HALIFAX -- A environmental law research group says the Nova Scotia government's new aquaculture regulations fall far short of what was recommended in a sweeping independent report.
East Coast Environmental Law issued a statement Thursday saying its analysis of the regulatory framework introduced last month shows an improvement from previous rules, but the non-profit group says big gaps remain when it comes to openness, and transparency.
In particular, the group says the regulations do not include provisions concerning the proactive release of information to the public.
That was a key recommendation in a report released last December by Dalhousie University law professors Meinhard Doelle and Bill Lahey.
Provincial Fisheries Minister Keith Colwell challenged the group's assertion, saying the government has committed to releasing all information about aquaculture sites so long as it isn't business information that could affect competitiveness.
"We said we're going to do that," Colwell said Thursday. "Unless it's business sensitive we'll be releasing it."
Colwell also rejected the group's claim that the new rules don't cover the designation of certain at-risk areas as unsuitable for aquaculture.
"I have the right to isolate any area that I feel is not appropriate, based on science," he said.
The minister said the regulations remain a "live document" subject to changes.
"I'm satisfied that we're living up to the independent review we had, the auditor general's report and recommendations from our staff," the minister said. "We have some of the most stringent controls over the environment and how we operate in the world."
The environmental law group gave the government credit for implementing other recommendations, including the introduction of an independent review board, public hearings for certain licence applications, third-party auditing and management plans.
But the group said Colwell must adopt all of the recommendations in the report.
"A failure to take all recommendations seriously threatens the ability for finfish aquaculture to operate with social licence from the people of Nova Scotia," the group said.
