Fisheries committee  Yes. The federal government typically only gets involved if there is unavoidable harm to fish and fish habitat.

Fisheries committee  The Fisheries Act does not permit the exchange of money for habitat loss. The only opportunity is the habitat banking scheme that MP Sopuck referred to. Essentially a proponent can create habitat and pay for it. There is no exchange of money with the federal government. In some j

Fisheries committee  Sure. The main point of clarification is that in the 2012 changes there was a focus on commercial, recreational, and aboriginal fisheries, so the Fisheries Act is being amended to capture all fish that may contribute to a fishery. The way in which species are used by humans chang

Fisheries committee  In answer to your question, yes, it's a very flexible scheme. The idea, as set in the statute, is to enable proponents to identify early opportunities to restore habitats and create a habitat bank. Those banks are maintained, and the credit ledger is maintained in such a way that

Fisheries committee  I concur. I think we agree in terms of the design. The statute simply provides the framework, but in terms of the policy direction we are very much open for input.

Fisheries committee  The factors to consider, which previously were section 6, have been amended to include a broader set of objectives. One of them is fisheries management objectives. If the provincial and federal governments and other fishery managers agree that the objective for the area would be

Fisheries committee  DFO has collaborative arrangements with the provinces. They vary from province to province with respect to who goes first. In the eastern provinces in particular, for any watercourse alteration permit, the province leads, and we have established advice that the province uses that

Fisheries committee  The public registry will list all projects that require authorizations. It will also list the standards that have been codified and provided publicly. The proposed section on the public registry actually lists all the kinds of documents that will be gathered and made publicly ava

Fisheries committee  The purpose statement does provide for the first time the opportunity to focus the act. As the minister said, we're open to any comments that you may have on that point. Right now, it's pretty focused on giving meaning to the legislation, so we're open to your input on that.

Fisheries committee  Proposed section 35 requires that all of the factors laid out in section 34 are met, and those factors include whether restoration of fish habitat has been duly considered prior to issuing an authorization. The sections related to fish passage and flow have been revised to real

Fisheries committee  Climate change is not specifically referenced in the act. Cumulative effects are, but we do take into account ecosystem conditions and we will need to document that.

Fisheries committee  One of the biggest issues that's come up in both Bill C-68 and Bill C-69 is addressing cumulative effects. All the federal departments are investing time and effort to think through more holistically how each of the pieces of legislation can be gathering information that supports