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Recommendations:

1. The Committee recommends that, given their economic, heritage, cultural and historical value, the Government of Canada adopt as a general national policy goal the preservation of a reasonable proportion of Canada's lighthouses for future generations of Canadians.
2. The Committee recommends that all lighthouses passed on to community groups be maintained in a good state of repair and in a condition that will allow economical ongoing maintenance. All environmental issues should be addressed prior to the transfer of any such lighthouses.
3. The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada provide the Heritage Canada Foundation (HCF) with seed funding to help launch a comprehensive campaign dedicated to raising funds for the restoration and preservation of Canada's remaining historic lighthouses.
4. The Committee recommends the establishment of an independent Lighthouse Advisory Panel comprising representatives of key lighthouse organizations, Parks Canada, and knowledgeable people from the provinces where there are lighthouses:
   1. to identify, consistent with the objectives of the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act (HLPA), from among the federally owned lighthouses, a "heritage pool" of lights that will most likely generate interest for restoration and preservation; and
   2. to prioritize and evaluate the lighthouses in the heritage pool in order to determine, from among the qualified recipients, those groups who should receive funding from the monies generated by the HCF fundraising campaign.
5. The Committee recommends that, for lighthouses for which no petitions have been submitted before the 29 May 2012 deadline, but which have been identified for the "heritage pool" and for which there is reasonable potential for interest from communities, groups, or other interested parties, DFO remove such lights from its surplus list.
6. The Committee recommends that all surplus lightstations that leave the federal inventory, either through the HLPA process or through the process governing the disposal of surplus real property, be afforded protection by a heritage easement or covenant in the sale agreement.
7. The Committee recommends that DFO carefully assess the security implications of transferring surplus lightstations. Any lightstation that fails to meet public safety concerns set out in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Guide to the Management of Real Property should be immediately removed from the Department's list of surplus lighthouses.
8. The Committee recommends that DFO and Parks Canada make available on their respective websites a list of all "non-surplus" lighthouses, including DFO's 51 staffed lightstations, given that the public may petition such lights for heritage designation under the HLPA.
9. The Committee recommends that Parks Canada and DFO work together in the creation of a document that sets out and identifies for the public:
   1. innovative ideas regarding the re-use of lighthouses, including references to successful examples in Canada and elsewhere, and any information that already exists on the subject;
   2. financial support that may be available to community lighthouse groups at the federal and provincial level; and
   3. key contacts.
10. The Committee recommends that Parks Canada and DFO work together in the creation of a guidebook on the care and maintenance of lighthouse buildings and equipment, and on archiving and the preservation of historical artifacts, to assist prospective new owners before they acquire a lighthouse.

Report:
Seventh Report of the Standing Senate Committee of Fisheries and Oceans: Report on the Implementation of the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act (March 2011)

Government Response:
No Government Response has been requested

Recommendations:

1. The Committee recommends that the Canadian Coast Guard halt its current destaffing plan, and that destaffing, continued staffing, or restaffing be determined on a lightstation-by-lightstation basis through appropriate guidelines and thorough consultations. Until this is completed, current lightkeeper staff levels should be maintained in the Pacific Region and in the Newfoundland and Labrador Region.
2. The Committee recommends that a long-term policy for lightstations be developed that will obviate cyclical reviews and that ensures continuation of a suitable level of staffing.
3. The Committee recommends that the guidelines and consultations (as called for in Recommendation 1) take account of:
   1. all the purposes served or potentially served by lightkeepers in a practical and cost-effective manner;
   2. all the agencies and/or stakeholders involved with lightstations, including possible cost-sharing agreements; and
   3. the views of lightkeepers, user groups, coastal communities and other interested parties, both in the local areas and elsewhere as appropriate.
4. The Committee recommends that a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis be undertaken on the full range of services provided by staffed lightstations prior to any further discussion or evaluation of Canada's lightstations.
5. The Committee recommends that a review be conducted to determine the most cost-effective means of maintaining and servicing staffed lightstations, including potential energy savings which can be made available through new approaches to generating power for the needs of personnel on such stations.

Report:
Sixth Report of the Standing Senate Committee of Fisheries and Oceans: Seeing the Light: Report on Staffed Lighthouses in Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia (December 2010)

Government Response:
No Government Response has been requested

Recommendations:

