6 November 2009
Ottawa, Ontario
Whereas the decline in sockeye salmon stocks in the Fraser River in British Columbia has necessitated the closure of the fishery for a third consecutive year, despite favourable pre-season estimates of the number of sockeye salmon expected to return to the Fraser River;
Whereas that decline has been attributed to the interplay of a wide range of factors, including environmental changes along the Fraser River, marine environmental conditions and fisheries management;
Whereas the Government of Canada wishes to take all feasible steps to identify the reasons for the decline and the long term prospects for Fraser River sockeye salmon stocks and to determine whether changes need to be made to fisheries management policies, practices and procedures – including establishing a commission of inquiry to investigate the matter;
And whereas the Government of Canada has committed to full cooperation with an inquiry;
Therefore, Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, hereby
(a) directs that a Commission do issue under Part I of the Inquiries Act and under the Great Seal of Canada appointing the Honourable Bruce Cohen as Commissioner to conduct an inquiry into the decline of sockeye salmon in the Fraser River (the “Inquiry”), which Commission shall
(i) direct the Commissioner
(A) to conduct the Inquiry without seeking to find fault on the part of any individual, community or organization, and with the overall aim of respecting conservation of the sockeye salmon stock and encouraging broad cooperation among stakeholders,
(B) to consider the policies and practices of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (the “Department”) with respect to the sockeye salmon fishery in the Fraser River – including the Department’s scientific advice, its fisheries policies and programs, its risk management strategies, its allocation of Departmental resources and its fisheries management practices and procedures, including monitoring, counting of stocks, forecasting and enforcement,
(C) to investigate and make independent findings of fact regarding
(I) the causes for the decline of Fraser River sockeye salmon including, but not limited to, the impact of environmental changes along the Fraser River, marine environmental conditions, aquaculture, predators, diseases, water temperature and other factors that may have affected the ability of sockeye salmon to reach traditional spawning grounds or reach the ocean, and
(II) the current state of Fraser River sockeye salmon stocks and the long term projections for those stocks, and
(D) to develop recommendations for improving the future sustainability of the sockeye salmon fishery in the Fraser River including, as required, any changes to the policies, practices and procedures of the Department in relation to the management of the Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery,
(ii) direct the Commissioner to conduct the Inquiry under the name of the Commission of Inquiry into the Decline of Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River,
(iii) authorize the Commissioner to consider findings, as he considers appropriate, of previous examinations, investigations or reports that may have been conducted that he deems relevant to the Inquiry and to give them any weight, including accepting them as conclusive,
(iv) direct the Commissioner to supplement those previous examinations, investigations or reports with his own investigation and to consider the Government’s response to previous recommendations,
(v) authorize the Commissioner to rent any space and facilities that may be required for the purposes of the Inquiry, in accordance with Treasury Board policies,
(vi) authorize the Commissioner to adopt any procedures and methods that he may consider expedient for the proper conduct of the Inquiry, to sit at any times and in any places in Canada that he decides and to conduct consultations in relation to the Inquiry as he sees fit,
(vii) authorize the Commissioner to engage the services of any staff, experts and other persons referred to in section 11 of the Inquiries Act at rates of remuneration and reimbursement as approved by the Treasury Board,
(viii) despite subparagraphs (v) and (vi), direct the Commissioner not to conduct any hearings during the periods beginning on February 12, 2010 and ending on February 28, 2010, and beginning on March 12, 2010 and ending on March 21, 2010, to minimize the costs of the Inquiry and the inconvenience to witnesses during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,
(ix) authorize the Commissioner to grant, to any person who satisfies him that they have a substantial and direct interest in the subject matter of the Inquiry, an opportunity for appropriate participation in it,
(x) authorize the Commissioner to recommend to the Clerk of the Privy Council that funding be provided, in accordance with terms and conditions approved by the Treasury Board, to ensure the appropriate participation of any person granted standing at the Inquiry under subparagraph (ix), to the extent of the person’s interest, if the Commissioner is of the view that the person would not otherwise be able to participate in the Inquiry,
(xi) direct the Commissioner to use the automated documents management program specified by the Attorney General of Canada and to consult with records management officials within the Privy Council Office on the use of standards and systems that are specifically designed for the purpose of managing records,
(xii) direct the Commissioner, in respect of any portion of the Inquiry conducted in public, to ensure that members of the public can, simultaneously in both official languages, communicate with and obtain services from the Inquiry, including any transcripts of proceedings that have been made available to the public,
(xiii) direct the Commissioner to follow established security procedures, including the requirements of the Policy on Government Security, with respect to persons engaged under section 11 of the Inquiries Act and the handling of information at all stages of the Inquiry,
(xiv) direct the Commissioner to perform his duties without expressing any conclusion or recommendation regarding the civil or criminal liability of any person or organization,
(xv) direct the Commissioner to submit, on or before August 1, 2010, an interim report, simultaneously in both official languages, to the Governor in Council, setting out the Commissioner’s preliminary views on, and assessment of, any previous examinations, investigations or reports that he deemed relevant to the Inquiry and the Government’s responses to those examinations, investigations and reports,
(xvi) direct the Commissioner to submit, on or before May 1, 2011, one or more reports, simultaneously in both official languages, to the Governor in Council, and
(xvii) direct the Commissioner to deposit the records and papers of the Inquiry with the Clerk of the Privy Council as soon after the conclusion of the Inquiry as is reasonably possible; and
(b) authorizes, pursuant to section 56 of the Judges Act, the Honourable Bruce Cohen of Vancouver, British Columbia, a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia, to act as Commissioner.
