Analysis suggests Harper government ‘all but abandoned’ protection of fish habitat
- Thread starter agentaqua
- Start date
http://ablawg.ca/2015/09/01/5-thing...ffy-canadas-new-fish-habitat-protection-laws/
5 Things I learned about Mike Duffy Canada’s New Fish Habitat Protection Laws
5 Things I learned about Mike Duffy Canada’s New Fish Habitat Protection Laws
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2652539
From ‘Badly Wrong’ to Worse: An Empirical Analysis of Canada's New Approach to Fish Habitat Protection Laws
From ‘Badly Wrong’ to Worse: An Empirical Analysis of Canada's New Approach to Fish Habitat Protection Laws
Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
All the more reason why Harpo has to go!
And here's some more reasons:
Canada sidesteps protection of endangered fish, study finds
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/marine-fish-sara-1.3232508
Canada sidesteps protection of endangered fish, study finds
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/marine-fish-sara-1.3232508
OldBlackDog
Well-Known Member
And the other party's have said they will do what to fix this?
what have the other party's said on this subject?
what have the other party's said on this subject?
Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
Why don't you research it yourself and tell us. We already know what the Harper govt has done and hasn't done to promote and protect our countrys freshwater and marine fisheries and environment!
Whole in the Water
Well-Known Member
Why don't you research it yourself and tell us. We already know what the Harper govt has done and hasn't done to promote and protect our countrys freshwater and marine fisheries and environment!
He has gutted key legislation protecting the fisheries and environment, slashed research, protection, enhancement and enforcement budgets and muzzled research scientists to name a few things mostly to help out multi national corporations and big oil.
Why anyone who cares about fishing and the natural environment would vote Harper in again is beyond me. Seems like they care much more about their bank account for than anything else IMHO,
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SpringVelocity
Crew Member
very true statement I dont get it either...
OldBlackDog
Well-Known Member
Pretty simple, this is not a concern of the opposition party's .
It is not there in the press. No party is running their election on this subject.
No party has said the will change the act if elected?
I did not say vote for Harper, you assumed that.
I said what are the alternatives and what is their position.
It is not there in the press. No party is running their election on this subject.
No party has said the will change the act if elected?
I did not say vote for Harper, you assumed that.
I said what are the alternatives and what is their position.
http://www.vancouversun.com/ottawa+...1&fb_action_types=og.comments&__lsa=0957-7fd2
Ottawa ignoring Cohen report on salmon, say conservation groups
Letter accuses federal Fisheries of ignoring call for science-based decisions
By Peter O'Neil, Vancouver Sun September 18, 2015
Ottawa ignoring Cohen report on salmon, say conservation groups
Fed-up conservation groups say proposed guidelines for locating fish farms in B.C. ignore recommendations in the $37-million Cohen inquiry launched by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2009.
Photograph by: bill keay , vancouver sun
OTTAWA — Fed-up conservation groups say proposed guidelines for locating fish farms in B.C. ignore recommendations in the $37-million Cohen inquiry launched by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2009.
The federal Fisheries department stands accused, in a letter from a group of environmental agencies, of not taking seriously Justice Bruce Cohen’s call for science-based decision-making.
The proposed guidelines, distributed to B.C. groups for consultation in July, “fail completely to consider the best available scientific and other information available,” the critics charge.
And the complaint sizzles with anger over the groups’ exasperation with what they see as Ottawa’s reluctance to consider the views of British Columbians.
“Overall, we are very frustrated with DFO’s continual cycle of ‘consultation’ on aquaculture policy with no demonstration of genuine consideration of the feedback that is provided,” wrote Stan Proboszcz, science adviser to the Watershed Watch Salmon Society.
“In our respective opinions, the opportunities for public involvement and accountability in government decision-making regarding aquaculture licensing are at an all-time low,” he stated on behalf of his group that also included David Suzuki Foundation, the Living Oceans Society, and the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
The letter, provided exclusively to The Vancouver Sun, was in response to draft guidelines sent out in July to B.C. groups seeking input into proposed changes in how the Fisheries department handles applications to set up new salmon farms.
Conservation groups have been long concerned about the risk of disease and sea lice from Atlantic salmon-stocked pens spreading to migrating wild Pacific salmon.
Cohen, in his 2012 report, said he couldn’t find a “smoking gun” linking fish farms or any other single issue to problems with the Fraser River sockeye fishery.
But he did call on Ottawa to, by March of 2013 and every five years thereafter, “revise salmon farm siting criteria to reflect new scientific information about salmon farms situated on or near Fraser River sockeye salmon migration routes as well as the cumulative effects of these farms on these sockeye.”
