Friday, May 25, 2012

TUC Reacts to Bill C-38


TUC Reacts to Bill C-38

Trout Unlimited Canada CEO Jeff Surtees today issued the following statement regarding federal Bill C-38.

“Trout Unlimited Canada cannot support legislative changes that lower the protection of fish and fish habitat. Our analysis of the parts of federal budget implementation bill (Bill-C-38) that deal with the Fisheries Act, the Species at Risk Act and the Environmental Assessment Act lead us to conclude that even though there are a few steps forward (higher penalties and new provisions to deal with invasive species) taken as a whole the legislation dramatically lowers the protection of fish habitat and fish populations across Canada.

The legislation is complex and the effect of some of the new provisions may not be felt for some time. What the ultimate results are depends to a great extent on what is put into regulations under each of the Acts. Those regulations are not yet written. The ultimate results also depend on how and when and if the new discretionary provisions to exclude specific water bodies and projects from protection are used.

It is TUC’s intention to continue to work with the government in a positive way, to express the concerns of our members and advisors, to try to influence content of the new regulations and to offer our expertise to help in any way we can.

I urge all Trout Unlimited Canada members and supporters to learn about the legislation and to express their views to their elected representatives.”

For an external analysis of some of the effects of the proposed changes, please see the following websites:



For a more in depth analysis of the existing legislation and the proposed changes, please see:


TUC does not endorse the content of any external site and offers links to those sites as a courtesy to our members in order that they may form their own conclusions.

LINK: TUC Newsroom

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