Fisheries and Oceans

The committee met to study the review of the Fisheries Act, hearing from Shannon O'Connor, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, and Emma Beauchamp, Director and General Counsel, both from the Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC), and Hannah Rogers, Director General of Environmental Enforcement at the Department of the Environment.

Shannon O'Connor explained that PPSC prosecutes Fisheries Act offences independently, applying a two-part test: whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction and whether prosecution is in the public interest. She noted that PPSC's desk book, updated in 2023, includes guidelines to recognize bias and systemic discrimination, and that prosecutors consider factors like an accused's indigenous identity and the impacts of colonialism on a case-by-case basis, but she denied any favouritism or political influence in decisions. She confirmed that no case-specific direction has been issued by the Attorney General and that PPSC does not track prosecution data by ethnicity, but she agreed to provide statistics on referrals and charges from DFO since 2018.

Hannah Rogers described Environment and Climate Change Canada's role in enforcing pollution prevention provisions of the Fisheries Act, noting that 266 officers conducted 2,458 inspections in 2024-25, leading to 10 convictions and about $14 million in fines, mostly directed to the environmental damages fund. She highlighted challenges in enforcement, such as the lack of administrative monetary penalties for low- and medium-severity violations under the Fisheries Act, which she said could improve efficiency, drawing on experience with similar tools under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. She also noted that her department uses a risk-based approach and works with other parts of the department on scientific analysis, but she could not provide specific regional data on violations without further review.

Emma Beauchamp clarified that PPSC and DFO have ongoing dialogue during investigations and prosecutions, but PPSC makes the final decision on charges independently. She stated that PPSC is not familiar with all indigenous bylaws but would receive them if relevant to a case, and she disagreed with suggestions that the law is applied unequally, emphasizing that each case is assessed individually.

During questioning, members pressed on whether indigenous identity can lead to charges not being laid, with O'Connor repeatedly stating it is one factor among many considered case by case, while some members argued this creates unequal application of the law. Rogers noted that administrative monetary penalties could provide a more efficient enforcement tool for lower-severity offences, and O'Connor confirmed that PPSC does not track data on prosecution outcomes by ethnicity but conducted an internal review after public concerns, the report of which she said cannot be shared. The committee also requested documents on referral and prosecution statistics since 2018, and O'Connor agreed to follow up on these requests.