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Fish Habitat Management Modernizing the Program (EPMP)
Modernizing the Program (EPMP)
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Progress in Implementing the Environmental Process Modernization Plan
DFO's Fish Habitat Management Program (FHMP) is a key federal regulatory program with a mandate to conserve and protect fish habitat. Delivery of its responsibilities under the Fisheries Act (FA), the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) and now the Species at Risk Act (SARA) impacts on a wide range of individuals, businesses and communities all across Canada.
It has been almost three years since the Fish Habitat Management Program (FHMP) began to modernize the delivery of its responsibilities by implementing the Environmental Process Modernization Plan (EPMP). Over that time, a number of policy, programming and organizational changes have been undertaken to modernize the Program to make it more effective in protecting and conserving fish habitat, efficient in the delivery of its services, integrated with the interests and responsibilities of others, and relevant to Canadians.
The EPMP is a comprehensive continuous improvement plan aimed at: improved predictability and timeliness in decision making; improved harmonization of processes with others, particularly in the area of federal-provincial environmental assessments for major projects; and, strengthened partnerships with others - be it other levels of government, the industry sector, non-government organizations and Aboriginals - to maximize opportunities to conserve and protect fish habitat.
The EPMP is focused on six key elements in modernizing the Fish Habitat Management Program (FHMP):
- A Program Wide Risk Management Framework (RMF);
- Streamlining Regulatory Reviews of Low Risk Activities
- Strengthened Partnering Arrangements;
- Improved Coherent and Predictable Decision-Making;
- Improved Management of Major Projects; and,
- Habitat Compliance Modernization.
Our efforts and results under the EPMP are being increasingly recognized within government and by external stakeholders as we make decisions in a more transparent, predictable and timely manner. By integrating our regulatory responsibilities with the interest of our key stakeholders and by focusing on those priority areas Canadians expect us to focus on; we are better serving our mandate of conserving and protecting fish habitat, and delivering our responsibilities in a manner consistent with the Government of Canada's regulatory strategy.
