Fisheries Act changes questioned by former ministe
Four former federal fisheries ministers are questioning the government's motives behind the inclusion of environmental protection changes to the Fisheries Act in the Budget Implementation Act.
Mulroney-era Conservatives Tom Siddon and John Fraser, and Liberals Herb Dhaliwal and David Anderson, who both served under Jean Chretien, say in an open letter they don't believe federal ministers have given plausible explanations for why so much environmental legislation has been included in a money bill.
"Quite frankly, Canadians are entitled to know whether these changes were written, or insisted upon, by the minister of fisheries or by interest groups outside the government. If the latter is true, exactly who are they?" ask the four in an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The letter calls on Harper to have the Fisheries Act provisions reviewed by the parliamentary fisheries committee and not a sub-committee of finance.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/05/29/pol-fisheries-act-changes-waterways-letter-conservatives.html
