June 17, 2015 - Ottawa, Ontario
The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced that new regulations to strengthen the prevention of aquatic invasive species (AIS) in Canadian waters have come into force. The Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations were posted today in the Canada Gazette,Part II and are now in effect.
The Government of Canada worked collaboratively with provincial and territorial governments to develop the Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations. The regulations provide tools for both the Department and provinces to prevent the introduction and spread of AIS. They also greatly improve the ability to respond rapidly to an invasion or manage the spread of established AIS in Canadian waters.
Prior to the coming into force of these new regulations, there was a patchwork of inconsistent regulations and policies to address risks posed by AIS at various levels of government across Canada. There was no comprehensive, national AIS regulatory framework, which resulted in inconsistency across the country.
These new regulations prohibit the import, possession, transport and release of significant risk species, in specific geographic areas and under specific conditions. In the future, other species can be added or removed through regulatory amendments when necessary. The prohibition on importation would be enforced by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Asian carp, Quagga mussels and Zebra mussels are some examples of species targeted by the new regulations.
These new measures also allow prescribed Ministers to authorize the deposit of deleterious substances to control AIS under certain conditions including the need to take into account alternative measures and possible impacts of the deposit. The regulations only allow the deposit of drugs and pest control products in compliance with the legislation of Health Canada and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada undertook consultations with Canadians on the proposed regulatory framework for AIS and a draft of the regulations was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I for public input. Input that was received from Canadian citizens was considered and aided in the development of the new regulations.
Frank Stanek
Media Relations
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-990-7537
Sophie Doucet
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
613-992-3474
NR-HQ-15-35E
Follow us on Twitter!
