The industrial-activity prohibition includes the new Laurentian Channel Marine Protected Area off the south coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2017, proposed regulations for the area would have allowed oil-and-gas development in 80 per cent of the channel, which caused a significant outcry from the public.
The new standards will apply only in federally protected areas. Up until now industrial activities have been allowed or restricted on a case-by-case basis.