Simon's Megalomaniacal Legal Resources

Fisheries - General

. Mowi Canada West Inc. v. Canada (Fisheries, Oceans and Coast Guard)

In Mowi Canada West Inc. v. Canada (Fisheries, Oceans and Coast Guard) (Fed CA, 2026) the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from a JR dismissal, here brought against "a decision made by the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard (the Minister) on February 17, 2023, to refuse to re-issue aquaculture licenses to salmon farms operating in the Discovery Islands".

Here the court cites some case-relevant provisions of the Fisheries Act:

[31] It is now well-established that the federal power to legislate with respect to "“fisheries”", found in subsection 91(12) of the Constitution Act, 1867, 30 & 31 Victoria, c. 3 (U.K.) extends not only to the conservation and protection of the resource, but also to the general regulation of fisheries, including their management and control: see Comeau’s Sea Foods Ltd. v. Canada (Minister of Fisheries and Oceans), 1997 CanLII 399 (SCC), [1997] 1 S.C.R. 12 at para. 37; Ward v. Canada (Attorney General), 2002 SCC 17 at paras. 36-41. This is reflected by section 2.1 of the Act pursuant to which its purpose is "“to provide a framework for (a) the proper management and control of fisheries; and (b) the conservation and protection of fish and fish habitat, including by preventing pollution”".

[32] Of note are the following considerations that the Minister must consider when making decisions in furtherance of the powers conferred by the Act:

Fisheries Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. F-14

Loi sur les pêches, L.R.C. (1985), ch. F-14

2.4 When making a decision under this Act, the Minister shall consider any adverse effects that the decision may have on the rights of the Indigenous peoples of Canada recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

2.4 Le ministre prend toute décision sous le régime de la présente loi en tenant compte des effets préjudiciables que la décision peut avoir sur les droits des peuples autochtones du Canada reconnus et confirmés par l’article 35 de la Loi constitutionnelle de 1982.

2.5 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, when making a decision under this Act, the Minister may consider, among other things,

2.5 Sauf disposition contraire de la présente loi, dans la prise d’une décision au titre de la présente loi, le ministre peut prendre en considération, entre autres, les éléments suivants :

(a) the application of a precautionary approach and an ecosystem approach;

a) l’application d’approches axées sur la précaution et sur les écosystèmes;

(b) the sustainability of fisheries;

b) la durabilité des pêches;

(c) scientific information;

c) l’information scientifique;

(d) Indigenous knowledge of the Indigenous peoples of Canada that has been provided to the Minister;

d) les connaissances autochtones des peuples autochtones du Canada qui lui ont été communiquées;

(e) community knowledge;

e) les connaissances des collectivités;

(f) cooperation with any government of a province, any Indigenous governing body and any body — including a co-management body — established under a land claims agreement;

f) la collaboration avec les gouvernements provinciaux, les corps dirigeants autochtones et les organismes — de cogestion ou autres — établis en vertu d’un accord sur des revendications territoriales;

(g) social, economic and cultural factors in the management of fisheries;

g) les facteurs sociaux, économiques et culturels dans la gestion des pêches;

(h) the preservation or promotion of the independence of licence holders in commercial inshore fisheries; and

h) la préservation ou la promotion de l’indépendance des titulaires de licences ou de permis dans le cadre des pêches côtières commerciales;

(i) the intersection of sex and gender with other identity factors.

i) l’interaction du sexe et du genre avec d’autres facteurs identitaires.

[33] One of the responsibilities of the Minister, as head of the DFO, is to regulate aquaculture operations. The department is responsible for issuing all aquaculture licenses for marine finfish, including aquaculture licenses necessary for the operation of salmon farms. According to subsection 7(1) of the Act, the Minister may, "“in his absolute discretion”", issue such licenses. The breadth of that discretion is obviously not unlimited, and it must be exercised in keeping with the Minister’s overarching duties to manage and conserve fisheries. Operators also require introduction and transfer licences to transfer fish into or between aquaculture sites, pursuant to section 56 of the Fisheries (General) Regulations, SOR/93-53 (the Regulations). It is worth noting that receiving a licence pursuant to that provision does not imply or confer any right to be issued a licence in the future: see subsection 16(2) of the Regulations; Anglehart v. Canada, 2018 FCA 115 at paras. 28 and 44-46.