IMPAC5

Canada has joined ranks with nearly a dozen nations calling for a moratorium or pause on deep-sea mining in both domestic and international waters to protect ocean ecosystems.

Canada is promising to establish 10 new Indigenous-led federal marine protected areas as IMPAC5, a global summit on ocean conservation, kicks off Friday in Vancouver.

Federal politicians are expected to make a significant announcement on ocean protection during an international conference in Vancouver on how to take action on promises to protect the marine world made at recent global environment meetings.

International scientists and environmental groups are urging Canada to join the tide of nations calling for a pause on deep-sea mining over worries a potential gold rush could destroy species and ecosystems before they are even discovered.

The upcoming IMPAC5 conference in Vancouver is an opportunity to chart the path to meet world leaders' promise last month to protect 30 per cent of the planet's land and waters by 2030, says federal Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray.