Federal court judge sets aside DFO order to phase out B.C. fish farms

Federal court judge sets aside DFO order to phase out B.C. fish farms

Source: cbc

4/26/2022

Federal court judge sets aside DFO order to phase out B.C. fish farms

Credit: Jonathan Hayward

A federal court judge has set aside a Department of Fisheries order that would have phased out fish farming in British Columbia's Discovery Islands.

Judge Elizabeth Heneghan says in a decision issued April 22 that the order — made in late 2020 by then-fisheries minister Bernadette Jordan — breached the right to procedural fairness owed to the 19 fish farms expected to shut down by the end of June.

Fish farm operators Mowi Canada West, Cermaq Canada and Grieg Seafood applied for a judicial review of the order that prevented them from restocking their farms, arguing it lacked reasons and didn't "show an appreciation of the facts."

Heneghan agreed, saying without reasons from the minister the order can't be justified, nor is it transparent or intelligible.