Fisheries Act changes welcomed by scientists
Restores some protections removed in 2012
Scientists and environmentalists are hailing the first of a series of long-awaited overhauls to Canada’s environmental legislation as a step in the right direction, while industry groups are taking a more cautious tone.
On Tuesday, the federal government tabled a number of amendments to the Fisheries Act in the House, intended to roll back changes made by the former Conservative government.
In 2012, the Harper government scaled back protections to only fish that were part of commercial, recreational or Indigenous fisheries, and lifted a prohibition against the “harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat." Those protections have now been restored.
But the Liberal legislation goes beyond what was in place before 2012, with a new requirement for an online registry with information about project decisions, and more emphasis on rebuilding depleted fish stocks and restoring habitat.
It would also give the government the power to establish long-term fishing restrictions and to quickly enforce short-term pauses in fishing activity to respond to unforeseen threats. The Liberals have promised $284 million over five years to enforce the new rules.
“We promised to not just return to the previous version of the Fisheries Act, but to make the law even better and more effective than before,” Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters in Vancouver on Tuesday.
Brett Favaro, a research scientist at Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Marine Institute, said the new legislation has “been a long time coming,” adding that the public registry could be a big win for transparency. “I would say it’s an encouraging step.”
The changes will have an impact on the approval process for some projects. Senior officials with Fisheries and Oceans said they expect the number of development projects referred to the department for review will go up under the legislation, but couldn’t say by how many.
In a statement on Tuesday, Conservative Fisheries critic Todd Doherty and deputy critic Mel Arnold said the Harper-era changes “improved fisheries conservation, prioritized fish productivity, protected significant fisheries, and streamlined an overly bureaucratic process.
“We are very concerned that the changes announced today will have a chilling effect on much-needed development projects, especially in rural areas,” they said.