BC Sport Fishing Ticketing Rules Repealed

Summary#

These final regulations (SOR/2022-70) remove old ticketing rules from the British Columbia Sport Fishing Regulations, 1996 by repealing Part VI and Schedule VIII. The change reflects that minor fishing-ticket enforcement in B.C. is now handled under the Contraventions Act system. The regulations were registered on March 28, 2022 and published in the Canada Gazette on April 13, 2022.

What it does#

• Repeals Part VI of the British Columbia Sport Fishing Regulations, 1996, which previously allowed tickets to be issued under the Fisheries Act.
• Repeals Schedule VIII, which listed ticketable sport-fishing offences and their fines under the Fisheries Act regime.
• Leaves ticketing for minor sport-fishing offences to the system under the Contraventions Act and the Contraventions Regulations (amendments made by SOR/2021-81), removing the older Fisheries Act ticketing option.
• Aims to prevent confusion caused by having two different lists of ticketable offences and fine amounts (one in the repealed Schedule VIII and one under the Contraventions Regulations).

Who's affected#

• Fishery officers and enforcement staff in British Columbia, because it changes which legal ticketing system they use.
• Recreational fishers in British Columbia, since the practical way minor offences are ticketed is now the Contraventions Act system.
• Administrators and lawyers who manage or advise on sport-fishing enforcement and fines.
• Small businesses: the government’s review says there is no impact on small businesses.

Why it matters#

• It cleans up obsolete rules so there is a single, consistent ticketing system for minor sport-fishing offences.
• That reduces administrative confusion about which offences are ticketable and what fines apply.
• It does not change enforcement practice or add new penalties; it removes duplicated, out-of-date regulatory text now that enforcement uses the Contraventions Act.