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Bill C-115

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First Reading

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	HER MAJESTY
Binding on Her Majesty	3. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.
	TERRITORIAL OPERATION
Territorial operation	4. (1) Without prejudice to sections 33 to 38, this Act applies, in addition to its application to Canada,
	(a) to the exclusive economic zone of Canada;
	(b) in respect of sedentary species, to the continental shelf of Canada; and
	(c) subject to subsection (2), to Canadian fishing vessels and Canadian citizens on any area of the sea other than an area of the sea that forms part of the territorial sea or internal waters of another state.
Exception	(2) Part II does not apply beyond the exclusive economic zone of Canada.
Jurisdiction of courts	(3) Without prejudice to sections 33 to 38, all courts have the same jurisdiction with respect to offences under this Act as they have under sections 477.3 and 477.4 of the Criminal Code.
	PART I
	FISHERIES CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT
	Licences and Leases
Issuance, etc.	5. (1) Subject to any exclusive right of fishing existing at law, the Minister may, in the Minister's absolute discretion, issue licences and grant leases for fishing or for other related activities.
Rights of Her Majesty preserved	(2) The granting of a lease pertaining to waters that are in a public harbour does not prejudice the right or title of Her Majesty in right of Canada to the enjoyment and use of the harbour for any purpose other than the cultivation and production of fish.
Licensing policy	6. The Minister may establish policies with respect to the issuance of licences.
Conditions	7. (1) The Minister may, on the issuance of a licence, make the licence subject to any conditions for
	(a) the management and control of fisheries; or
	(b) the conservation and protection of fish.
Change of conditions	(2) The Minister may, after the issuance of a licence, on the Minister's own initiative where required for the conservation and protection of fish, or on the application of the holder, vary or rescind, in whole or in part, or add to, any conditions of a licence.
Conditions precedent, etc.	(3) Conditions to which a licence is subject may be precedent or subsequent and may apply generally or in respect of a particular case or class of cases.
Revocation or suspension	8. (1) Subject to subsection 65(2), the Minister may revoke or suspend a licence where the holder contravenes
	(a) a condition of the licence; or
	(b) a provision of this Act or the regulations or a fisheries management order.
Automatic revocation	(2) A licence issued or lease granted to a Canadian fishing vessel is revoked if the fishing vessel ceases to be a Canadian fishing vessel.
Foreign fishing vessels	(3) A licence issued or lease granted to a fishing vessel that is registered or licensed under the laws of a state other than Canada is revoked if the fishing vessel ceases to be registered or licensed under the laws of that state.
Delegation of licensing authority	9. (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations delegating, to a minister of a provincial government responsible for fisheries, the powers conferred on the Minister by section 5 in relation to licences or leases of a prescribed class and sections 6 and 7 and subsection 8(1) in relation to licences of a prescribed class.
Fees	(2) The proceeds of any fees charged in relation to the issuance of a licence or the granting of a lease by a minister of a provincial government under regulations made pursuant to subsection (1) belong to Her Majesty in right of the province in which the licence was issued or the lease was granted.
	Fisheries Management Orders
Fisheries management orders	10. (1) The Minister may make a fisheries management order with respect to any category of fish or marine plant in any waters specified in the order
	(a) prohibiting fishing for fish of that category during the closed time set out in the order;
	(b) prohibiting the catching and retaining of
	(i) such of the fish of that category as are in excess of the quota set out in the order, during the period specified in the order, or
	(ii) any fish of that category, otherwise than in accordance with the size or weight limits set out in the order; or
	(c) prohibiting the harvesting of marine plants of that category during the closed time set out in the order.
Application of order	(2) A fisheries management order may provide that it applies only in respect of
	(a) aboriginal fishing, commercial fishing or recreational fishing;
	(b) those persons engaged in fishing using a particular method or type of fishing gear or fishing vessels of a particular class; or
	(c) holders of a particular class of licence.
Notice	11. (1) Notice of a fisheries management order shall be given to the persons, fishing vessels and holders affected or likely to be affected by it.
Where notice not given	(2) A person or fishing vessel is not guilty of an offence, nor is a holder liable for a violation, where that offence or violation consists of a contravention of a fisheries management order, unless the person, fishing vessel or holder was given notice under subsection (1) or had actual notice of the substance of the order.
Effect of orders	12. If there is an inconsistency between a fisheries management order and a condition of a licence, the fisheries management order prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.
Delegation	13. The Governor in Council may make regulations delegating the power of the Minister to make fisheries management orders to a person employed in the Department or the government of a province.
	Financial Assistance for Economic Development and Adjustment
Programs and projects	14. The Minister may undertake programs and projects in relation to a fishery or fishery enterprise that have as an object
	(a) improving the sustainability and economic viability of the fishery or enterprise; or
	(b) promoting adjustment in the fishery, including capacity reduction, industry restructuring and interim financial assistance.
