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Current issues overview

Purpose

To provide an overview of current issues that will require the Minster’s consideration early in the Government’s mandate.

Aquaculture management

Shipbuilding

Protecting whales

Conserving wild salmon

Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion

Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation

Aquaculture management

Challenges in enabling an environmentally sustainable and economically successful sector

Key issues:

  1. Some provinces and coastal communities (including Indigenous communities) see aquaculture as key to economic growth
  2. Funding for the Sustainable Aquaculture Program will sunset this fiscal year
  3. Some stakeholder concerns with the possible/perceived environmental impacts of open-net pens (i.e., cages) and the siting of fish farms
  4. Inconsistent regulatory regime that contributes to uncertainty for the aquaculture industry in different regions of the country

Considerations:

Shipbuilding

The National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) is moving forward to meet long-term operational requirements

Key issues:

  1. Existing ships are nearing the end of their maximum service life
  2. Large ship procurement takes up to 8-10 years to complete

Considerations:

Protecting whales

Recent years have seen increased incidences of whales being exposed to threats in Canadian waters

Key issues:

  1. North Atlantic Right Whale: collisions with vessels, entanglement in fishing gear, and underwater noise. Nearly two dozen deaths have been reported since 2017
  2. Southern Resident Killer Whale: reduction in prey availability (e.g., Pacific salmon), contaminants, acoustic and physical disturbance, and ship strikes
  3. St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga: pollution, reduced food sources, disturbance by humans, habitat degradation, ship strikes, and entanglement in fishing gear
  4. Blue Whale: recent deaths have ignited calls for greater protections and better information about the underlying causes

Considerations:

Conserving Wild Salmon

The Sustainability of Pacific and Atlantic wild salmon stocks

Key issues:

  1. Nationally, wild salmon populations continue to decline due to increased pressures on the resource, including challenges associated with meeting the needs of Indigenous groups, recreational fishers, and commercial harvesters
  2. There are important differences with respect to managing salmon stock recovery:

Considerations:

Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion

The Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) Project has ongoing implications for the Department with respect to environmental assessment

Key issues:

  1. Mitigating Impacts on Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW): specific focus is on the effectiveness of mitigation measures aimed at avoiding or reducing impacts from Project-related marine vessels on the SRKW; existing and proposed Project-related marine vessel traffic are expected to intersect critical habitat for SRKW
  2. In September 2019, the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that six court challenges related to consultation with Indigenous communities can proceed

Considerations:

Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation

The Transformation of the Department’s Only Crown Corporation

Key issues:

  1. In June 2019, the Ministerial Advisory Panel on the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (FFMC) recognized the potential for a harvester-led model for the inland fisheries, and recommended the appointment of an interlocutor to help facilitate the transformation process
  2. In September 2019, an interlocutor was appointed to work with harvester associations, co-operatives, and other partners to assess the industry's willingness and capacity to sustain and co-operate under a harvester-led model

Considerations:

 

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