The proposed guidelines, which would replace rules developed jointly with the B.C. government after a 1997 policy review, call for pens to be located in areas best-suited to ensure the health of both wild and farmed stocks, “while ensuring an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable industry.”
But the letter says Ottawa falls short in several areas:
• Its guidelines are based on the best-available “information” available. “The word ‘science’ is largely left out of the equation and replaced with the word ‘information,’” yet “no information is cited (and) no supporting references are provided,” Proboszcz wrote.
• There used to be a minimum three-kilometre separation between farms unless they were owned by the same company, in which case the gap had to be at least a kilometre. “Now the one-kilometre minimum is gone.”
• There is no clear definition to explain how the government will define “critical or important habitat” that could be threatened by a farm.
• The guidelines don’t spell out a clear process to determine whether a new farm could harm existing commercial, recreational or aboriginal fisheries, and the wording suggests Ottawa is in fact trying to “legitimize” rather than avoid such conflict.
A media relations official in the Fisheries department said The Sun’s request for comment would be considered, but no comment was received.
Jeremy Dunn, executive director of the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association, rejected the suggestion that science isn’t a major factor in regulatory approval of site selection.
“The amount of science, testing, monitoring, etc., that goes into siting a salmon farm is significant.”
Dunn said the federal government has approved four sites this summer, two that will be joint ventures between the Tlatlasikwala First Nation and Marine Harvest Canada off North Vancouver Island, a project involving the Ahousaht First Nation and Cermaq Canada in Clayoquot Sound (the project is opposed by some band members), and Grieg Seafood is partnering with the Tlowitsis First Nation to grow salmon in Clio Channel on east Vancouver Island.
Dunn dismissed speculation that the industry is gearing up for an expansion, saying there are currently no new site applications before the federal government.
“None of the companies BCSFA represents have plans at the moment to apply for new farming sites.”
poneil@postmedia.com
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© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Ottawa ignoring Cohen report on salmon, say conservation groups
Letter accuses federal Fisheries of ignoring call for science-based decisions
By Peter O'Neil, Vancouver Sun September 18, 2015
Ottawa ignoring Cohen report on salmon, say conservation groups
Fed-up conservation groups say proposed guidelines for locating fish farms in B.C. ignore recommendations in the $37-million Cohen inquiry launched by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2009.
Photograph by: bill keay , vancouver sun
OTTAWA — Fed-up conservation groups say proposed guidelines for locating fish farms in B.C. ignore recommendations in the $37-million Cohen inquiry launched by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2009.
The federal Fisheries department stands accused, in a letter from a group of environmental agencies, of not taking seriously Justice Bruce Cohen’s call for science-based decision-making.
The proposed guidelines, distributed to B.C. groups for consultation in July, “fail completely to consider the best available scientific and other information available,” the critics charge.
And the complaint sizzles with anger over the groups’ exasperation with what they see as Ottawa’s reluctance to consider the views of British Columbians.
“Overall, we are very frustrated with DFO’s continual cycle of ‘consultation’ on aquaculture policy with no demonstration of genuine consideration of the feedback that is provided,” wrote Stan Proboszcz, science adviser to the Watershed Watch Salmon Society.
“In our respective opinions, the opportunities for public involvement and accountability in government decision-making regarding aquaculture licensing are at an all-time low,” he stated on behalf of his group that also included David Suzuki Foundation, the Living Oceans Society, and the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
The letter, provided exclusively to The Vancouver Sun, was in response to draft guidelines sent out in July to B.C. groups seeking input into proposed changes in how the Fisheries department handles applications to set up new salmon farms.
Conservation groups have been long concerned about the risk of disease and sea lice from Atlantic salmon-stocked pens spreading to migrating wild Pacific salmon.
Cohen, in his 2012 report, said he couldn’t find a “smoking gun” linking fish farms or any other single issue to problems with the Fraser River sockeye fishery.
But he did call on Ottawa to, by March of 2013 and every five years thereafter, “revise salmon farm siting criteria to reflect new scientific information about salmon farms situated on or near Fraser River sockeye salmon migration routes as well as the cumulative effects of these farms on these sockeye.”
The proposed guidelines, which would replace rules developed jointly with the B.C. government after a 1997 policy review, call for pens to be located in areas best-suited to ensure the health of both wild and farmed stocks, “while ensuring an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable industry.”
But the letter says Ottawa falls short in several areas:
• Its guidelines are based on the best-available “information” available. “The word ‘science’ is largely left out of the equation and replaced with the word ‘information,’” yet “no information is cited (and) no supporting references are provided,” Proboszcz wrote.
