forward, we will continue this vital dialogue and collaborative approach to improve, strengthen, and support offshore regulation and ensure the protection of our offshore environment and the safety of our offshore workers.

Thank you.

2019 12 05 1:50 pm