Bill C-228: An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (closed containment aquaculture)

Fisheries Act Transitional Provision Coming Into Force First Session, Forty-second Parliament, 64-65 Elizabeth II, 2015-2016 HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA BILL C-228 An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (closed containment aquaculture) FIRST READING, FEBRUARY 24, 2016 Mr. Donnelly 421070 SUMMARY This enactment amends the Fisheries Act to require that finfish aquaculture for commercial purposes in Canadian fisheries waters off the Pacific Coast be carried out in closed containment facilities. It also requires the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to prepare, table in Parliament and implement a plan to support the transition to the use of closed containment facilities and to protect the jobs and financial security of workers in that sector. Available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 1st Session, 42nd Parliament 64-65 Elizabeth II, 2015-2016 HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA BILL C-228 An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (closed containment aquaculture) Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows: R.‍S.‍, c. F-14 Fisheries Act 1 Section 2 of the Fisheries Act is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order: closed containment facility means a solid wall structure, either onshore or offshore, for the rearing of finfish that prevents those fish and their parasites from escaping into, and waste and other pollution from entering, the surrounding marine systems; (parc clos) finfish aquaculture means the cultivation of finfish, for commercial purposes, in any aquatic environment or artificial container of water; (aquaculture de poissons à nageoires) 2 Section 7 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1): Finfish — closed containment aquaculture (1.‍1) No licence shall be issued under this Act for finfish aquaculture unless it is carried out in a closed containment facility. 3 The Act is amended by adding the following after section 25: Finfish aquaculture 26 No person shall carry out finfish aquaculture in Canadian fisheries waters off the Pacific Coast unless it is carried out in a closed containment facility and the person holds a licence issued under section 7 for that purpose. Transitional Provision Transition period 4 (1) Section 26 of the Fisheries Act, as enacted by section 3 of this Act, does not apply to a person who, on the coming into force of that section 26, holds a licence for aquaculture under which it is not required that finfish aquaculture be carried out in a closed containment facility. Expiry (2) Subsection (1) ceases to apply to the holder of the licence on the earlier of the day on which the licence expires and the day that is four years after the day on which that section 26 comes into force. Transition plan 5 Within 18 months after this Act receives royal assent, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans must prepare, table in Parliament and implement a plan for transition to the use of closed containment facilities setting out, among other things, specific support measures for corporations and workers in the finfish aquaculture sector affected by this transition in order to protect the jobs and financial security of those workers, including training and income support through the employment insurance system. Coming Into Force Coming into force 6 Sections 1 to 3 come into force one year after the day on which this Act receives royal assent. Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons