Thank you for the question.
The changes to the fisheries protection and pollution prevention provisions in the Fisheries Act and the subsequent section 36 designation order, which was made public last spring, we believe will focus and clarify federal efforts in managing threats to fish and fish habitat. Implementation of the designation order will be governed under an interdepartmental MOU with the Department of the Environment.
I think on balance, the MOU will ensure clear roles and responsibilities for each party and support even greater collaboration among departments. This work had been under way for quite a while. You might remember that the delegation of section 36 to the Minister of the Environment took place in the mid-seventies by way of a letter from the prime minister of the day to the two ministers.
The designation order is simply to provide certainty and clarity to industry that from this point forward, the Minister of the Environment is now fully responsible for the administration of section 36, the deposits of deleterious substances, with the exception of the way section 36 is applied with regard to aquaculture and aquatic invasive species and aquatic pests.
So whereas before, the Minister of the Environment undertook section 36, it was always the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans who remained accountable to the House. This designation order formalizes an arrangement that's been in place since the mid-seventies.