PACC Committee Report
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HOUSE OF COMMONS
INTRODUCTION
OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA
- PACIFIC SALMON: SUSTAINABILITY OF THE RESOURCE BASE
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(e), the Standing Committee on Public Accounts has the honour to present its
SIXTH REPORT
The Standing Committee on Public Accounts has considered Chapter 28 of the December 1997 Report of the Auditor General of Canada (Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Pacific Salmon: Sustainability of the Resource Base) and the Committee has agreed to report the following:The pacific salmon is a valuable resource for the citizens and communities of British Columbia as well as for Canada as a whole. The commercial salmon fishery was worth $265 million annually during 1986 – 1995. A recent survey indicated that the recreational fishery generated more than $228 million in direct expenditures by anglers in 1990 alone. Many Canadians, especially the citizens and communities in British Columbia, have expressed a strong interest in, and commitment to, preserving this important resource for the use and enjoyment of generations to come.
In light of the value of this resource and its importance to the people of British Columbia and Canada, the Committee decided to study Chapter 28 of the Auditor General’s December 1997 Report. The audit in this chapter focused on the sustainability of the salmon resource base, with an emphasis on the conservation and protection of salmon habitat. A second phase of the audit will look at salmon fisheries management including fishing plans and the allocation of resources to major users. The Auditor General intends to report the results of this second phase in 1999.
To understand the challenges involved in the conservation and preservation of pacific salmon habitat, the Committee met on 12 February 1998 with Mr. Denis Desautels, the Auditor General of Canada, and Mr. John McCullough, Principal of Audit Operations, and Mr. Geoffrey Robins, Director of Audit Operations, from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada. Mr. Wayne Wouters, Deputy Minister, Ms. Cheryl Fraser, Assistant Deputy Minister – Policy, Mr. Scott Parson, Assistant Deputy Minister --- Science, and Ms. Donna Petrachencko, Regional Director, Pacific Region, represented the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
The Committee learned that although pacific salmon are doing well at the aggregate level, individual species such as the chinook and coho may be declining and that many small stocks are under stress or are threatened.
There are several causes for stress on the salmon resource, including changes in the ocean and climate. However, evidence shows that the alteration of salmon habitat leading to its loss is a significant factor in placing stress on the resource.
Since jurisdiction over the fisheries in Canada is divided between the federal and provincial governments, the Department must work with the Province of British Columbia in order to deliver its habitat program. It must also work closely with communities, aboriginal groups, interested groups and individuals, and other stakeholders.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is mandated, under the Fisheries Act, to protect fish habitat from disruptive and destructive activities. The Department is guided by its Policy for the Management of Fish Habitat (1986) (the Habitat Policy) and the Habitat Conservation and Protection Guidelines (1994). The Policy’s objective is "net gain" which is met through concentration on three goals: conservation, restoration, and development of fish habitat. In 1996-97, the Department’s Pacific Region spent $10.3 million, or 11.6 percent of its total fisheries management budget, on habitat management activities.
The Department must work in a challenging and complex environment to deliver its habitat program. Recent agreements between the governments of Canada and British Columbia promise better co-ordination and delivery of efforts to conserve salmon habitat. Apart from these agreements, however, the Committee believes that there are several areas in which the Department must improve its performance if it is to achieve the objective of "net gain" established by its Habitat Policy.
OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In his Report and his testimony, the Auditor General indicated the importance of smaller salmon stocks of all species in protecting genetic diversity and ensuring the sustainability of the resource as a whole. Yet the Department has tended to concentrate its efforts on the major stocks with the result that it lacks assessment data on many of the smaller stocks. The Committee is concerned that this focus neglects the importance of smaller stocks. It notes that Deputy Minister Wouters agreed that there is a need to provide greater emphasis on the whole area of minor stocks (1630) and recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans adopt a balanced approach to the protection of, and production from, all salmon stocks and that it allocate its resources accordingly. This approach must be clearly reflected in the Department’s policies, accountability documents and other publications.
Furthermore, the Committee recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans establish a strategy to collect and assess the data necessary to monitor and report on the status of smaller stocks, and that it establish and make public a deadline for doing so.
Apart from the limited data and assessment with regard to small stocks as alluded to in paragraph 9 the audit found that information on salmon stocks is not well co-ordinated and is not always available easily. The Department will need this information if it is to concentrate its efforts and resources where they will be most effective. The Department’s partners in habitat protection will also need this information for their own planning purposes. The Committee therefore recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans develop and implement a strategy, in co-operation with the Province of British Columbia and other partners in habitat management, to collect and manage information on Pacific salmon stocks. This strategy must include clear goals, definitions of responsibility, and target implementation dates.
