Fisheries Act changes would restore habitat protection

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.

On Tuesday, the federal government tabled a number of amendments to the Fisheries Act in the House of Commons, 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 longterm fishing restrictions and to quickly enforce short-term pauses in fishing activity. The Liberals have promised $284 million over five years to enforce the new rules.

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. Currently, between 80 and 400 reviews are conducted each year.