The Green Party of Canada is calling for an immediate explanation from the federal government following confidential reports that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is dismantling its national Integrated Marine Response Plan (IMRP) program.
The Green Party has learned that this specialized program, which serves as the core of DFO’s operational oil spill response capacity, is being eliminated. Layoffs announced this week will leave the department functionally absent from the front lines of marine pollution incidents, with only a handful of science staff potentially remaining to fulfill a mandate that once spanned national readiness and active spill coordination.
“When an oil spill occurs, there is a narrow window to prevent an environmental catastrophe,” said Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. “The government claims to be building a world class marine safety system, but with the elimination of the experts and programs responsible for on-the-water readiness, coastal communities and ecosystems are left completely vulnerable.”
While large scale disasters often capture public attention, the IMRP is essential for managing the frequent, smaller spills that occur regularly in Canadian waters. These incidents can have a devastating cumulative impact on sensitive habitats and species at risk, including migratory birds and marine mammals. DFO’s operational contribution has historically provided the scientific and technical expertise necessary to protect whales and other marine life during environmental emergencies, a function that the Green Party warns will effectively disappear under the current plan. Similarly, key Indigenous marine guardian programmes are also being scrapped.
The reported elimination of this program comes at a precarious moment for coastal safety. On November 27, 2025, the federal government and the Province of Alberta signed a memorandum of understanding intended to facilitate a massive new diluted bitumen pipeline to the British Columbia coast. The agreement targets an export capacity of at least one million barrels per day and outlines potential exemptions to existing environmental protections, including the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, to fast track the project.
“It is a staggering contradiction,” May said. “The public is being told that more oil infrastructure is safe because our response systems are robust, but behind the scenes, that operational capacity is being stripped away. This is not just a policy shift; it is a fundamental retreat from federal responsibility for marine safety.”
The Green Party is demanding that the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Minister of Transport provide a full, public accounting of the changes to marine spill response operations. Canadians deserve to know exactly how the government intends to meet its legal obligations to protect marine life without this specialized operational expertise.
“The bottom line is that the so-called marine response plan was always more about public relations than ocean protection. Diluted bitumen cannot be cleaned in a turbulent Pacific coastal marine environment. That is why no additional dilbit tanker traffic should be allowed on our coast,” added Ms. May.
— 30 —
For media inquiries or to arrange an interview: media@greenparty.ca