Assessment of the Cumulative Effects of Marine Shipping (CEMS) in the southwest Great Lakes region

This requirement is for Transport Canada T8080-240290 - Assessment of the Cumulative Effects of Marine Shipping (CEMS) in the southwest Great Lakes region.

1.Description of the Requirement: TC develops and administers policies and regulations to advance the safety and security of Canada’s marine transportation system. TC promotes an efficient and sustainable transportation system that protects the marine environment and contributes to economic development. Through the Oceans Protection Plan (OPP), the Government of Canada is committed to preserving and restoring coastal marine ecosystems that are vulnerable to increased marine shipping, while reducing the impact of day-to-day vessel traffic. Many concerns have been expressed about the impacts of marine transportation related activities on coastal and aquatic ecosystems, including the Great Lakes, and on coastal and Indigenous communities and ways of life. The CEMS initiative was proposed in response to heightened concerns expressed through project specific impact assessment regarding increases in marine shipping activities on all three coasts and in the Great Lakes, potentially putting marine and aquatic ecosystems and traditional ways of life at risk.

Through the OPP, TC is assessing the cumulative effects of marine shipping activities in the southwest Ontario Great Lakes region (St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, and Detroit River) in partnership with First Nations communities in the area. TC and southwest Ontario First Nation participants are undertaking the assessment collaboratively, guided by a co-developed Workplan. The work plan will be shared with the Contractor at the time of contract award. Stakeholders are being kept informed of the progress and will participate at various stages of the assessment as it progresses. Data and knowledge amalgamation will be guided by the principles of ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP) of First Nations data (The First Nations Principles of OCAP® - The First Nations Information Governance Centre (fnigc.ca)) throughout.

The scope of the regional cumulative effects assessment has been developed to date by TC and participating First Nations. It has also been shared with stakeholders and is close to final. The contractor will participate in discussions to finalize the scope of assessment prior to initiating the assessment process. TC, First Nations, and stakeholders will be part of the discussions to finalize the scope of assessment. This list of vessel activities of concern, stressors and current valued components can be found in Appendix D. It is important to note that the scope is subject to change, and that the information presented is not listed in any particular order of importance, nor have any of the elements in the proposed scope been prioritized. Summaries of complementary discussions (i.e. workshop reports) will be provided to the Contractor at the time of contract award. This study will promote a shift toward a more proactive, holistic, and integrated approach to assessing the effects from marine shipping activities on Great Lakes ecosystem components and Indigenous ways of life.

The results of the assessment will be used by the TC, First Nations, and stakeholders to develop a list of feasible recommendations, such as mitigation and management tools and strategies, that could be applied to current vessel movements and future project developments to decrease the possible effects of marine vessel activities on the human and natural environment. The outcomes of the work highlighted in this statement of work will also inform an update of TC’s National Framework for Assessing the Cumulative Effects of Marine Shipping (see section 5, Reference Documents).

The contract will be carried out collaboratively, as required, to ensure direction, input and guidance from TC and First Nations, and input and collaboration with stakeholders including scientists, non-government organizations (NGO’s), industry, and government regulators as needed. While collection of new biophysical data (i.e. natural environment data) is not part of this work, the Contractor may be required to work with participating First Nations to collect community knowledge, through meetings and/or interviews, including community visits. This work is laid out in the options presented in Section 6.2.1 and will be undertaken with the express permission of, and in partnership with, each participating community. Optional work will be undertaken at the authority of the Project Authority and approval by the contracting authority.

2. Period of the Contract: The project is from contract award to 31 December 2028 with 7 option services embedded in that time period. 3. Applicable Free Trade Agreements: Canada Free Trade Agreement(CFTA), Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement, Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, Canada-Panama Free Trade Agreement, Canada-Peru Free Trade Agreement, Canada-Ukraine Free Trade Agreement, Canada-United Kingdom Trade Continuity Agreement, World Trade Organization-Agreement on Government Procurement (WTO-GPA)

4. Good and Services Identification Number (GSIN) Commodity code: 77101603, GSIN F059

5. Security Requirement

There are no security requirements

6. Contracting Authority

Louise Curtis Procurement Specialist Transport Canada 275 Sparks Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0N5 Tel: 343-571-8834 E-mail: louise.curtis@tc.gc.ca