Black Redhorse Critical Habitat Order

Summary#

The government made the Critical Habitat of the Black Redhorse (Moxostoma duquesnei) Order: SOR/2022-235 under the Species at Risk Act. The Order turns on the Act’s legal prohibition against destroying the fish’s identified critical habitat in parts of southwestern Ontario. It came into force on November 8, 2022.

What it does#

• Triggers the protection in subsection 58(1) of the Species at Risk Act that prohibits destruction of any part of the Black Redhorse’s critical habitat.
• Protects areas of rivers that were identified as critical habitat in the Recovery Strategy posted on May 12, 2022. Maps and detailed boundaries are in that Recovery Strategy.
• Applies only to the parts of those mapped areas that actually have the features the fish needs (for example, pools, flow conditions and substrate).
• Covers critical habitat in these waterways (including named tributaries):
  • Sauble River
  • Saugeen River
  • Maitland River (including Blyth Brook and Hopkins Creek)
  • Bayfield River
  • Ausable River (including Little Ausable)
  • Thames River (including Middle Thames River, Waubuno Creek, North Thames River, Fish Creek, Fanshawe Lake, Wye Creek, Stoney Creek, Medway Creek and Lower Thames River)
  • Grand River (including Conestogo River, Cedar Creek, Forwell Creek, Four Wells Lake, Laurel Creek, Nith River, Mount Pleasant Creek, and Big Creek)
• Complements existing protections under the Fisheries Act; it does not create a new separate permit process. People who need to affect critical habitat must still go through the existing Fisheries Act/SARA authorization process.

Who's affected#

• People and businesses planning work in or near the named rivers: developers, contractors, aggregate operations, landowners, utilities, and municipalities. Such projects may need an authorization under the Fisheries Act or a permit under SARA before they proceed.
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) will manage reviews, authorizations and enforcement for activities that might harm critical habitat.
• Local and regional conservation bodies and authorities that work on river management and restoration (for example, the Grand River Conservation Authority and other conservation authorities) will be involved in implementation and monitoring.
• Indigenous communities with lands or interests along the rivers that contain critical habitat were consulted, including Saugeen Ojibway Nation (SON) and Six Nations of the Grand River.
• Small businesses: the government’s analysis says the Order does not impose incremental regulatory costs on small businesses.
• Anyone who deliberately destroys critical habitat could face penalties under SARA, including fines up to $300,000 (summary conviction) or $1,000,000 (indictable), smaller caps for non-profit corporations, and possible jail terms of up to one year (summary) or five years (indictable).

Why it matters#

• The Black Redhorse is a rare freshwater fish found only in parts of southwestern Ontario. Protecting its critical habitat aims to help the species recover and avoid further decline.
• The Order gives a clear, federal legal basis to prevent or review activities that would destroy the fish’s habitat in the listed rivers. That can affect real projects near or in water — for example, bank work, channel changes, or in-water construction.
• The government expects the Order will have little direct cost to businesses because it uses existing permit and authorization processes. Its main effect is to strengthen legal protection and enforcement options for habitat that supports the species’ survival and recovery.