Modernizing Canada’s Fisheries Act. On November 26, 2018, Trout Unlimited Canada (TUC) submitted a letter to the Canadian Senate expressing TUC’s support for amendments to the Fisheries Act, also known as Bill C-68. Bill C-68 passed its third reading in the House of Commons on June 19, 2018, and is now in the hands of the Senate where it will be studied and voted on in the coming months.
TUC shares the enthusiasm of other environmental and conservation organizations regarding the general improvements to the Fisheries Act.
Some of the top improvements to the Act include:
Reinstating the long-standing prohibition against the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat
Protecting all fish species
Expanding the protection of fish habitat to include water quality and quantity
Requiring actions to rebuild fish stocks that have declined significantly.
Despite these proposed improvements to the Fisheries Act, there is still an opportunity to strengthen Bill C-68. For example, TUC encouraged Senators on the Standing Senate Committee on Fisheries and Oceans to give serious consideration to amending Bill C-68 requiring compensation for all projects that cause harm to fish habitat and enabling third-party habitat banking and offset fees as mechanisms that could be used to improve outcomes for fish habitat and offer flexibility in the permitting and authorization process.
Our letter also highlighted that through the protection and restoration of aquatic habitats, we as Canadians are also investing in the well-being of our communities. For example, fish species such as the Brook Trout, where they still inhabit their native range, in Ontario or Bull Trout in Alberta, are indicators of good environmental health because of their sensitivity to their surroundings. If these animals continue to survive and thrive in their native habitat, this demonstrates healthy water quality, stable river channel structure, and stable groundwater supplies.
By taking these recommendations into consideration, the Federal Government could become part of an international movement to rebuild healthy aquatic resources and corridors in urban and rural areas and restore the health of the ‘veins of the land’ for its citizens and for the wildlife and fish communities that are part of the natural heritage of Canada.
You can find the Third Reading of Bill C-68 here.
For more on the reaction of other environmental and conservation organizations that have been working together on the renewal of this important legislation, please visit the Fisheries Act webpage.
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