Question Period Note: Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) – Port of Quebec Expansion and COSEWIC Status Reassessment

• My Department is committed to conserving and protecting Canada’s fish and fish habitat.
• No decisions have been made at this time as to whether the Port of Quebec expansion project will be allowed to proceed to the regulatory phase and whether authorizations or permits under the Fisheries Act or Species at Risk Act will be required.
• The proposed project area includes important habitat used by many aquatic species, a concern which will be carefully considered when reviewing regulatory applications.

Striped Bass
• On or before December 2, 2020, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change is required to release his response on how he intends to respond to the Striped Bass assessment by COSEWIC. The Response Statement is not a decision on whether or not to change the species status under the Species at Risk Act (SARA); it lays out the next steps to be taken in order to support a future decision by the Governor in Council. In the case of Striped Bass in the St. Lawrence River, more information on the existing population is needed to inform consultations.
• On November 25, 2019, COSEWIC reassessed the status of Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) as Extinct, to rectify what it considers to have been an error made in its 2012 reassessment. COSEWIC announced this change on December 2, 2019. The fact that the historic population of Striped Bass in the St. Lawrence River is now deemed to be Extinct, while a population of Striped Bass is still present, is causing confusion for Canadians.
• While COSEWIC has determined the St. Lawrence River historic population is Extinct, it remains listed under SARA as Endangered and therefore the present-day fish remain protected. SARA imposes prohibitions against harming fish and requirements for the protection of critical habitat.
• Striped bass also continues to be protected by the fish and fish habitat provisions in s.35 of the Fisheries Act. These include provisions regarding the death of fish, and regarding harmful alteration, disruption and destruction of fish habitat.
• A draft Recovery Strategy/Action Plan that proposes critical habitat required for the present-day population of Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) was released in July 2019 for public comment. The identification of the critical habitat has yet to be finalized.
• In 2002, the province of Quebec carried out a successful stocking program that took Striped Bass from the Miramichi River (Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence population) to augment the existing Striped Bass population in the St. Lawrence River. As a result, a self-sustaining spawning population has now been established and the population is thought to be increasing and expanding its distribution.
• The location of the existing Port of Quebec (at Beauport) and proposed area for expansion of a wharf at that location (Laurentia project) overlaps with a proposed area of Striped Bass critical habitat. This area, which has unique hydrographical features, has been identified as a significant aggregation area used for Striped Bass spawning. This same area is highly productive and also important habitat for many other aquatic species.

Port of Quebec (Beauport 2020 / Laurentia)
• On November 30, 2020, Quebec’s Ministère de l’environnement published a recommendations report about the Laurentia project, in the context of the ongoing federal environmental assessment (EA). In its report, the Ministère de l’environnement raises significant concerns with the project. The report also raises concerns about the draft federal EA; for example, that conclusions on impacts of the project on fish and fish habitat are incomplete, and that work restriction periods should be broader.
• On November 20, 2020, the Quebec Port Authority released a statement saying that it considers the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada’s draft EA Report incomplete and containing errors and hypotheses that are not founded on any verifiable facts, including with respect to impacts to Striped Bass.
• On November 20, 2020, the Agency announced that they will be leading information sessions by theme on November 24, 25 and 26, 2020, with key stakeholders and on December 8 and 10, 2020, with the public. DFO will participate in sessions where topics related to the department’s mandate will be discussed, including the November 24, 2020, session where discussion will focus on matters related to fish and fish habitat.
• On November 16, 2020, the Agency released the draft EA Report and EA Conditions for public comment for a period of 30 days. The report concluded there will be significant environmental impacts on specific environmental components, including on fish and their habitats. However, a decision still needs to be taken by Environment and Climate Change’s Minister on the project.
• On November 9, 2020, DFO’s Quebec region [Information was severed in accordance with the Access to Information Act.] submitted comments to the Agency regarding the draft EA conditions for the Project.
• While the Project benefits from municipal and provincial political support, some citizens have started to mobilise in opposition to it, arguing that the St. Lawrence river is a rich ecosystem, not only a “vessels highway” and that the Project is socially unacceptable.
• On September 2, 2020, the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP) published its report on Striped Bass. The purpose of the MFFP report was to provide an up-to-date overview of the population and reproduction considerations of the Striped Bass currently residing in the St. Lawrence River. The report supports the conclusions of DFO’s advice to the Agency.
• Since COSEWIC reassessed the status of Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) as Extinct, there is an expectation that the population will be removed from Schedule 1 of SARA, allowing the project to proceed without requiring SARA permitting. Even if this were to occur, the habitat (used by Striped Bass but also by other sensitive species) would still be protected under the Fisheries Act.
• Activities, including those in areas of proposed critical habitat for Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population), may only be permitted under the SARA as long as they meet certain conditions, most particularly, that mitigation measures are implemented and that the activities do not jeopardize the survival or recovery of the species.
• The affected habitats, including that of Striped Bass reproduction habitat, would be difficult, if not impossible, to compensate for under the Species at Risk Act and the Fisheries Act.
• In July 2015, the Quebec Port Authority submitted an application for authorization under the Fisheries Act for the implementation of the Laurentia Port Expansion Project, however the timelines are currently paused until the EA is complete.
• The proposed Project will destroy or alter at least 23 hectares of rare, sensitive, complex and highly frequented fish habitats, used particularly by the Striped Bass, Savory Shad, Atlantic Sturgeon, Lake Sturgeon and Rainbow Smelt. Species use the habitat for overwintering, growing and foraging.
• Initiated in 2015, the Project is undergoing an EA under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012), led by the Agency.
• The Quebec Port Authority is proposing to extend eastward by 610 metres the existing wharf to add two deep-water berths to its bulk transport facilities in the Beauport sector.

Status of Striped Bass
• The Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) is listed and protected as an endangered species under the Species at Risk Act.
• The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) recently reported on its finding that the historical Striped Bass population in the St. Lawrence River is extinct. There are Striped Bass living in the St. Lawrence River now, which are the result of a successful stocking effort conducted with the Province of Quebec. More information is required on the state of these fish.
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada will conduct analyses to support a Governor in Council decision on options in response to the COSEWIC report and taking into account any new information pertaining to the Striped Bass currently inhabiting the St. Lawrence River.