• There used to be a minimum three-kilometre separation between farms unless they were owned by the same company, in which case the gap had to be at least a kilometre. “Now the one-kilometre minimum is gone.”
• There is no clear definition to explain how the government will define “critical or important habitat” that could be threatened by a farm.
• The guidelines don’t spell out a clear process to determine whether a new farm could harm existing commercial, recreational or aboriginal fisheries, and the wording suggests Ottawa is in fact trying to “legitimize” rather than avoid such conflict.
A media relations official in the Fisheries department said The Sun’s request for comment would be considered, but no comment was received.
Jeremy Dunn, executive director of the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association, rejected the suggestion that science isn’t a major factor in regulatory approval of site selection.
“The amount of science, testing, monitoring, etc., that goes into siting a salmon farm is significant.”
Dunn said the federal government has approved four sites this summer, two that will be joint ventures between the Tlatlasikwala First Nation and Marine Harvest Canada off North Vancouver Island, a project involving the Ahousaht First Nation and Cermaq Canada in Clayoquot Sound (the project is opposed by some band members), and Grieg Seafood is partnering with the Tlowitsis First Nation to grow salmon in Clio Channel on east Vancouver Island.
Dunn dismissed speculation that the industry is gearing up for an expansion, saying there are currently no new site applications before the federal government.
“None of the companies BCSFA represents have plans at the moment to apply for new farming sites.”
poneil@postmedia.com
poneilinottawa===
Click here to report a typo or visit vancouversun.com/typo.
Is there more to this story? We'd like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. CLICK HERE or go to vancouversun.com/moretothestory
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
There's lots of paper in a New York phone book, too. But if you are instead in Vancouver looking for a number - the New York phonebook is useless. Typical BS explanation/defense. There is another use of a big wad of paper - if you have an outhouse...
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http://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/vanishing-canada-why-were-all-losers-in-ottawas-war-on-data/
Vanishing Canada: Why we’re all losers in Ottawa’s war on data
Vanishing Canada: Why we’re all losers in Ottawa’s war on data
https://www.watershed-watch.org/2015/09/the-federal-election-and-wild-salmon/
The Federal Election and Wild Salmon
This entry was posted in Uncategorized.. Posted by Trish Hall on September 17, 2015
Recently, we approached a Member of Parliament known to cover salmon issues from each of the major federal parties running candidates in B.C., in order to get an idea of their platforms ahead of the election. We also wanted to make them aware of your collective voices by presenting them with our 2500-signature petition to implement the recommendations of the $37 millon Cohen Inquiry and over 500 written comments in response to the new salmon farms proposed for Clio Channel.
We met with:
•Fin Donnelly, NDP, Port Moody-Coquitlam;
•Joyce Murray’s constituency assistant (Joyce was unable to attend at the last-minute), Liberal, Vancouver Quadra; and
•Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich-Gulf Islands.
•Unfortunately, after repeated meeting requests via email and phone, we did not get a response from John Duncan, Conservative, Vancouver Island North.
Our approach was simple, we asked them all a few questions. Here’s a summary of what each said:
What’s your party’s platform with regard to wild salmon for the upcoming election?
Fin Donnelly, NDP
•Support community-based co-op management of harvest allocation for wild salmon by watershed
•First Nations need to be key players
Joyce Murray Office, Liberal
•Conduct a review of Fisheries Act changes via C-38 and restore lost protections, and incorporate more modern safeguards
•First Nations will be included in the reshaping of federal environmental laws and policies
•Will increase protected marine and coastal areas from 1.3 percent to 5 percent by 2017, and 10 percent by 2020
Elizabeth May, Green
•Ensuring DFO does its job in protecting wild fish
•Focus on climate change and ocean acidification
•Bring back the old Fisheries Act (pre C-38)
•More funding for local restoration groups and streamkeepers
John Duncan, Conservative
•No response
With regard to Cohen Commission Recommendations?
Fin Donnelly, NDP; Joyce Murray, Liberal; Elizabeth May, Green
•Implement them
John Duncan, Conservative
•No response
Do you support the proposed open net farming expansion?
Fin Donnelly, NDP
•No
Joyce Murray Office, Liberal
•They don’t have a specific platform on this at this point
Elizabeth May, Green
•No
John Duncan, Conservative
•No response
What would your government do about the proposed open-net farming expansion?