Financial assistance	15. (1) The Minister may, in order to facilitate the implementation of any program or project referred to in section 14,
	(a) make loans to any person;
	(b) acquire, hold or dispose of or otherwise deal with shares, debentures or other securities of, or any security interest in, any fishery enterprise;
	(c) guarantee the repayment of, or provide loan insurance or credit insurance in respect of, any financial obligation undertaken by any person; and
	(d) make grants and contributions to any person.
Registration and holding of securities	(2) Securities acquired by the Minister pursuant to paragraph (1)(b) shall be registered in the name of the Minister in the books of the fishery enterprise and shall be held by the Minister in trust for Her Majesty in right of Canada.
Regulations	(3) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister and the Minister of Finance, make regulations relating to loans that may be made and guarantees that may be given under this section.
Agreements, etc.	16. In exercising powers and performing duties and functions under sections 14 and 15, the Minister may
	(a) enter into agreements, arrangements or transactions with any person, body or government of a province or with another minister, board or agency of the Government of Canada; and
	(b) with the approval of the Minister of Finance, pay out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, or from the proceeds of any disposition of securities referred to in paragraph 15(1)(b), amounts in respect of any agreement, arrangement or transaction referred to in paragraph (a).
	Fisheries Management Agreements
Powers of Minister	17. (1) Her Majesty in right of Canada, represented by the Minister, may enter into a fisheries management agreement with any organization that, in the opinion of the Minister, is representative of a class of persons or holders.
Contents of agreement	(2) An agreement may establish
	(a) the harvest limits, and other conservation and management measures for a fishery;
	(b) the number of licences that may be issued for the class of holders or persons;
	(c) the fees payable to Her Majesty in right of Canada with respect to the issuance of the licences and the variation or rescission of, or addition to, conditions of the licences;
	(d) the obligations, responsibilities and funding arrangements with respect to management of the fishery; and
	(e) conservation and management programs for the fishery.
Sanctions	(3) An agreement may, for the purposes of Part III, establish guidelines for use by a Tribunal on allowing a proceeding with respect to a major violation.
Conservation and management measures	(4) It is a condition of any licence issued for fishing in a fishery to which a fisheries management agreement applies that the conservation and management measures set out in the agreement be complied with.
Notice	18. (1) Before a fisheries management agreement is entered into, notice of it shall be given to the holders or persons likely to be subject to it.
No liability without notice	(2) A person is not liable for the contravention of the licence condition referred to in subsection 17(4) unless the person was given notice under subsection (1) or had actual notice of the substance of the agreement.
Publication	19. (1) The Minister shall publish a fisheries management agreement in the manner the Minister sees fit.
Names of holders	(2) The agreement published under subsection (1) may include the names and addresses of the holders and persons at issue and, in relation to a holder that is a fishing vessel, the names and addresses of its owners or charterers.
Inconsistency	20. If there is an inconsistency between a term of a fisheries management agreement and a provision of the regulations, the fisheries management agreement prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.
Minister's powers not limited	21. The power of the Minister to make a fisheries management order is not limited or in any way affected by a fisheries management agreement.
	Exemption from Statutory Instruments Act
Certain instruments exempted	22. Policies referred to in section 6, conditions of licences, fisheries management orders and fisheries management agreements are exempt from the application of sections 3, 5 and 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act.
	Conservation and Protection of Fish
Destruction of fish	23. No person shall destroy fish by any means other than fishing except as authorized by the Minister or the regulations.
Main channel not to be obstructed	24. (1) One third of the width of any river or stream and not less than two thirds of the width of the main channel at low tide in every tidal stream shall be left open, and no kind of net or other fishing apparatus, logs or any material of any kind shall be used or placed therein.
Devices to prevent escape of fish	(2) The Minister may authorize the placing and maintaining of barriers, screens or other devices in streams, to prevent the escape of fish held for fish breeding purposes or for any other purpose that the Minister deems to be in the public interest, and no person shall damage any such barrier, screen or other device.
Nets, weirs, etc., not to obstruct passage of fish	25. (1) No person shall set, use or maintain in Canadian waters, whether subject to any exclusive right of fishing or not, any net, weir or other device that unduly obstructs the passage of fish.
Removal	(2) The Minister or a fishery officer may order the removal of or remove any net, weir or other device that, in the opinion of the Minister or fishery officer, unduly obstructs the passage of fish.
Fish-ways and canals	26. No person shall fish in any manner within twenty-five meters downstream from the lower entrance to any fish-way, canal, obstacle or leap.
Prohibition	27. No person shall fish in any area to which a lease or licence applies, or set therein any fishing gear or apparatus, except by permission of the occupant under the lease or licence for the time being, nor shall any person interfere with any such fishery.
Unlawful sale or possession	28. No person shall purchase, sell or possess any fish that has been caught and retained in contravention of this Act or the regulations.
Setting gear during closed time	29. (1) No person shall set or leave any fishing gear or apparatus used to fish for a species of fish in any waters during a closed time for that species of fish in those waters.
Officer's discretion	(2) A fishery officer may permit fishing gear or apparatus referred to in subsection (1) to remain in the water after the commencement of the closed time for any period the fishery officer considers necessary to permit the removal of the gear or apparatus.