Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is the federal lead for safeguarding Canadian waters and managing Canada’s fisheries, oceans, and freshwater resources. DFO recently released two interim codes of practice:
- Culvert Maintenance – This code of practice outlines national best practices for culvert maintenance and provides useful information on the measures to follow to ensure that fish and fish habitat are protected.
- Temporary Stream Crossings – This code of practice outlines national best practices for temporary stream crossings such as fords, temporary clear span bridges, and temporary winter crossing.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is currently working with the DFO to ensure that municipalities have the information and support needed to undertake emergency and routine works under the revised Fisheries Act. FCM has also called on the federal government to simplify the process for municipalities to undertake certain routine works that pose a low risk to fish and fish habitat. DFO has informed FCM that the code of practice for the removal of beaver dams will be released in July.
In addition to the codes of practice, the Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program will be releasing additional operational advice and will be hosting public engagement activities in the fall of 2020 to ensure these codes of practice meet the needs of municipalities before they are finalized. RMA will update members on when the engagement sessions will begin.
Last month, the DFO released two additional interim code of practices: the end-of-pipe fish protection screens for small water intakes in freshwater and routine maintenance dredging. To view these, check out RMA’s previous bulletin.
For assistance navigating the revised Fisheries Act, please contact DFO. To provide feedback on the interim codes of practice or suggestions for other types of projects that should be included, please contact Sara Jane O’Neill at sjoneill@fcm.ca.
For enquiries, please contact:
Alex Mochid
Policy Advisor
alex@RMAlberta.com
Tasha Blumenthal
Director of External Relations & Advocacy
tasha@RMAlberta.com