1. The Commercial Char Fishery
   The Committee recommends that an intergovernmental DFO–Nunavut working group be established to develop a strategy for the development of Nunavut's Arctic char fisheries, including the fishery on Victoria Island, for the social and economic benefits that increased fishing activity could generate, but also to reinforce Canada's presence and sovereignty in the region.
2. The Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation
   The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada provide the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation with adequate ways and means to upgrade equipment and modernize its fish processing operations to ensure the future of the commercial freshwater sector in western Canada.
3. The Great Slave Lake Commercial Fishery
   The Committee recommends that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, in concert with fishery stakeholders, including the NWT Fishermen's Federation, the Great Slave Lake Advisory Committee and the Government of the Northwest Territories, formulate and fund a comprehensive strategy to revitalize the commercial fishery on Great Slave Lake. The plan should facilitate the entry of young Aboriginal fishers who may be attracted to the industry as a way of preserving a traditional way of life.
4. Research
   The Committee recommends that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans substantially increase its research funding in the western Arctic. The Department should commit to funding a multi-year, multi-species ecosystem research program in the region. A major objective of the Department should be the collection of baseline data.
5. Research
   The Committee recommends that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans undertake research in the Beaufort Sea to determine what species of fish have the potential for commercial development.
6. Research
   The Committee recommends, as a general principle, that Aboriginal traditional ecological knowledge – as an indispensable complement to scientific knowledge – always be given full and early consideration in decision-making processes, including assessments made by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
7. Monitoring in the Mackenzie Valley Watershed
   The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada make available sufficient, long-term, stable funding to implement the Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program, as recommended by the Mackenzie Gas Project Joint Review Panel. 8. The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada ensure that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' fish habitat program in the western Arctic is adequately funded.
8. Monitoring in the Mackenzie Valley Watershed
   The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada ensure that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' fish habitat program in the western Arctic is adequately funded.
9. Development in Marine Areas
   The Committee recommends that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, in concert with the Inuvialuit, develop an agreement giving the Inuvialuit a key role in deciding any future commercial fishing activity in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, including the allocation of commercial fish quotas.
10. Development in Marine Areas
    The Committee recommends that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans expedite its approval of the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area. The Department should also provide the Fisheries Joint Management Committee with sufficient resources to administer the MPA.
11. Development in Marine Areas
    The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada provide the Department of Fisheries and Oceans with the funding it needs to fully implement the Department's integrated planning initiatives in the western Arctic.
12. Canada–US Bilateral Issues
    The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada, in concert with the Inuvialuit, develop a policy regarding future fishing activity in the Beaufort Sea. In this regard, Canada should consider instituting a moratorium on commercial fishing in the Beaufort Sea (similar to the US Arctic Fishery Management Plan) on the Canadian side of the maritime border between Alaska and Yukon, west of the 141st meridian.
13. Canada–US Bilateral Issues
    The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada continue to work through the Yukon River Panel to further reduce the marine by-catch of Yukon River chinook salmon by the US pollock fishery.
14. Canada–US Bilateral Issues
    The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada engage the United States in bilateral discussions on the possibility of developing a complementary Canada–US approach to ecosystem-based management in the Beaufort Sea.

Report:
Fourth Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans: The Management of fisheries and oceans in Canada’s Western Arctic (May 2010)

Government Response:
No Government Response requested

In December 2009, during the 2nd Session of the 40th Parliament, the Committee tabled this report under the title: Seventh Report: Controlling Canada's Arctic Waters: Role of the Canadian Coast Guard. The Senate adopted the report and requested a Government Response, but the request was cancelled following the prorogation of Parliament in January 2010. In order to receive a Government Response, the Committee re-tabled the report in April 2010.

Recommendations:

1. The Committee recommends that all foreign vessels that enter Canada's Arctic waters be required to report to NORDREG, regardless of vessel size or tonnage.
2. The Committee recommends that, as a precautionary measure at least in the interim period before the new naval Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) are built and deployed, the Government of Canada:
   1. arm Canada's Coast Guard icebreakers with deck weaponry capable of giving firm notice, if necessary, to unauthorized foreign vessels for use in the Northwest Passage; and
   2. provide on-board personnel from appropriate government agencies that have the authority to enforce Canadian domestic laws with small arms.
3. The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada proactively engage the United States in bilateral discussions to resolve their dispute over the Northwest Passage.
4. The Committee recommends that a Cabinet committee on Arctic affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister and comprising the Ministers of Indian and Northern Affairs, Fisheries and Oceans, National Defence, Environment Canada, Natural Resources, Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and Transport Canada, be created to further develop national Arctic policy, in cooperation with the three territorial governments, and to ensure that attention to northern issues and Arctic policy is maintained.
5. The Committee recommends that until the CP-140 Auroras are replaced by new patrol aircraft in 2020, the Government of Canada consider expanding maritime air surveillance in Canada's North either by increasing Canadian Forces capability or contracting specially equipped aircraft from the private sector.
6. The Committee recommends that the "Arctic Vision" include the notion of the Coast Guard, along with the Canadian Forces, having a year-round northern operation administered in the North to demonstrate that Canada is serious about protecting Canadian interests and the interests of Canada's northern residents.
7. The Committee recommends that Canada develop a long-term plan and provide the funding necessary for the acquisition of a suitable number of new multi-purpose polar icebreakers capable of operating year-round in its Arctic Archipelago and on the continental shelf.
8. The Committee recommends that the Canadian Coast Guard identify areas in the Arctic at high risk of a major cargo or oil spill, assess current response capabilities, and communicate the results of the assessment to Canada's northern communities. The Government of Canada should provide funding to train northern residents in the use of oil spill containment equipment for oil spills close to shore.
9. The Committee recommends that additional federal funding be provided to the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary for the purchase of tangible assets directly related to the provision of search and rescue services.

Report:
Second Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans: Controlling Canada’s Arctic Waters: Role of the Canadian Coast Guard (April 2010, first published in December 2009)

Government Response:
Government of Canada Response to the Report of the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans:Controlling Canada’s Arctic Waters: Role of the Canadian Coast Guard (October 2010)