SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 77

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 30, 2022 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 9:35:02 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, most fisheries management decisions come to me to make, and I make them as the minister.
18 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Bob Zimmer
  • May/30/22 9:35:10 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, it seems as though the minister's staff are the ones who are running the show at DFO. At the same time that the minister told me personally that she was considering proposals, the DFO salmon team openly stated they would not discuss any proposals from the sport fishing advisory board related to chinook retention in April and May of 2022. Again, who is in charge of DFO, the minister or Rebecca Reid?
75 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 9:35:37 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, actually I have already explained that opening a fishery plan midstream means re-consulting with all of the stakeholders, and there simply was not time to do that in the time available to open it in April and May.
41 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Bob Zimmer
  • May/30/22 9:35:56 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, with respect, that is exactly the minister's job. It is to manage the fishery, and she simply is not doing that. In July 2020, the minister's predecessor, Minister Jordan, committed Canada to the United Kingdom's global ocean alliance agenda to zone 30% of Canada's coastal waters as “protected” by 2030. This is in addition to the existing government commitment to zone 25% of Canada's waters by 2025 and the extension into terrestrial public lands. The proponents of this European agenda advocate elimination of all extractive use of these regions, including recreational and commercial fishing. What is the minister's plan to conduct a transparent science-based process that includes regional and national stakeholder interests before declaring vast areas of public waters off limits to public access?
135 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 9:36:53 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, the marine protected areas prevent certain industrial activities that affect the seabed floor. Otherwise, there are no constraints that have already been defined in the negotiated MPAs that we are involved with.
34 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Bob Zimmer
  • May/30/22 9:37:16 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, what specific actions is the minister's department taking right now to implement the Cohen commission recommendation number 30 for a mark selective fishery?
26 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 9:37:25 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, we are considering a mark selective fishery. Part of the budget was to increase the supplies needed and the trailers needed for that fishery.
26 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Bob Zimmer
  • May/30/22 9:37:42 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, for more than one and a half decades the public fishing community, especially in B.C. and especially in the lower Fraser, has been advocating selective sport fishing regulations that would allow recreational fishing that was selective for certain types of salmon while avoiding endangered salmon and sturgeon. The technique is known as bar rigs, which has been known to be highly selective. Under the federal Fisheries Act, the 1996 British Columbia sport fishing regulation 137 has amendments for such things as herring jigging and sturgeon gear, but it requires an amendment that would allow selective salmon fishing. Will the minister work with the British Columbia sport fishing community to amend the British Columbia sport fishing regulations so that Canadians can enjoy this important family activity and support the key economic sport fishing sector, at the same time as protecting stocks of concern?
145 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 9:38:38 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, the protection of stocks of concern are, of course, the number one priority, but my officials are developing a discussion paper on this matter and will be consulting with interested parties.
33 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Bob Zimmer
  • May/30/22 9:38:53 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, we hear that mass marking trailers have been purchased and are currently in use in B.C., but only to apply coded wire tags, not doing their intended purpose. Will the minister's department in 2023 begin the critical process of mass marking all hatchery chinook production that is designed to contribute to fisheries in southern B.C. in order to provide increased opportunity for mark selective fisheries and to assist hatchery managers in distinguishing between hatchery and wild chinook in brood stock selection?
86 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 9:39:25 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, what we will do is prioritize the conservation of the wild Pacific salmon while making opportunities available to the sport fishery in such a way that it does not undermine the conservation of wild salmon.
37 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Bob Zimmer
  • May/30/22 9:39:45 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, the minister has had ample opportunity to address this issue. The Cohen commission has been around for 10 years, yet the government is still planning to delay the process, putting many of our anglers at risk. How many full-time equivalent positions are there at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans?
53 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 9:40:04 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, there are close to 14,000 permanent positions.
10 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Bob Zimmer
  • May/30/22 9:40:12 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, for everybody out there, that was 14,000. Total spending for Fisheries and Oceans Canada increased by 42.3% between 2016-17 and 2020-21, yet we have heard across the board that service levels are at all-time lows. Why?
43 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 9:40:32 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, the complexity of DFO's mandate is only increasing, especially with the potential pipeline and tanker traffic. We have invested a lot in protecting the oceans through the oceans protection plan.
33 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Bob Zimmer
  • May/30/22 9:40:52 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, over that same period we have seen full-time positions at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans increase by 30%, and the minister has already acknowledged the 14,000 positions, yet we see very little in effective enforcement in British Columbia, which is the reason gillnets are still catching threatened stocks in our waters. Why?
57 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 9:41:14 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, we are looking into the matter the member has just raised.
13 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Mr. Bob Zimmer
  • May/30/22 9:41:27 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, further, we have seen full-time staff in the department in the Pacific region balloon, according to estimates, from 617 since 2016 to 1,949 individuals, yet we saw recently that DFO did nothing with respect to the floods in British Columbia. It was the volunteers who did the work while the executives of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans sat on their hands. With all the additional staff in Vancouver, why did DFO not lift a finger?
80 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Hon. Joyce Murray
  • May/30/22 9:41:59 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Chair, I am very proud of our government's response to the floods and the slides. DFO was there to ensure that the damage to the hatcheries was understood and corrected and to assess the impact on salmon—
40 words
All Topics
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
The Chair
  • May/30/22 9:42:20 p.m.
  • Watch
Continuing debate, the hon. member for Whitby.
7 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border