Environmental Process Modernization Plan (EPMP)

DFO's Updated List of Habitat Operating Statements

Below are the newly updated list of 15 Operational Statements (BMPs) that DFO has developed as part of their 6 element Environmental Process Modernization Plan (EPMP). Under "Streamlining of Referrals" a series of Operational Statements (OS) has been developed to streamline the Habitat Management Program's (HMP) regulatory review of low risk activities. The OS outline measures and conditions for avoiding the harmful alteration, disruption and destruction (HADD) to fish habitat and thus be in compliance with subsection 35(1) of the Fisheries Act. Proponents are not required to submit their proposal for review by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) when they incorporate the measures and conditions outlined in the OS into their plans.
List of Operational Statements can viewed here.

Environmental Process Modernization Discussion Guide

This guide is intended to facilitate discussions on issues presented in the Environmental Processes Modernization Plan (EPMP) presentation.

Glossary for EPMP (In progress)

As commonly understood:
"When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically. "In this context the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof. http://www.precaution.org/lib/pp_def.htm

As in Env. Canada document:
...the absence of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason to postpone decisions when faced with the threat of serious or irreversible harm. http://www.ec.gc.ca/econom/pp_e.htm

As in the new Fisheries Act:
(b) seek to apply a precautionary approach such that, if there is both high scientific uncertainty and a risk of serious harm, they will not use a lack of adequate scientific information as a reason for failing to take, or for postponing, cost-effective measures for the conservation or protection of fish or fish habitat that they consider proportional to the potential severity of the risk; http://www2.parl.gc.ca/content/hoc/Bills/391/Government/C-45/C-45_1/C-45_1.PDF

Reading List

Presentations (in PowerPoint format)
Habitat Management Program (HMP) Renewal: The Environmental Process Modernization Plan (EPMP)
Developing and Implementing a Fish Habitat Risk Management Framework

Documents (in PDF fromat)
Progress in Implementing the Environmental Process Modernization Plan
Introduction
PRACTITIONERS GUIDE TO THE RISK MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR DFO HABITAT MANAGEMENT STAFF
PRACTITIONERS GUIDE FOR WRITING LETTERS USED IN FISHERIES ACT - REVIEWS FOR DFO HABITAT MANAGEMENT STAFF
PRACTITIONERS GUIDE TO HABITAT COMPENSATION FOR DFO HABITAT MANAGEMENT STAFF
PRACTITIONERS GUIDE TO WRITING A SUBSECTION 35(2) FISHERIES ACT AUTHORIZATION FOR DFO HABITAT MANAGEMENT STAFF
PRACTITIONERS GUIDE TO LETTERS OF CREDIT FOR DFO HABITAT MANAGEMENT STAFF
POLICY CHANGE ON EARLY TRIGGERING FOR MAJOR PROJECTS UNDER CEAA
Environmental Assessments & Major Projects (EA&MP) - Major Project Criteria
Distribution List – Planning Team Invitation
Table of Contents for the List of Workshop Materials Found on the CD & on the Web
Steering Committee for the Englishman River Watershed Recovery Plan Response
Workshop Planning Team Invitation

Links to Related Web Sites
Agency's Contribution to Sustainable Development
Operational Statements - Environmental Process Modernization Plan

Minister of Fisheries and Oceans tabled a bill December 12, 2006. The goal of this bill is to modernize the Fisheries Act.
More information . . .

National Resource Industry Associations (NRIA)

For lead up to this meeting, other meetings that have taken place

During the ENGO-DFO Workshop of October 11-12, 2006, the ENGO delegates attending the meeting came up with the following recommendations.

Recommendations and the Path Ahead

The ENGO community would like DFO to fulfil its mandate, to boldly apply its laws and regulatory regimes, and to not be beholden to industry demands for a weakened regulatory process. In order for the ENGO community to support DFO, we need to have open communication and DFO needs to solicit the help of ENGOs

A continued relationship with the ENGO community can help in supporting DFO in its mandate. Increased science-based decision making, enforcement of the Fisheries Act, ensuring that processes related to the EPMP are transparent, that DFO is accountable and that process/policy evaluation mechanisms are established are all broad recommendations from the ENGO community. These recommendations are listed below, with specific items within each broad category. Setting priorities for these recommendations is part of the responsibility of the ENGO community in the coming months.

Continuing relationship between ENGOs and DFO

Both parties strongly agreed that a relationship between DFO and ENGOs is important in order to achieve common objectives. To this end, specific recommendations were made to ensure the relationship is continued. These include:

• Developing a mechanism to ensure continued dialogue over the long term, including meetings between the ENGO community and regional directors in the Habitat Management Program on a continued basis; and,
• Designation of a DFO staff in Ottawa to handle information requests in regards to the EPMP and the Fisheries Act renewal.

Immediate next steps include:

• Establishment of an ENGO framework to determine priorities for future discussions including responsibilities and processes;
• Realistic discussions around capacity for continued

A key challenge to achieving these steps involves ENGO capacity and funding to ensure a continued relationship with DFO. ENGOs often have project related funding, and there is little funding for core activities such as policy consultations and cooperation with government. A possible solution to this problem is the direction of post-conviction funds to ENGOs and stewards, specifically for capacity to move forward on creating genuine relationships with DFO.

