Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act (S.C. 2012, c. 19)
Full Document:
Assented to 2012-06-29
Coming into Force
Marginal note:Order in council
131. Sections 122, 129 and 130 come into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
Division 5R.S., c. F-14Fisheries Act
Amendments to the Act
132. The heading before section 2 of the French version of the Fisheries Act is replaced by the following:
DÉFINITIONS ET INTERPRÉTATION
133. (1) The definition “obstruction” in subsection 2(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
“obstruction”
« obstacle »
“obstruction” means any slide, dam or other thing impeding wholly or partially the free passage of fish;
(2) Section 2 of the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:
“analyst”
« analyste »
“analyst” means a person who is designated under subsection 38(1) to perform the functions of an analyst;
(3) Subsection 2(1) of the Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:
“Aboriginal”
« autochtone »
“Aboriginal”, in relation to a fishery, means that fish is harvested by an Aboriginal organization or any of its members for the purpose of using the fish as food or for subsistence or for social or ceremonial purposes;
“commercial”
« commerciale »
“commercial”, in relation to a fishery, means that fish is harvested under the authority of a licence for the purpose of sale, trade or barter;
“fish habitat”
« habitat »
“fish habitat” means spawning grounds and any other areas, including nursery, rearing, food supply and migration areas, on which fish depend directly or indirectly in order to carry out their life processes;
“fishway”
« passe migratoire »
“fishway” means any device, work or other thing that provides for the free passage of fish, including a canal, a fish pump, a fish ladder, a fish elevator and a fish lock;
“recreational”
« récréative »
“recreational”, in relation to a fishery, means that fish is harvested under the authority of a licence for personal use of the fish or for sport;
(4) Section 2 of the Act is renumbered as subsection 2(1) and is amended by adding the following:
Marginal note:Serious harm to fish
(2) For the purposes of this Act, serious harm to fish is the death of fish or any permanent alteration to, or destruction of, fish habitat.
134. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 4:
AGREEMENTS, PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS
Marginal note:Minister may enter into agreements
4.1 (1) The Minister may enter into an agreement with a province to further the purposes of this Act, including an agreement with respect to one or more of the following:
(a) facilitating cooperation between the parties to the agreement, including facilitating joint action in areas of common interest, reducing overlap between their respective programs and otherwise harmonizing those programs;
(b) facilitating enhanced communication between the parties, including the exchange of scientific and other information; and
(c) facilitating public consultation or the entry into arrangements with third-party stakeholders.
Marginal note:Contents of agreement
(2) An agreement may establish
(a) the roles, powers and functions of the parties;
(b) programs and projects;
(c) principles and objectives of the parties’ respective programs and projects;
(d) standards, guidelines and codes of practice to be followed by the parties in the administration of their respective programs and projects;
(e) processes for policy development, operational planning and communication between the parties, including the exchange of scientific and other information;
(f) the administrative structures that will be used to carry out the agreement’s objectives;
(g) the power of the parties to create committees and public panels and to conduct public consultations; and
(h) the circumstances and manner in which the province is to provide information on the administration and enforcement of a provision of its laws that the agreement provides is equivalent in effect to a provision of the regulations.
Marginal note:Regulations
(3) The Governor in Council may make regulations establishing the conditions under which the Minister may enter into or renew an agreement, including procedures for entering into or renewing the agreement.
Marginal note:Agreements to be published
(4) The Minister shall publish an agreement in the manner that he or she considers appropriate.
Marginal note:Declaration of equivalent provisions
4.2 (1) If an agreement entered into under section 4.1 provides that there is in force a provision under the laws of the province that is equivalent in effect to a provision of the regulations, the Governor in Council may, by order, declare that certain provisions of this Act or of the regulations do not apply in the province with respect to the subject matter of the provision under the laws of the province.
Marginal note:Non-application of provisions
(2) Except with respect to Her Majesty in right of Canada, the provisions of this Act or of the regulations that are set out in the order do not apply within that province with respect to the subject matter of the provision under the laws of the province.
Marginal note:Revocation
(3) The Governor in Council may revoke the order if the Governor in Council is satisfied that the provision under the laws of the province is no longer equivalent in effect to the provision of the regulations or is not being adequately administered or enforced.
Marginal note:Notice to province
(4) The Governor in Council may revoke the order only if the Minister has given notice of the proposed revocation to the province.
Marginal note:Order ceases to have effect
(5) The order ceases to have effect either when it is revoked by the Governor in Council or when the agreement to which the order relates terminates or is terminated.
Marginal note:Report to Parliament
4.3 The Minister shall, as soon as feasible after the end of each fiscal year, prepare and cause to be laid before each house of Parliament a report on the administration of sections 4.1 and 4.2 in that fiscal year.
Marginal note:Objectives
4.4 (1) The Minister may implement programs and projects for the purposes of this Act and, to facilitate the implementation of a program or project, may
(a) make grants and contributions;
(b) make loans;
(c) make recoverable expenditures on behalf of any person or body, or any federal or provincial minister, department or agency; and
(d) guarantee the repayment of any financial obligation, or provide loan insurance or credit insurance in respect of such an obligation.
