Question Period Note: Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River Population) - Port of Quebec Expansion (Laurentia project) and COSEWIC Status Reassessment

Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River Population) - Port of Quebec Expansion (Laurentia project) and COSEWIC Status Reassessment

Following the Governor in Council’s decision to not authorize the project, my department will not be issuing any approvals under the Fisheries Act or Species at Risk Act.

The proposed project area included important habitat used by many sensitive aquatic species, which was taken into consideration during decision making.

My department continues to support regional economic development while conserving and protecting Canada’s fish and fish habitat.

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) 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.

The Governor in Council has referred this matter back to COSEWIC, 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.

Striped Bass
• 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 some 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.
• 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.
• On June 17, 2021, the Governor in Council referred the matter back to COSEWIC for further information or consideration. COSEWIC plans to re-evaluate all Striped Bass in Canada in 2022.
• 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 Recovery Strategy/Action Plan (RSAP) that identifies critical habitat required for the present-day population of Striped Bass (St. Lawrence River population) was released in July 2021. The making of a Critical Habitat Order (CHO) was awaiting the finalization of the RSAP, and will afford protection under SARA to the area of Striped Bass critical habitat that overlaps with the area where the project is proposed. 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 29, 2021, the Governor in Council determined that the significant adverse environmental effects of the project are not justified in the circumstances.
• 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.
• 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 environmental assessment (EA).
• On November 16, 2020, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada 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, Québec’s 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 Fisheries and Oceans Canada’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 would have destroyed or altered 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 was undergoing an EA under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.

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