Fin Donnelly, NDP
•Transition the open-net salmon farming industry to closed containment. Tom Mulcair has agreed to this, though the timeline for a transition is still undecided. The transition would initially occur along wild salmon routes [note: nearly all areas in B.C. are “wild salmon routes”] and eventually across all salmon farming areas (i.e., West Coast of Vancouver Island)
Joyce Murray Office, Liberal
•No specific party platform on this subject at this point
Elizabeth May, Green
•Transition the open-net industry to closed containment
•Remove DFO’s mandate to promote the salmon farming industry
John Duncan, Conservative
•No response
The Federal Election and Wild Salmon
This entry was posted in Uncategorized.. Posted by Trish Hall on September 17, 2015
Recently, we approached a Member of Parliament known to cover salmon issues from each of the major federal parties running candidates in B.C., in order to get an idea of their platforms ahead of the election. We also wanted to make them aware of your collective voices by presenting them with our 2500-signature petition to implement the recommendations of the $37 millon Cohen Inquiry and over 500 written comments in response to the new salmon farms proposed for Clio Channel.
We met with:
•Fin Donnelly, NDP, Port Moody-Coquitlam;
•Joyce Murray’s constituency assistant (Joyce was unable to attend at the last-minute), Liberal, Vancouver Quadra; and
•Elizabeth May, Green, Saanich-Gulf Islands.
•Unfortunately, after repeated meeting requests via email and phone, we did not get a response from John Duncan, Conservative, Vancouver Island North.
Our approach was simple, we asked them all a few questions. Here’s a summary of what each said:
What’s your party’s platform with regard to wild salmon for the upcoming election?
Fin Donnelly, NDP
•Support community-based co-op management of harvest allocation for wild salmon by watershed
•First Nations need to be key players
Joyce Murray Office, Liberal
•Conduct a review of Fisheries Act changes via C-38 and restore lost protections, and incorporate more modern safeguards
•First Nations will be included in the reshaping of federal environmental laws and policies
•Will increase protected marine and coastal areas from 1.3 percent to 5 percent by 2017, and 10 percent by 2020
Elizabeth May, Green
•Ensuring DFO does its job in protecting wild fish
•Focus on climate change and ocean acidification
•Bring back the old Fisheries Act (pre C-38)
•More funding for local restoration groups and streamkeepers
John Duncan, Conservative
•No response
With regard to Cohen Commission Recommendations?
Fin Donnelly, NDP; Joyce Murray, Liberal; Elizabeth May, Green
•Implement them
John Duncan, Conservative
•No response
Do you support the proposed open net farming expansion?
Fin Donnelly, NDP
•No
Joyce Murray Office, Liberal
•They don’t have a specific platform on this at this point
Elizabeth May, Green
•No
John Duncan, Conservative
•No response
What would your government do about the proposed open-net farming expansion?
Fin Donnelly, NDP
•Transition the open-net salmon farming industry to closed containment. Tom Mulcair has agreed to this, though the timeline for a transition is still undecided. The transition would initially occur along wild salmon routes [note: nearly all areas in B.C. are “wild salmon routes”] and eventually across all salmon farming areas (i.e., West Coast of Vancouver Island)
Joyce Murray Office, Liberal
•No specific party platform on this subject at this point
Elizabeth May, Green
•Transition the open-net industry to closed containment
•Remove DFO’s mandate to promote the salmon farming industry
John Duncan, Conservative
•No response
GLG
Well-Known Member
Well I guess AA just posted the answer to your question.
My question to you is, are you going to vote for ABC (anybody but conservative)?
OldBlackDog
Well-Known Member
Actually he he did not as the only people who will effect the questions asked are the leaders of each party.
They control the purse strings and the direction.
Also it is to soon to know who to vote for as lots can happen before the vote, good and bad.
As I said at this time fish are not on the minds of the voters and therefore not on leaders minds.
If you are a hunter and gun registration is a concern, both the Liberals and NDP have stated they will bring it back.
Lets see what the ABC has to offer.
They control the purse strings and the direction.
Also it is to soon to know who to vote for as lots can happen before the vote, good and bad.
As I said at this time fish are not on the minds of the voters and therefore not on leaders minds.
If you are a hunter and gun registration is a concern, both the Liberals and NDP have stated they will bring it back.
Lets see what the ABC has to offer.
GLG
Well-Known Member
Good point. Here is the back story on that and as always there is more to it then just listening for a dog whistle.
http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/what-happened-to-that-gun-registry-anyway/
cracked_ribs
Well-Known Member
I have to ask...in what sense is this the back story?
This is commentary on why all the parties are avoiding the subject during the campaign. But that's no secret: gun owners know that the CPC are the only party that isn't interested in increasing gun control, and the other two parties are keeping their mouths shut in hopes of not reminding rural voters where they stand on the subject.
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