Fisheries committee  I can't comment on that.

Fisheries committee  The minister must provide the reasons for his decision in terms of issuing or not issuing an authorization.

Fisheries committee  If that indigenous knowledge has been protected, then that knowledge cannot be shared.

Fisheries committee  I can't answer that, because it depends what information has been shared with the proponent. The minister must protect the information provided by indigenous people. The minister may have other reasons for rejecting a project, and he would give his reasons.

Fisheries committee  A key example would be where there are traditional uses of lands and resources by indigenous people. It could be a sacred site. It could be an area used for traditional purposes for fishing, the location of which indigenous people do not wish to disclose.

Fisheries committee  I'm struggling to give any more information than I have already. The minister must provide the reasons for his decision. If there are issues related to traditional knowledge that relate back to the fishery, the minister cannot disclose the specifics of that information, but he

Fisheries committee  That is correct.

Fisheries committee  If that is one of the reasons for the minister's decision, but it could be one of many pieces of information that the minister considers in rendering his decision. That's why it's very difficult to say it's exactly the case that you're presenting.

Fisheries committee  It wouldn't be that the reason cannot be disclosed; it's that the specific information cannot be disclosed.

Fisheries committee  I would just add that for fisheries closures, the minister may do so through a variation order.

Fisheries committee  The public always has the opportunity to request information through access to information. The intent of the public registry with the obligatory elements is to provide as much information as possible. The voluntary or the optional ones are those for which we don't have necessari

Fisheries committee  You are correct that there is no definition in the act. It is a concept used in habitat banking schemes around the world, giving flexibility to define the ecological area within the area of the project. The challenge with “watershed” is it is also open for definition as to what

Fisheries committee  All of these do add clarity to the concept.

Fisheries committee  This all has to be defined in policy for habitat banks. An ecological unit, as you know, is different; for example, the wild salmon policy defines an ecological unit as a conservation unit. That has been defined as an area where a subpopulation uses that area to continue its lif

Fisheries committee  You are correct in your conclusion that all entities that are proposing to do work, undertakings, or activities in a designated ecologically significant area must refer to the department for an authorization. All projects will, then, be referred to the minister for review and au