The federal government is hauling in the Fisheries Act and reversing changes made in 2012 under former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper.
And top of the list for being tossed is Sec. 35-1. That was re-written by the Conservatives to remove what used to be general protection of all fish habitat – and replaced with only protection of streams of commercial, recreational or aboriginal value.
That change is now being reversed, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and is among a list of Liberal amendments now at second reading in the House of Commons.
Some of the other changes: strengthening the role of indigenous peoples in project reviews and writing policies; clarifying enforcement powers to protect fisheries; and strengthening the creation of marine refuges.
Clarifying the act will help cities determine their roles in protecting fish and streams, said Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge MP Dan Ruimy.
“Hopefully a little bit more teeth in there.”
While the department was trying to reverse changes, Ruimy was creating his own document about fisheries titled, Recommended Changes to the Fisheries Act.
Ruimy held townhall and roundtable talks and met with streamkeeper groups, such as Alouette River Management Society and Kanaka Education and Environmental Partnership Society.
“So many people are passionate about it. We are a watershed community. So I made that a priority for me because it was a priority for a lot of our constituents,” Ruimy said.
His report, submitted to Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc, also called for replacing the contentious Sec. 35 , in addition to calling for more clarity within the act and equipping the department so it can actually enforce the Fisheries Act instead of relying on self-reporting.
Another local goal put into Ruimy’s report was the explicit inclusion of a 30-metre stream-side protection area for all streams that would then be considered fish habitat under the act.
Setting out specific regulations to protect B.C.’s salmon was also in his report.
“It’s what people were telling us here,” Ruimy explained.
“We have to find that middle ground. We see what happens when we don’t protect our ecosystems. It slowly starts to degrade everything,” Ruimy said.
Ross Davies, with Kanaka Education and Environmental Partnership Society, said Ruimy met several times with streamkeepers.
“The fact the government is on the ground listening to us … taking it back to Ottawa, we’re really pleased with that,” Davies said.
Ottawa may have realized the extent of public sentiment towards local streams when it tried to cut some programs and decided not to repeat that, he added.
And while the actual numbers of salmon produced by volunteer groups is small, Davies said the public opinion in support of that is strong.
“We just made him aware of that.”