Mr. Speaker, I rise to say that I am confident in the regulatory management of the aquaculture industry in all of Canada, but most particularly in British Columbia. Measures are in place through regulations and conditions of licence to apply evidence-based thresholds and standards to manage environmental impacts. Moreover, the industry is required to report to Fisheries and Oceans Canada on all of its activities.
The effect of all these regulations and reporting requirements makes finfish aquaculture in British Columbia the most heavily regulated and transparent aquaculture sector in Canada. As a result, we are able to know a great deal about how finfish aquaculture is managed and practised in British Columbia, including its outcomes according to reporting, audit, and surveillance activities and other management measures.
What does all the data, which has now been collected over the last five years, tell us? Are there indications of any significant problems with finfish aquaculture in British Columbia? In fact, the evidence shows an industry that has steadily reduced its environmental impact, mitigated the impacts it has had, and minimized its interactions with wild populations and their habitat.
We are a country and a government that rely on the best scientific advice to inform our regulatory regimes. We use evidence as a basis for making decisions and we see no evidence that the environment is being sacrificed to further the economic development of the aquaculture industry in British Columbia. Canada's aquaculture industry, as a whole, has an exemplary record. The compliance rate of aquaculture operations with the Fisheries Act regulations was over 99% each year.
Based on this evidence, Fisheries and Oceans Canada agreed to enable multi-year licensing for aquaculture operators in British Columbia. Multi-year licensing is the standard in other countries and employing it in British Columbia gives our industry more of a level playing field with its competitors. This initiative was undertaken in full consultation with the aquaculture industry and other stakeholders, as well as indigenous peoples.
The point to emphasize is that the government maintains the ability to change licensing conditions at any time for the conservation and protection of fish, regardless of the licence duration. This change reduces the administrative burden on both industry and on Fisheries and Oceans Canada, but it does not affect our ability to manage the industry.
Based on all the evidence, we believe that the regulatory regime is sufficiently robust and strong to be able to ensure well-paying and stable jobs for thousands of people living in rural, remote, and coastal communities, support an innovative and world-leading aquaculture industry, and protect wild populations and the aquatic environment.
Therefore, I stand here in the House in full support of British Columbia's aquaculture industry as well as the aquaculture industry across the country, in support of our robust regulatory regime, in support of good jobs, and in support of healthy and nutritious farmed seafood products that feed Canadians as well as people around the world.
