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1 he nu>sl striking tcaluic ot Pacitic tishcncs policy is 

 its complexity. The task of isolating and analyzing the 

 host o\ interrelate*.! issues has been a major challenge tor 

 me and this Commission's slatl. While I outline new pol- 

 icy directions in this report, it must be recognized that no 

 policy framework will be suitable tbrever, and the gov- 

 ernment must face the need to adapt its policies as cir- 

 cumstances change. The recommendatuins in this report 

 are designed to provide the government with flexibility tt) 

 do this. 



Most policy is developed within the Department itself, 

 and my proposal for a planning committee will fiicus this 

 process and make it more systematic. The new consulta- 

 tive structure 1 proposed in Chapter 17 will provide valu- 

 able help in e.xploring the implications of proposed 

 changes in policy and in alerting the Department to 

 difficulties with policy and needed changes. 



However, sometimes neither the Department's internal 

 capabilities nor consultative arrangements will be ade- 

 quate. Consultants, task forces and formal commissions 

 of inquiry can often be helpful in advancing fisheries pol- 

 icy. 



In British Columbia the consulting industry is not 

 nearly as fully developed for fisheries as it is for other 

 resource industries, such as forestry and mining. Those in 

 the field provide mainly biological services and their 

 involvement in policy formulation and review has been 

 limited. In general, consultants are best equipped to pro- 

 vide advice about technical questions and problems that 

 are relatively narrowly specified. 



A task force typically includes a small number of 

 experts in a field who are appointed to advise the govern- 

 ment on specific features of public policy. Sometimes 

 they include government officials. By pooling the experi- 

 ence and perspectives of experts on a subject, such 

 groups can tackle more complicated and esoteric prob- 

 lems that do not involve widely divergent interests and 

 do not call for an extensive public inquiry process. 



Where rctorms will allect diverse groups of people or 

 involve fundamental questions of public policy, the gov- 

 ernment shouiil seek the atlvicc of formal commissions of 

 inquiry. With high public visibility and public proceed- 

 ings, they are able to gather facts and canvass advice 

 from a wide spectrum of the public. Public hearings help 

 various interests to understand the problems and posi- 

 tions of others and improve communications between 

 groups and individuals with competing interests. They 

 should be used more frequently than they have in the 

 past. Had an inquiry of this nature been conducted ear- 

 lier, much of the backlog of controversy and frustration 

 over policy could have been avoided. And had an inquiry 

 been struck in the late 1960s before the Davis Plan intro- 

 duced limited entry to the salmon fishery, many of the 

 difficulties experienced with this program might have 

 been foreseen and forestalled. The .same can be said 

 about the almost continual controversy that has sur- 

 rounded the Department's habitat protection initiatives 

 over the last decade. 



Furthermore, the terms of reference should be focused 

 sharply on individual policy problems as they emerge. 

 The scope of this Commission's inquiry was very broad, 

 and some of the issues I have had to deal with (such as 

 commercial fishing licensing, Indian fishing arrangements 

 and Yukon fisheries policy) could have justified separate 

 inquiries, especially in light of the need for reform in all 

 of them to cope with modem pressures. More frequent 

 commissions thus would serve two purposes: more atten- 

 tion would be paid to individual questions of policy; and 

 solutions to problems would be more timely. 



CONCLUSION 



This Commission's work is now completed and 

 reforms can begin. Whether or not the specific recom- 

 mendations in this report are adopted, it is important for 

 the government to proceed now to reform fisheries policy 

 systematically. This will call for a concentrated effort 

 from the Department and careful planning. The new for- 

 mal policy framework and interim organizational 

 arrangements proposed in this chapter should sustain the 

 momentum towards improved Pacific fisheries policy. 



FOOTNOTES 



1. The Pacific Coast Fishing Vessel Owners Guild. Exhibit #120. p. 

 18. 



2. Fourth Report for the First Session of the Thirty-second Parlia- 

 ment from ihe Standing Joint Committee of the Senate and the 

 House of Commons on Regulations and Other Statutory Instru- 

 ments. July 17. 1980. 



