The Natural Resources Canada government agency said on April 20 that the Honourable Jim Carr, Canada's minister of natural resources, and his provincial counterpart the Honourable Michel Samson, minister of energy for Nova Scotia, enacted a statutory moratorium on oil and gas activities in the Canadian portion of Georges Bank. The moratorium took effect April 15.

Georges Bank, a large submarine bank at the edge of the Atlantic Continental Shelf between Cape Cod, Mass., and Nova Scotia, is a fish, mammal and coral habitat. As one of the world's most productive fishing grounds, Georges Bank also supports important commercial fisheries.

The Georges Bank Protection Act, which received all-party support in the House of Commons, entered into force on February 27 and provides the ministers with new authorities to prohibit oil and gas activities in the area.

Minister Carr and Minister Samson signed a joint ministerial notice establishing a moratorium on offshore oil and gas activities in Georges Bank until 2022. The Act also provides for the possibility of further extensions through subsequent ministerial notices.