About
The Standing Orders of the House of Commons give all standing committees the mandate to exercise certain general powers. Standing Order 108(1) gives committees the power to examine matters referred to them by the House of Commons. Standing Order 108(2) gives committees the power “to study and report on all matters relating to the mandate, management and operation of the department or departments of government which are assigned to them.” For a more detailed overview of parliamentary committees, please consult the Our Procedure page.
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans is empowered to study and report on all matters relating to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Canadian Coast Guard, which operates as a special operating agency of DFO. The Fisheries Act regulates most of the work undertaken by DFO. Much of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans’ work involves studying and reporting on DFO’s program and policy objectives and how successful it has been in reaching them. The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans also studies proposed legislation (bills) relating to DFO’s mandate. It can also study and report on DFO’s planned spending by reviewing the department’s main estimates and supplementary estimates.
Since Confederation, different committees of the House of Commons have overseen the federal government’s role in managing Canada’s fisheries and safeguarding its waters. For example, the Special Committee on the Maritime and Fluvial fisheries, and Sea and Inland Navigation of the Dominion sat during the 1st Session of the 1st Parliament in 1867. The first standing, or permanent, committee dedicated to these issues was the Standing Committee on Marine and Fisheries. It was created in 1909 during the 11th Parliament (1909–1911). It met for over 50 years until 1965. Between 1965 and 1968, the topic was studied by the Standing Committee on Fisheries. The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Forestry studied fisheries issues between 1968 and 1986.
Following reforms to the Standing Orders in the 1980s, House of Commons committees could initiate studies within their mandate rather than only being able to study matters referred to them by the House of Commons and could report on the planned spending by reviewing departments’ main estimates and supplementary estimates. Following the reforms, fisheries and related issues were sometimes studied at the same committee as forestry or studied at their own committee. These were the Standing Committees on:
• Fisheries and Forestry (1968–1986);
• Fisheries and Oceans (1986–1988); and
• Forestry and Fisheries (1989–1993).
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans was established in its current form in 1994 during the 35th Parliament (1994–1997).
Staff Assigned to the Committee
In the execution of its functions, each committee is normally assisted by a committee clerk, a committee assistant, and one or more analysts. Occasional assistance is also provided by legislative clerks and lawyers from the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel. These individuals are non-partisan and serve all members of the committee and representatives of all parties equally.
Committee Clerk
The clerk performs their duties and responsibilities under the direction of the committee and its Chair. As an expert in the rules of the House of Commons, the clerk may be requested to give advice to the Chair and members of the committee should a question of procedure arise. The clerk is the coordinator, organizer and liaison officer for the committee, and as such, is in frequent contact with Members’ staff. The clerk is also responsible for inviting witnesses and dealing with all the details regarding their appearance before the committee.
Committee Assistant
The committee assistant provides a wide range of specialized administrative services for the organization of committee meetings and the publishing of documents on the committee’s website. The committee assistant works with the clerk to meet the needs of the committee.
Committee Analyst
The Library of Parliament’s analysts, who are subject-matter experts, provide authoritative, substantive, and timely research, analysis and information to all members of the committee. They are part of the committee’s institutional memory and are a unique resource for parliamentarians. Supported by research librarians, the analysts work individually or in multidisciplinary teams.
Analysts can prepare briefing notes on the subjects being examined, detailed study plans, lists of proposed witnesses, analyses of an issue with a list of suggested questions, background papers, draft reports, news releases, and formal correspondence.
OTHER RESOURCES AVAILABLE AS REQUIRED
Parliamentary Counsel
Within the Office of the Law Clerk and Parliamentary Counsel, parliamentary counsel (Legislation) are available to assist Members who are not in Cabinet with the preparation of private Members’ bills or of amendments to government bills or other bills.
At various stages of the legislative process, Members may propose amendments to bills. Amendments may first be proposed at the committee stage, during a committee’s clause-by-clause review of a bill. Amendments may also be proposed at the report stage, once a bill returns to the House.
Once a bill is sent to committee, the clerk of the committee provides Members the name of the parliamentary counsel (Legislation) responsible for drafting the amendments for that bill.
Legislative Clerk
The legislative clerk serves all members of the committee as a specialist of the process by which a bill becomes law. They are available to give, upon request from Members and their staff, advice on the admissibility of amendments when bills are referred to committee. The legislative clerk organizes the amendments into packages for committee stage, reviews all the committee amendments for procedural admissibility and prepares draft rulings for the Chair.
During clause-by-clause consideration of bills in committee, a legislative clerk is in attendance to assist the committee with any procedural issues that may arise. The legislative clerk can also provide Members with advice regarding the procedural admissibility of report stage amendments. When a bill is sent to committee, the clerk of the committee provides Members the name of the legislative clerk assigned to the bill.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO)
The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) is an officer of Parliament created by the Parliament of Canada Act who supports Parliament by providing analysis, including analysis of macroeconomic and fiscal policy, for the purposes of raising the quality of parliamentary debate and promoting greater budget transparency and accountability.
The Parliament of Canada Act also provides the PBO with a mandate to, if requested by a committee, estimate the financial cost of any proposal over which Parliament has jurisdiction. Certain committees, including the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, can also request research and analyses of the nation’s finances or economy, or of the estimates.
Further information on the PBO may be found at: http://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/en/.
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has studied various topics over the years, including:
- fisheries management issues related to specific species such as lobster, crab, cod, salmon and pinnipeds;
- fisheries management issues related to commercial or recreational fishing and fishing undertaken by Indigenous Peoples under their Aboriginal and treaty rights;
- environmental issues, including the impact of invasive species on Canadian ecosystems, the impact of human activities on vulnerable or endangered marine species, and the impacts of changing ocean conditions due to climate change on marine species;
- eco-certification and seafood labelling; and
- the operations of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and the Canadian Coast Guard, such as enforcement of the Fisheries Act and the state of small craft harbours.
The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans also regularly examines financial estimates for DFO and agencies under its mandate. The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans has studied reports by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development related to its mandate.
Among other works completed during the 44th Parliament, the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans undertook studies for which it tabled the following reports in the House of Commons:
- Traceability and Labelling of Fish and Seafood Products;
- Marine Cargo Container Spills;
- Science at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans;
- Protection and Coexistence of the North Atlantic Right Whale in Canada;
- Restoring Full Accountability for Resources and Governance of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission;
- Foreign Ownership and Corporate Concentration of Fishing Licenses and Quota;
- Ecosystem Impacts and Management of Pinniped Populations;
- Reducing the Harms Caused to Canadian Fish Stocks by Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing; and
- Challenges to the Sustainability of the Yukon Salmon Stocks.
For more information on past work undertaken by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans during the current or past Parliaments, including a list of all committee studies and other activities, please consult the committee’s Work page.