Bill S-229 explained in plain English
An Act to amend the Fisheries Act (commercial seal fishing)
Federal Parliament bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Parliament of Canada snapshot for 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. MP vote breakdowns appear when the House of Commons publishes a recorded division export for that bill. Senate and House stage details include official debate/sitting links when LEGISinfo publishes them.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill S-229 would prohibit commercial seal fishing in Canadian waters while permitting Aboriginal organizations and beneficiaries of specific land claims agreements to continue seal harvesting.
Bill S-229 proposes to amend the federal Fisheries Act to ban commercial seal fishing in Canadian waters. The bill would make it illegal for anyone to fish for, catch, or kill seals for commercial purposes. However, there are exceptions: Aboriginal organizations can still obtain commercial licences to fish for seals, and certain individuals who have harvesting rights under specific land claims agreements (the Western Arctic Inuvialuit Claims Settlement, the James Bay and Northern Quebec Native Claims Settlement, and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement) can continue to harvest seals. The bill also confirms that it does not take away any existing Aboriginal or treaty rights under the Canadian Constitution. If passed, the legislation would come into force 60 days after royal assent.
- Adds a definition of 'aboriginal organization' to the Fisheries Act, which includes Indian bands, band councils, tribal councils, and organizations representing territorially based Aboriginal communities
- Creates a new licensing restriction stating that commercial seal fishing licences can only be issued to Aboriginal organizations
- Prohibits any person from fishing for, taking, catching, or killing seals for commercial purposes in Canadian fisheries waters
- Exempts from this prohibition persons acting under the authority of a commercial licence issued to an Aboriginal organization
- Exempts from this prohibition beneficiaries of the Western Arctic (Inuvialuit) Claims Settlement Agreement
- Exempts from this prohibition beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Native Claims Settlement Agreement
- Exempts from this prohibition Inuit people exercising harvesting rights under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement
- Includes a non-derogation clause confirming the bill does not affect existing Aboriginal or treaty rights under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982
- Sets the commencement date at 60 days after royal assent
- Commercial seal fishing operators and companies (would be prohibited from commercial seal fishing unless operating under the exemptions)
- Aboriginal organizations (would be permitted to obtain commercial seal fishing licences)
- Beneficiaries of the Western Arctic (Inuvialuit) Claims Settlement Agreement (would be exempt from the prohibition)
- Beneficiaries of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Native Claims Settlement Agreement (would be exempt from the prohibition)
- Inuit people in Nunavut exercising harvesting rights under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (would be exempt from the prohibition)
- The federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (would have authority over issuing commercial seal fishing licences only to Aboriginal organizations)
- No person shall fish for, take, catch, or kill any seal for commercial purposes in Canadian fisheries waters (section 22.1(1))
- Commercial seal fishing licences may only be issued to Aboriginal organizations (section 7.1)
- Aboriginal organizations that obtain a licence may authorize persons to fish for seals commercially under the authority of that licence
- Beneficiaries of specified land claims agreements retain the right to harvest seals
- Existing Aboriginal and treaty rights are preserved and not affected by this Act
- The Act would come into force 60 days after the day on which it receives royal assent (section 6)
- The bill does not specify any direct financial impacts, costs, or tax effects
- The bill text does not specify penalties or enforcement mechanisms; these would be governed by existing enforcement provisions of the Fisheries Act
- The bill text does not specify what penalties apply to violations of the commercial seal fishing prohibition; enforcement would be under existing Fisheries Act penalty provisions
- The bill does not detail the application process or criteria for Aboriginal organizations to obtain commercial seal fishing licences
- The bill does not specify which specific persons or entities qualify as beneficiaries under the land claims agreements referenced
- The bill does not address how existing commercial seal fishing operations or licences would be wound down or transitioned
- The bill status indicates it was not proceeded with, meaning it did not become law
The bill would modify the Fisheries Act by adding a definition of 'aboriginal organization,' restricting commercial seal fishing licences to Aboriginal organizations only, and creating a general prohibition on commercial seal fishing in Canadian waters with specified exceptions.
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textParliamentary Process
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
During the first reading of Bill S-229 in the Senate, no senator seconded the motion for its second reading, effectively preventing it from proceeding.
On March 3, 2009, during the first reading stage in the Senate, Bill S-229, an Act to amend the Fisheries Act (commercial seal fishing), was presented by Senator Mac Harb. Following its presentation, the Senate Speaker pro tempore asked when the bill should be read a second time. An unspecified senator responded with "Never!" and no senator offered to second the motion to schedule the second reading. As a result, the bill was not formally placed on the Senate's order of business for further consideration.
Bill S-229, concerning commercial seal fishing, was introduced and received first reading in the Senate but was not seconded for second reading and therefore not proceeded with.
On March 3, 2009, in the Senate, Bill S-229, an Act to amend the Fisheries Act concerning commercial seal fishing, was introduced and received its first reading. However, no senator moved to have it read a second time, and it was not seconded. The bill was subsequently not proceeded with. The rest of the sitting involved other routine proceedings, question period, and debates on various matters.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for First reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Second reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Consideration in committee yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Report stage yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
We don't have a plain-language summary for Third reading yet. The official source linked below is the full record.
Debate and sitting links point to official parliamentary sources when LEGISinfo publishes them. Any plain-language discussion summaries should be generated from those official texts and reviewed before public display.
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced