Provincial Regulation Of Fish Farms Ruled Unconstitutional

In the landmark decision of Morton v. British Columbia (Agriculture and Lands) (9 February 2009) the British Columbia Supreme Court held that the Government of British Columbia had no jurisdiction to regulate fish farms throughout the province and declared that the authority to do so was vested solely in the federal government, under section 91(12) of the Constitution Act, 1867.

The constitutional challenge arose in response to the provincial government's decision to renew a fish farm license of Marine Harvest Inc. Canada, which operates a twenty-hectare fish farm containing approximately 600,000 Atlantic salmon in the Broughton Archipelago, off the coast of British Columbia. The petitioners, environmental activists, alleged that the license should not have been renewed because of the environmental damage caused by fish farms, including the proliferation of sea lice, chemical waste, and diseases in surrounding waters, and the disruption of migratory routes of Pacific