Scientific Basis for Decision Making and Policy Development

In relation to the EPMP and the RMF, the ENGO community made several recommendations to increase the scientific basis for these policy frameworks. To this end, the ENGO community recommends that DFO:

• Establish science-based definitions for fish habitat (expanding on those identified in the Fisheries Act);
• Convene a National Advisory Process (NAP) on the fish habitat RMF, particularly the risk assessment matrix, and establish an ENGO working group on the application of the RMF;
• Create a process for external scientific review on fish habitat impacts, including those currently not captured under section 35.2; and,
• Support increased funding for science branch and proactively prepare for climate change.

Ensuring Habitat Protection and Application of Section 35.2 and Related Provisions

In general, the ENGO community is concerned that habitat is not being properly managed or conserved, that there is a net loss of fish habitat in Canada’s aquatic environments, and that there is no mechanism to regulate cumulative impacts of many projects that result in a HADD. To this end, ENGOs recommend that DFO:

• Ensure no net loss of productive capacity and provide measurable criteria to achieve this goal;
• Ensure that compensation plans include community consultation to achieve net habitat gain;

• Ensure habitat is included in new and emerging fisheries policies;
• Explore and implement full cost accounting of activities;

• Consider both habitat quality and quantity;
• Implement the precautionary approach by erring on the side of caution in the face of scientific uncertainty; and
• Maximize effective environmental review processes within CEAA to achieve streamlining before entrenching a duplicate process outside of CEAA.

Enforcement of Fisheries Act

Fisheries Act enforcement responsibilities are viewed by the ENGO community, as being weakened under the EPMP and Smart Regulations. In order to increase enforcement and compliance, the ENGO community recommends that DFO:

• Examine the potential for expanding the Pacific Region model where community groups deliver 18 different activities that link government policy through community stewardship;
• Develop an Enforcement and Compliance strategy to accompany legislation;
• Appeal and review the mechanism for failures under class authorizations;
• Increase the number of fisheries officers on the ground to enforce compliance;
• Ensure administration and enforcement are integrated between Environment Canada and DFO 35.2;
• Emphasize enforcement over voluntary compliance;
• Coordinate policy development within the Federal Government and with the Provinces; ensure that if the Provinces do not adequately protect that there is provision for the Federal Government to take action;
• Create a mechanism through which ENGOs can be involved in compensation plans proposed by project proponents;
• Establish mobile enforcement teams that move into a region, assess situations and enforce DFO regulations;
• Remain equally concerned about deleterious substances;
• Retain Law List requirements for CEAA;
• Strengthen the citizen enforcement provisions;
• Encourage the Department of Justice to not stay private prosecutions and to work in partnership with bringing cases forward; and,
• Award the maximum fine for habitat violations [fines subject to judiciary decision].

Transparency, Accountability and Evaluation

There was a strong message from the ENGO community for DFO to increase its transparency around regulatory measures, and to build in processes that ensure accountability and policy evaluation. In the interests of increasing transparency, the ENGO community recommends that DFO:

• Increase transparency around compliance and make compliance information public;
• Make letters of advice and OPSs compliance information public;
• Make scientific advice from within DFO public; and,
• Continue multi-stakeholder workshops.

To ensure accountability for its actions, the ENGO community recommends that DFO:

• Develop accountability mechanisms within DFO (possibly through the Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development);
• Establish a body similar to the CEAA Regulatory Advisory Committee; and,
• Increase and improve public communication beyond ENGOs so that you create an informed community.

Policies and regulations need to be evaluated to determine success levels. To that end, the ENGO community recommends that DFO:

• Develop a legal mechanism for evaluating:
  • Effectiveness of DFO in meeting its obligation under the Fisheries Act; and,
  • Effectiveness of the EPMP;
• Develop audit process for self-regulated industries;
• Ensure legislative mechanism for adaptive management;

Allocation of Resources / DFO Capacity

DFO HMP expressed frustration at a lack of resources to address all situations that may impact fish habitat. The program runs on 50 million dollars in habitat management, despite the cuts that have been made. DFO stated that it was pursuing initiatives to express to the government of Canada that we are in a period of unprecedented growth in terms of industrial development. Regulators, including DFO, need the capacity to respond to this if this growth is going to happen sustainably. We need to push the government of Canada to allocate more resources to the regulatory agency.

With regards to the SARA, DFO does not seem to have the resources to create policies and enforcement around species at risk. For example, 32 populations of salmon in the Bay of Fundy have been listed but there is no funding to enable recovery. If populations are allowed to decline to the point that they disappear, then this is a sad self-fulfilling prophecy. DFO shares SARA funding with Environment Canada, and has concerns similar to ENGOs. DFO is currently working on something right now to try to increase the funding for species at risk.

Olivier Bertin-Mahieux
National Caucus Coordinator / Coordonnateur des caucus nationaux
Canadian Environmental Network
Réseau canadien de l'environnement
300 - 945 Wellington West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1Y 2X5
Tel: (514) 996-9810
Fax: (613) 728-2963
Olivier@cen-rce.org
www.cen-rce.org
RCEN: Strongest network of environmental organizations in Canada
RCEN: Le plus important réseau de groupes environnementaux du Canada