Marginal note:Regulations
(2) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister and the Minister of Finance, make regulations respecting such grants, contributions, loans, guarantees and insurance.
Marginal note:Agreements, etc.
(3) In exercising powers and performing functions under subsection (1), the Minister may
(a) enter into agreements — including an agreement under section 4.1 — or arrangements or transactions with any person or body, or any federal or provincial minister, department or agency; and
(b) with the approval of the Minister of Finance, requisition amounts in respect of such an agreement, arrangement or transaction to be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
135. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 5:
FACTORS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT
Marginal note:Factors
6. Before recommending to the Governor in Council that a regulation be made in respect of section 35 or under paragraph 37(3)(c) or 43(1)(i.01) or subsection 43(5), and before exercising any power under subsection 20(2) or (3) or 21(1), paragraph 35(2)(b) or (c) or subsection 35(3), or under subsection 37(2) with regard to an offence under subsection 40(1) or with regard to harm to fish, the Minister shall consider the following factors:
(a) the contribution of the relevant fish to the ongoing productivity of commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fisheries;
(b) fisheries management objectives;
(c) whether there are measures and standards to avoid, mitigate or offset serious harm to fish that are part of a commercial, recreational or Aboriginal fishery, or that support such a fishery; and
(d) the public interest.
Marginal note:Purpose
6.1 The purpose of section 6, and of the provisions set out in that section, is to provide for the sustainability and ongoing productivity of commercial, recreational and Aboriginal fisheries.
136. The heading before section 20 and sections 20 to 22 of the Act are replaced by the following:
FISHWAYS
Marginal note:Studies, analyses, samplings and evaluations
20. (1) If the Minister considers that doing so is necessary to ensure the free passage of fish or to prevent harm to fish, the owner or person who has the charge, management or control of an obstruction or any other thing that is harmful to fish shall, on the Minister’s request and within the period specified by the Minister, conduct studies, analyses, samplings and evaluations, and provide the Minister with any document or other information relating to them, to the obstruction or thing or to the fish or fish habitat that is affected or is likely to be affected by the obstruction or thing.
Marginal note:Minister’s request
(2) If the Minister considers that doing so is necessary to ensure the free passage of fish or to prevent harm to fish, the owner or person who has the charge, management or control of an obstruction or any other thing that is harmful to fish shall, on the Minister’s request, within the period specified by the Minister and in accordance with any specifications of the Minister,
(a) remove the obstruction or thing;
(b) construct a fishway;
(c) implement a system of catching fish before the obstruction or thing, transporting them beyond it and releasing them back into the water;
(d) install a fish stop or a diverter;
(e) install a fish guard, a screen, a covering, netting or any other device to prevent the passage of fish into any water intake, ditch, channel or canal;
(f) maintain the flow of water that the Minister considers sufficient to permit the free passage of fish; or
(g) permit the escape, into the water below the obstruction or thing, at all times of the quantity of water that the Minister considers sufficient for the safety of fish or for the flooding of fish habitat to an appropriate depth.
Marginal note:Modification, repair and maintenance
(3) On the Minister’s request, the owner or person referred to in subsection (2) shall
(a) make any provision that the Minister considers necessary for the free passage of fish or to prevent harm to fish during the construction, implementation, installation, modification or repair of anything mentioned in that subsection;
(b) operate and maintain that thing in a good and effective condition and in accordance with any specifications of the Minister; and
(c) modify or repair it in accordance with any specifications of the Minister.
Marginal note:Obstruction of free passage of fish
(4) No person shall
(a) obstruct more than two-thirds of the width of any river or stream or more than one-third of the width of the main channel at low tide of any tidal stream;
(b) use or place any kind of net or other fishing apparatus, logs or any material of any kind in the unobstructed part of a river, stream or tidal stream referred to in paragraph (a);
(c) damage or obstruct any fishway constructed or used to enable fish to pass over or around any obstruction;
(d) damage or obstruct any fishway, fish stop or diverter constructed or installed on the Minister’s request;
(e) stop or hinder fish from entering or passing through any fishway, or from surmounting any obstacle or leap;
(f) damage, remove or authorize the removal of any fish guard, screen, covering, netting or other device installed on the Minister’s request; or
(g) fish in any manner within 23 m downstream from the lower entrance to any fishway, obstruction or leap.
Marginal note:Exception — removal for repairs
(5) Despite paragraph (4)(f), a person may remove or authorize the removal of any fish guard, screen, covering, netting or other device installed on the Minister’s request if the removal is required for modification, repair or maintenance.
Marginal note:Devices to prevent escape of fish
21. (1) The Minister may authorize the installation and maintenance of fish guards, screens, coverings, netting or other devices in waters to prevent fish held for breeding from escaping or for any other purpose that the Minister considers to be in the public interest.
Marginal note:Removal
(2) No person shall damage, remove or authorize the removal of such a fish guard, screen, covering, netting or other device, unless they are authorized to do so by the Minister.
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