Federal Government Re-introduces New Fisheries Act

Article by Janice Walton, © 2008, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Environmental Law, February 2008

On November 29, 2007, the federal Parliament introduced Bill C-32: the Fisheries Act, 2007. The bill had been introduced in 2006 but fell off the order of paper when Parliament was prorogued. The re-introduced bill is essentially identical to the bill introduced late in 2006, with four exceptions which are relevant only to the fishing licensing provisions.

The bill is expected to be read for a second time in the early spring, after which it will be considered by a parliamentary committee. Speculation suggests that the committee will likely invite some form of public submissions, either written or oral, before it makes its recommendations to parliament. All of this is, of course, contingent on there not being a federal election in the spring.