Considerations for a new Act

The table below outlines key elements and authorities that Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is proposing as part of the proposed Aquaculture Act. Many of these elements would be replicated from relevant sections of the Fisheries Act and adapted for an aquaculture context, while some may be purpose-built for the proposed Aquaculture Act.

Based on the agreement between federal, provincial, and territorial ministers, as well as feedback provided during previous rounds of engagement, DFO intends to table federal legislation that would:

foster national consistency, while respecting federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdiction;
improve clarity and certainty for the industry;
enhance environmental protection; and
help sustainably grow the industry for the benefit of Indigenous and rural communities.

Crosswalk between the *Fisheries Act* Provisions and the proposed Aquaculture Act
Element		Fisheries Act (FA)	Aquaculture Act (AA)
1. Application, purpose, and definitions		1 Short Title
		Not in FA	May consider inclusion of a Preamble.
		2 Interpretation	General definitions section.
		2.1 Purpose	FA purpose includes objectives of managing fisheries and protecting fish and fish habitat
		3 Application	General issues of application; otherwise application clauses would be found under appropriate sections.
2. Leases, licences, and fees		4 Licences to take spawn	Address under AA or leave to FA?
		7 Fishery Leases and Licences	Develop authorities to issue and cancel licences, and prescribe fees.
		8 Fees
		9 Suspending or Cancelling licences
		9.1-9.7 Fisheries Management Orders	Develop authority for the Minister to issue management orders to temporarily prohibit an activity or impose a requirement.
		43.4 compliance with terms and conditions	Develop equivalent authorities to FA 43.4.
3. Indigenous reconciliation		2 Indigenous governing body	Develop equivalent definition.
		2.3-2.4 Rights of Indigenous peoples of Canada	Develop equivalent section in AA.
		61.2 Indigenous Knowledge of the Indigenous peoples of Canada	Develop equivalent section in AA.
4. Cooperation		4.01 Advisory Panels	Develop aquaculture specific advisory panels that can include any subset of stakeholders
4. Cooperation		4.1-4.4(3) Agreements, Programs and Projects	Develop authorities for making equivalency agreements with provinces, territories and Indigenous governing bodies, as well as programs and projects, (e.g., grants, loans contributions, guarantees, and insurance).
5. Environmental protection		34.2 Standards and Codes of Practice	Develop authority to design standards, codes of practice, guidelines, or recognizing existing ones.
		34.4 Death of Fish	Develop equivalent prohibitions to s.34.4, 35, 36 in AA. Amend FA 35 and 36, as necessary, to recognize relevant activities authorized under AA regulations. Create equivalent of FA s.35.1 in AA.
		35. Harmful alteration, disruption, or destruction of fish habitat.
		35.1 Designated projects
		36. Deposit of deleterious substances
		37 Minister may require plans and specifications, etc.	Address under AA or leave to FA?
		Not in FA	May want to develop authorities to manage aspects of animal husbandry (not addressed by the CFIA) that may impact the environment.
		Not in FA	May include mechanisms to enable area-based management of aquaculture.
6. Enforcement and Alternative Compliance Measures	5 Fishery Officers and Fishery Guardians			Develop powers to designate officers and guardians for purposes of AA.
	38 Power to designate inspectors, etc.			Develop power to designate inspectors for purposes of AA.
	56.1 Analyst			Develop power to allow specialists to be deemed a ‘technical analyst’ for court proceedings.
	39 Search (officer/inspector)			Develop aquaculture-specific authorities for officers, etc.
	49-56 Powers of Fishery Officers and Fishery Guardians			Develop aquaculture-specific authorities for officers, etc.
	23 Fishing in limits leased to another			Develop aquaculture-specific offence, punishment, ticketing, administrative monetary penalty, and alternative measures agreements sections. Tiered approach.
	40-42 Offence and punishment, etc.
	62-63 Obstruction and False Information
	70-77 Disposition of Seized Things
	78-79.61 Offence and Punishment (punishment not otherwise provided for)
	79.7 Ticketable Offences
	80-88 Applications of Penalties and Forfeitures
	86.1-86.95 Alternative Measures Agreements
7. Regulations	34.1 Factors			Develop list of factors that the Minister must consider before recommending to Governor in Council (GIC) that regulations be made.
	43 Governor in Council may make regulations			Develop a section with broad GIC regulation-making authorities, similar to FA s.43.
	43.3 Regulations – Minister			Develop a section with Ministerial regulation-making authorities, similar to FA s.43.3.
	89-91 Incorporation by reference			Develop section(s) in AA that permit (ambulatory) incorporation by reference.
8. Public reporting and other	2.5 Considerations for decision making			Develop set of considerations specific to aquaculture sector.
	11-16 Cost recovery for using facilities			Develop cost recovery mechanism for letting others use DFO facilities.
	42.2 Public registry (currently not in force)			Develop requirement for Minister to establish public registry to facilitate access to records relating to specific sections of the AA.
	57-59 Culture of fish (i.e., oysters)			Move from FA to AA.
	61.-61.1 Information returns			Develop authorities for information returns.
	92. 5-year review			Develop similar mechanism for a mandatory regulatory review under AA.

Date modified:: 2020-08-17