Fisheries committee  It is really hard to estimate how much we're going to be able to move to the EDF because of this legislation. I talked last time in broad figures about the revenues that have come to the Government of Canada based on Fisheries Act penalties, but many of them are not associated wi

Fisheries committee  I believe they don't. I believe it's administered by officials. It's established by statute, so it's subject to the statute. There's a special government purpose account that's established and dealt with by officials. First nations can and do, as I understand it, apply for the fu

Fisheries committee  We can get you the specific criteria. It does speak to linking the funds to the offence, basically, and the penalty. It's a bit broader than what the AFN raised in their testimony. I would point out, though, that in clause 174, with respect to the funds received by the Receiver

Fisheries committee  That would be a decision of Parliament. Our sense is that consultation requirements are consultation requirements. With respect to defining exactly where an aboriginal fishery is, we think there's sufficient definition in there. The relationship with specific first nations and

Fisheries committee  We hope there's sufficient guidance in the legislation that there won't be a difficult time in that regard. Serious harm is defined in section 2 of the Fisheries Act. It's the permanent alteration or destruction of habitat or the death of the fish, so it's pretty clear in terms o

Fisheries committee  I think I did mention that this time it is complex, but the reality is, in terms of pollutants—

Fisheries committee  We'll use a different example, because pollutants, as used in section 36, don't apply to this at all. The same rule under section 36, that you can't put deleterious substances into the water, period, unless the minister authorizes it, is still in effect. So pollutants are separat

Fisheries committee  We do. Some of the science and policy work is going to have to flesh that out. As I said, there is serious harm, permanent alteration, and destruction of habitat. We have a good understanding of what destruction of habitat is. The courts have helped to define it over the years. I

Fisheries committee  I would say that in terms of the input we received—and we provided some of it to the clerk I think yesterday. We provided some documents, which is only some of what we heard. We've gotten all kinds of letters. We've heard over the years from the same people the Cohen commission h

Fisheries committee  We have had discussions with CEAA. I believe they're not exactly the same, though I stand to be corrected on that. They are different pieces of legislation. We are trying to do as much as possible as a streamline—one project, one review. The transition is a one-time thing. We a

Fisheries committee  I'd say two things. One is that it doesn't change with respect to that, but the other thing is that there's now a specific piece that was passed in Bill C-38 that enables us to address aquatic invasive species writ large. It gives us the authority to make regulations to ban the s

Fisheries committee  Nothing has changed in that regard. The only thing I would point to, which may enable what you're talking about a little more than what we have, is that the whole purpose is to manage fisheries. The focus is on the ongoing productivity of commercial, recreational, and aboriginal

Fisheries committee  Some of the science work, present and past, speaks to ongoing productivity. Ongoing productivity is not a specific number that you stick at. It goes up; it goes down. It's a matter of whether it's recoverable and supportable, etc. Certainly it is a broader term than a strict defi

Fisheries committee  I can speak to the science issue. I'll ask my colleague, Mr. Balfour, to speak to the habitat staff issue. There have been significant investments in science. You're right about the reductions our department has taken, like all other departments. In terms of our science, cuts ar

Fisheries committee  As I said, we would use information from all of them, including those.