A Manitoba MP may not have won all the assurances he had hoped for in
his fight to reduce the federal fisheries department’s presence on the
Prairies.
Provencher MP Vic Toews said Dec. 10 he had a verbal commitment from
federal fisheries minister Robert Thibault to reduce the department’s
jurisdiction and supervision of drainage ditches in the southern
Manitoba riding.
“I’m very pleased that the minister has made a clear commitment to
reducing the level of intervention by his department in drainage
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matters,” Toews said.
However, Thibault’s press secretary said Toews may have misunderstand
what the minister was promising when the two politicians spoke earlier
this month.
Jennifer Savoy said the fisheries minister wants to make the process
more efficient for reviewing drainage maintenance projects. The goal
would be to greatly reduce the number of projects needing site-specific
reviews by department staff, she added.
However, Savoy made it clear that the fisheries and oceans department,
which expanded its presence on the Prairies a couple of years ago, has
no intention of giving up jurisdiction in the region.
“We’re not reducing our jurisdiction at all,” she said.
Manitoba municipalities have complained for the past year that efforts
by the fisheries department to protect fish habitat in the province are
slowing maintenance of drainage ditches and the upkeep of other
municipal infrastructure.
The municipalities have cited instances where the department’s
intervention and requirements for projects have delayed construction
and inflated costs.
Stuart Briese, president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities,
said the issue was recently raised at a meeting of the Federation of
Canadian Municipalities.
Briese said municipalities want the fisheries department to reduce the
delays in regulatory reviews of development proposals. They also want
more consistency in how the regulations are applied.
“We, as municipalities, don’t mind rules, but tell us what the rules
are,” Briese said. “They can’t even do that.”
Garry Linsey, federal fisheries director for the Prairies, said the
department’s goal is to review the region’s natural and man-made drains
and identify the most sensitive fish habitat. Staff would then be able
to approve drainage works where there is minimal risk to fish habitat
more quickly and with few conditions.
He said his department is already moving in that direction in Manitoba
and parts of Saskatchewan.