The Committee is of the view that groups and individuals interested in contributing to habitat preservation represent an invaluable resource for the Department. This is particularly so given the limited resources available. These groups and individuals not only help preserve habitat, they are also a source of information on the status of salmon stocks. Their contribution must be encouraged and the Department is making efforts in this respect. The Committee wishes to see these efforts continue and therefore strongly recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans develop and implement a plan whose specific purpose is to engage and encourage the assistance of groups and individuals interested in preserving salmon stocks and habitat. This plan --- including target implementation dates --- must be developed in close consultation with the groups and individuals themselves.
The Committee notes that the Department delivers some aspects of its Habitat Policy through arrangements with its partners such as the Government of British Columbia and First Nations. The Committee is concerned, however, by a general absence of accountability frameworks in many of these agreements. The audit finding that these arrangements are not subject to monitoring and audit by the Department is also of concern. The Committee believes that this issue should be resolved when future arrangements are set it place. It therefore recommends:
That as it negotiates agreements with its partners in habitat management, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans negotiate the inclusion of accountability frameworks to ensure that the requirements of the Fisheries Act are met. These frameworks must include clear statements of expectations, responsibilities, and provisions for monitoring, auditing, and the reporting of outcomes.
Furthermore, the Committee recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans monitor and audit the arrangements under which it delegates habitat management responsibilities.
The audit found that the Department relies heavily on reactive measures to protect salmon habitat. These measures are focused on the review of proposed development projects with a potential impact on salmon habitat. The Department can recommend changes to projects to offset damage to habitat. This, however, necessitates monitoring to ensure compliance and the assessment of the impact of proposed changes on habitat. The audit found that the Department did not place sufficient emphasis on these latter measures, particularly with regard to smaller projects. The Committee believes the Department must place more emphasis on monitoring and follow up and therefore recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans establish the level of monitoring and follow-up of habitat projects that is necessary to ensure compliance and assess the impact on ‘no net loss.’ The need to monitor small projects must be factored into this consideration.
To protect habitat, the Department should also adopt a more proactive approach by becoming involved in the planning stages of projects at the community level. This provides an opportunity to ensure that projects will either avoid harming habitat or that mitigating or compensatory aspects can be built into them. The Committee learned however, that the Department has encouraged rather than instructed its staff to become involved in planning initiatives. The Committee believes that such involvement will solve problems before they develop. It also takes note of Ms. Petrachenko’s testimony that "if our [the Department’s] proactive work on the planning front doesn’t work, we end up having to use enforcement…." (1640) Involvement at the planning stages might therefore reduce the necessity for after-the-fact monitoring and enforcement. Accordingly, the Committee recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans revise its Habitat and Conservation Guidelines of 1994 in order to instruct its staff to become involved in major integrated resource and land use planning initiatives.
The Auditor General reports that the Department has not prepared an overview report on the status of fish habitat conservation in Canada since the introduction of the Habitat Policy in 1986. Mr. Wouters told the Committee that the Department is currently undertaking a strategic review of its habitat management program in British Columbia. (1545) He also made a commitment to appear before the Committee once the review is completed to summarize the results and discuss how the Department will proceed. (1600) He anticipated that the review will be completed in October 1998. (1610) The Committee also notes the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ positive general response to the recommendations made by the Auditor General. The Department indicated that it has acted on some recommendations and is planning to address others. The Committee welcomes Mr. Wouters' and the Department’s commitments and recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans conduct a full strategic review of its Habitat Policy to determine its performance in achieving the Policy’s goals and overall objective of ‘net gain’, and that it report the results by December 1998. This report must also contain the Department’s agreed upon responses to the concerns and recommendations of the Auditor General as expressed in Chapter 28 of his December 1997 Report.
The Committee believes that such evaluations must be conducted at regular intervals and the results provided to Parliament. It therefore recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans establish a timetable for the regular review and evaluation of its habitat management policies and practices; and
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans report the results of habitat management and policy reviews to Parliament in its annual Performance Reports.
Furthermore, because the Committee believes that habitat management is a vital component of the Department’s mandate, it recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans include, in updates of its sustainable development strategy, references to its habitat management policies and practices.
Finally, because the Committee believes that information on the status of Pacific salmon resource is of vital importance, it recommends:
That the Department of Fisheries and Oceans include information on the status of the Pacific salmon resource at both the species and stock levels in its Annual Report to Parliament.
In closing, the Committee is aware that the protection of habitat is one component of the effort to ensure the sustainability of the Pacific salmon. It notes that the Auditor General will conduct a second phase of his audit of the pacific salmon fishery that will focus on other aspects of sustainability. The Committee considers it important to view sustainability in its entirety and may revisit the results of the first phase in conjunction with any review of the second.
Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the Committee requests that the Government table a comprehensive response to this Report.
A copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings (Meetings Nos. 17 and 23) is tabled.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN WILLIAMS
Chair
