A federal court judge overturned an order from the Ministry of Fisheries that would phase out fish farming on the Discovery Islands in British Columbia.
Judge Elizabeth Hennegan said in a ruling on April 22nd that an order issued in late 2020 by then-Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan violated the right to procedural justice due to the 19 fish farms expected to be closed. until the end of June.
Fishery operators Mowi Canada West, Cermaq Canada and Grieg Seafood have applied for a judicial review of the order, which prevented them from rebuilding their farms, arguing that there were no reasons and no “assessment of the facts”.
Hennegan agreed, saying that without reasons from the minister, the order could not be justified, nor was it transparent or comprehensible.
Heneghan’s decision supports the request of fisheries operators for a judicial review, upholds the order allowing the recovery of Discovery Island’s fisheries and overturns the minister’s decision while following a decision on costs.
The Ministry of Fisheries (DFO) and Minister Joyce Murray did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hennegan’s decision also said interveners’ statements, including the David Suzuki Foundation and the Georgia Strait Alliance, focused on issues including constitutional protection of the rights of first nations and respect for the precautionary principle, but did not address issues such as the lack of of procedural justice.
Last year, Mowi claimed she would lose about $ 26 million and be forced to lay off at least 78 people and cancel local contracts if forced to destroy 1.18 million salmon instead of transferring them to Discovery’s farms. Iceland.
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