Quiet Vessel Initiative Program Indigenous Stream – Applicant’s Guide

• Project proposal template
• Budget template
• Legal documentation confirming the organization is a legal entity, such as letters patent or certificates of incorporation
• Conflict of interest questionnaire
• Signed declaration by the applicant organization attesting to the accuracy of the proposal and the commitment to carry out the project

Who is eligible?

• Indigenous governments, tribal councils, other forms of regional government, nationally or regionally representative Indigenous organizations, and Indigenous development corporations.
• Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation, Tsawwassen First Nation, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, Cowichan Tribes, Halalt First Nation, Lake Cowichan First Nation, Lyackson First Nation, Penelakut Tribe, Snaw-naw-as (Nanoose) First Nation, Snuneymuxw (Nanaimo) First Nation, Stz’uminus (Chemainus) First Nation, Esquimalt Nation, Malahat Nation, Pauquachin First Nation, Scianew (Beecher Bay) Indian Band, Semiahmoo First Nation, Songhees (Lekwungen) Nation, Tsartlip First Nation, Tsawout First Nation, Tseycum First Nation, T’Sou-ke First Nation, Ditidaht First Nation, Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h First Nations (Maa-nulth)*, Huu-ay-aht First Nations (Maa-nulth)*, Pacheedaht First Nation, Toquaht Nation (Maa-nulth)*, Uchucklesaht Tribe (Maa-nulth)*, and Ucluelet First Nation (Maa-nulth)*.

Eligible expenses

• Staff salaries and benefits, and professional fees for contracted services
• Indigenous participation costs, including room and facility rentals, honoraria, consultations, training, and equipment
• Administrative expenditures such as general administration, rent, insurance, and office equipment rental, limited to 15% of total eligible expenditures
• Technologies, equipment, software, data, systems, travel, communications, conferences, training, telecommunications, data analysis, data validation, and environmental consultations
• Incentive payments based on incremental pilotage costs from voluntary slowdown, and incremental insurance costs related to testing or installing project technologies

Eligible geographic areas

• Trans Mountain Expansion marine shipping route

• Relevance of the project to the QVI objective, including quiet vessel solutions, underwater noise monitoring, and internal science capacity.
• The applicant's relevant experience and capacity, including experience, expertise, organizational structures, and financial controls.
• Quality of the project plan, including clear goals, realistic deliverables, budget, timelines, risk management, performance measurement, and efficient use of resources.

• Prepare the project proposal using the proposal template and budget template attached to the invitational email.
• Include the required proposal information, signed declarations, and legal documentation confirming that the organization is a legal entity.
• Submit the project proposal by email in MS Word, MS Excel, or PDF format.
• Send project proposals and application inquiries to QuietVesselInitiative-InitiativeDeNaviresSilencieux@tc.gc.ca.

• Transport Canada first assesses proposals for eligibility, then evaluates eligible projects against merit selection criteria.
• Applicants are informed if they are selected for funding, and Transport Canada reserves the right to accept or reject any project proposal.
• A funding agreement signed by both the recipient and Transport Canada is required before funding is released.
• A risk assessment of approved projects is completed before signing the funding agreement and determines reporting frequency, financial documentation with claims, site visit frequency, and audit requirements.
• Recipients must submit progress reports, annual reports for multi-year projects, and a final report; the final report must be received before the final expense claim is paid.