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Welcome to Making Waves: A discussion about the future of the Newfoundland and Labrador Fishery. In December 2011, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development — an officer of the House of Commons who reports directly to the federal Auditor General — released a study of managing fisheries for sustainability. One section was entitled, “What questions should parliamentarians ask?” Here are the specific questions: “What past audits and studies have been done of these fisheries by Parliament, |
Reports:
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by the Office of the Auditor General,or by the Departmental Internal Audit Groups? Have the problems identified in those reports been addressed successfully?”
My office took on the challenge of answering those questions. But my office took the challenge a step further — we not only reviewed the fisheries reports identified by the Auditor General’s Office over the past almost 20 years. We also reviewed the fisheries reports — specific to the East Coast — produced by the Senate, and the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.
Between the AG’s office, the Senate and the House of Commons, 21 fisheries reports have been produced in roughly 20 years, for a grand total of 177 recommendations.
On this site you’ll find links to those 21 reports, as well the list of the entire 177 recommendations.
We’ve also broken out the Top 20 recommendations that haven’t been acted on – which is particularly interesting given one of the key criticisms against the call for an inquiry into the NL fisheries has been why do we need yet another report when there have been dozens carried out over the years.
Further, you’ll find a link to a 1996 independent report – Is scientific inquiry incompatible with government information control? (The short answer is no.) As well, we’ve posted a 2012 damning report by a panel of eminent Royal Society of Canada marine scientists that finds Canada has an incredibly poor record of looking after fish stocks.
Onwards and upwards.
Ryan Cleary
