Protections for fisheries won’t interfere with irrigation and drainage projects, federal minister assures producers
Federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc says prairie farmers shouldn’t expect visits from so-called fish cops if amendments to the Fisheries Act go ahead.
Bill C-68 proposes changes to the act, but restoring departmental staff on the Prairies to previous levels is not one of them.
“Twenty years ago, we had probably 200 enforcement officers who would have been on the Prairies and in Ontario,” LeBlanc said. “It’s now down below 10 and they’re in Burlington, Ont., and in Edmonton.
“We’re not bringing back fishery officers to spend their time inspecting farmers’ irrigation projects or small municipal works.”
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
LeBlanc, who delivered second reading remarks on the bill in mid-February, recently met with the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities and the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan n Regina. He said he wanted to meet with agricultural stakeholders early in the process.
Farmers were generally happy with changes made in 2012 by the then-Conservative government that stopped fisheries’ officers from intervening in irrigation or drainage projects.
During the last election campaign, the Liberals promised to restore fish protection.
But LeBlanc said it was impractical to walk back all the changes and he said some of the things that occurred years back were “ridiculous.”
He pointed specifically to 2011 when Department of Fisheries and Oceans staff said pumping of the flooded grounds at the country music festival in Craven, Sask., would have to be stopped because it would harm fish.
He said the amendments will recreate some environmental protections “but not do it in a way that it totally loses its common sense and ends up at a sort of ridiculous dead end.”
“We were not going back to a circumstance where we would have fisheries officers that would be colloquially known as fish cops, driving around the Prairies in fisheries and oceans trucks investigating irrigation projects or drainage culverts and that kind of stuff,” LeBlanc said. “We’re not going back to that period at all.”
SARM president Ray Orb said he was pleased to hear there will be compromise.
“We’re on side with protecting fish habitat but we don’t think we need the same rules where there is not fish habitat,” he said.
He also liked the idea of avoiding duplication, and allowing the provincial environment ministry to look after lower- and medium-risk projects.
“One thing they identified in the amendments was kind of like a code of practice, where people wouldn’t necessarily have to get a permit,” Orb said. “We’re working with (the province on) developing the environmental code so that’s kind of what it is.”
Orb said each rural municipality currently needs an aquatic protection permit to install or re-install a culvert. Putting that type of permission into the environmental code would speed up the process.
LeBlanc said all the stakeholders have common objectives to streamline the process and codes of practice will be sufficient in many cases.
He intends to set up an advisory board as the legislation proceeds. He said he is also willing to hear amendments.
