Thank you, Minister.
We notice here the proposed change to section 35. I suspect that most Canadians are not aware of many aspects of the Fisheries Act, but many will have heard of section 35. It is sometimes called the “prohibition section” or the “have section”. It says:
No person shall carry on any work or undertaking that results in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat.
In the proposed change, is there a similar prohibition? It says:
No person shall carry on any work, undertaking or activity that results in serious harm to fish that are part of a commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fishery, or to fish that support such a fishery.
Is that the equivalent prohibition? How do you see that as an improvement on the current section 35?