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 issued.
• The proposed project area includes important habitat used by many aquatic species, a concern which will be carefully considered when reviewing regulatory applications.

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.
• In 2019, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) recently reassessed the status of the original St. Lawrence River population of Striped Bass and concluded that this population 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.
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada is reviewing the reassessment, recognizing that more information is needed on the Striped Bass population that are living in the St. Lawrence River to fully inform consultations and future decisions.

• On November 25, 2019, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) reassessed the status of the historic St. Lawrence River population of Striped Bass 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.
• On December 2, 2020, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change posted a Response Statement regarding the Striped Bass assessment by COSEWIC, as required by the Species at Risk Act (SARA). The statement identified the need for more information on the status of the Striped Bass currently living in the St. Lawrence River in order to inform consultations and to support a future decision by the Governor in Council on whether or not to change the species status under SARA. A recommendation to the Governor in Council on a decision to respond to the November 2019 reassessment will be made in the near future.
• While COSEWIC has determined that the original St. Lawrence River 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 (RSAP) 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 will be finalized when the final version is published. The making of a Critical Habitat Order (CHO) is awaiting the finalization of the RSAP, and would afford protection under SARA to the area of Striped Bass critical habitat that overlaps with the area where the project is proposed. The finalization of the RSAP and the making of a CHO would not affect the statutory basis for making a determination with respect to the project.
• 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 June 10, 2021, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change determined that the project will result in significant adverse environmental effects to fish and fish habitat, current use of lands and resources for Indigenous peoples, air quality and human health, and socio-economic conditions.
• As a result of the Minister’s EA decision, the project has been referred to the Governor in Council (GiC) to determine whether or not the effects are justified in the circumstances. A decision by GiC will be made in due course upon consideration of the relevant information.
• On May 4, 2021, the Agency published the Department’s response to additional information submitted by the proponent in March, to their public registry. The new information did not change the Department’s position in regards to issuance of a Fisheries Act authorization/SARA permit, and DFO remains of the view that impacts to striped bass and other sensitive species cannot be offset.
• On November 30, 2020, Quebec’s Environment Minister published a report with recommendations. In its report, the provincial Minister raised significant concerns with the project as well as with the conclusions of the federal EA.
• On November 20, 2020, the proponent released a statement saying that it considers the Agency’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 16, 2020, the Agency released the draft EA Report and EA Conditions, which concluded there will be significant environmental impacts on specific environmental components, including on fish and their habitats.
• On September 2, 2020, the Quebec Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP) published a 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 supported the conclusions of DFO’s advice to the Agency.
• In July 2015, the proponent submitted an application for authorization under the Fisheries Act for the implementation of the Laurentia Port Expansion Project. The Quebec Port Authority is proposing to extend the existing wharf eastward by 610 metres to add two deep-water berths to its bulk transport facilities in the Beauport sector.
• 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.

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