Bill C-55

Only a third of Canadian commercial fish stocks are classified as healthy, while 13% are in critical condition and data is missing to assess the status of over one-third of stocks.2 More than 40 fish populations in Atlantic Canada, and over 20 populations in the Pacific are considered at-risk by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.3 Populations of both Atlantic and Pacific [...] Among other critiques, the Commissioner on the Environment and Sustainable Development and the Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel on Sustaining Marine Biodiversity criticized the government for delays in creating MPAs.7 Fortunately, to reverse this trend, Canada has promised to take ambitious steps to protect both species and habitats, including a commitment to meet Aichi Target 11. [...] Once passed, Bill C-55 will fulfill the government’s commitment to “Establish Marine Protected Areas Faster” by updating the Oceans Act “to facilitate the designation process for Marine Protected Areas, without sacrificing science, or the public›s opportunity to provide input.”8 The amendments proposed in Bill C-55 will provide a stronger legal foundation for improved ocean protection: 1. The Bill [...] But while the first priority for park management under the Canada National Parks Act is “the maintenance or restoration of ecological integrity,” the Oceans Act contains no similar requirement for managing MPAs.14 The Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development considered this topic in its federal protected areas study and recommended that the Government of Canada amend and stren [...] In the case of SGaan Kinghlas-Bowie Seamount, where the Council of the Haida Nation, the governing body for the Haida Nation, and stakeholder conservation and fisheries groups, agreed to a system of zoning within the MPA which allowed the designation to proceed.