Free briefing May 17: Fisheries Act changes and environmental implications

Great Lakes United is offering a free public issue briefing Thursday, May 17 at 12:00pm EDT regarding the proposed Fisheries Act rollbacks. Mark Mattson of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper will be leading the presentation. Reserve your spot now by contacting Lauren Cheal by email at lcheal [at] glu.org.

Join Waterkeeper and Great Lakes United for a free issue briefing on the proposed changes to the Fisheries Act. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper President, Mark Mattson, will speak about impact of the sweeping amendments proposed to the Fisheries Act in Canada in a budget implementation bill (Bill C-38) being considered by Parliament.

Join us for a discussion about these potential changes, the impact they will have on fisheries and watershed across the Great Lakes and beyond, and what these changes may mean for the environmental community.

Fisheries Act: Proposed changes and environmental implications

The Canadian government has presented a new budget that includes sweeping amendments to the Fisheries Act. This is an issue that directly affects the quality of life of all Canadians, and greatly impacts the Great Lakes region. Habitat protections for fisheries help protect watersheds for people, and the Canadian government is seeking to substantially weaken those protections.

Amendments to streamline the Fisheries Act to promote industrial development and economic investment would replace the existing single, established, and largely effective national standard to protect fish and fish habitat with a patchwork of unknown provincial policies. In its haste to make changes, the government did not consult experts at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, scientists, experienced environmental lawyers, or hunting and angling groups. It’s not clear that they consulted First Nations. Many prominent environmental groups across Canada have spoken up to oppose the changes, as well as more than 600 scientists.

This event is free and open to the public. Please feel free to pass the invitation on to anyone who would be interested in the topic.

Webinar Details:

Title: Fisheries Act: Proposed changes and environmental implications

Date: Thursday, May 17th, 2012
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT

Location: This is a virtual issue briefing, to participate you simply need a telephone and access to a computer capable of displaying a .pdf document.

Panelist: Mark Mattson, President, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

This session will include an interactive Q&A with Mark Mattson. You will receive further call-in information (by email) as the event approaches. All you need to participate is a phone and a copy of the .pdf file.

Register now by emailing Lauren Cheal at lcheal [at] glu.org.

Great Lakes United—Union Saint Laurent Grands Lacs is pleased to offer this service to the public. 

For more information about this, or any of GLU's past issue briefings, please visit http://www.glu.org/en/issuebriefings.

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