As I mentioned, this no net loss policy was developed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in 1986, in parallel with some changes to the Fisheries Act that protected fish habitat. In the most recent omnibus budget bill, those changes have largely been undone. However, the changes to the Fisheries Act that have diminished protection for fish habitat have not yet been declared in force. I would suggest to the committee that if we're interested in the no net loss principle, then let's not declare those changes in force. It's a matter of government prerogative to do that. I'm familiar with one law, the Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act in the 1980s, which was never declared in force. It was ultimately repealed when the government brought forward some very important strengthening of fuel efficiency regulations a few years ago—this is the current government.
No net loss is an important principle that can be applied as much to wildlife habitat conservation as fish habitat conservation. It hasn't worked perfectly for DFO. The Auditor General has made some critical remarks about whether the DFO has achieved the goal of no net loss in conserving fish habitat production. But, nonetheless, I think it's a useful principle that could be applied to wildlife as well.