44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 30, 2022 11:00AM
- May/30/22 10:51:26 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, furthermore, are you now saying that because one person did something earlier another person can do it? What is going on here?
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- May/30/22 10:51:32 p.m.
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I was just making a general comment.
The hon. member.
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- May/30/22 10:51:35 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, that is great. I would hate to see that kind of precedent being set by you today at almost 11 o'clock at night.
We can already see the benefits from the modem safeguards the Fisheries Act provides. Just last month, on April 4, to be precise, the fish—
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- May/30/22 10:51:50 p.m.
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I have another point of order from the hon. member for South Shore—St. Margarets.
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- May/30/22 10:51:54 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I am concerned about interpretation. I think I heard the member earlier refer to scallops. I think those refer to potatoes. We call them scallops, if members know anything about the fishery.
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- May/30/22 10:52:10 p.m.
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All right. We are descending into more debate than we should be. That is not a point of order.
The hon. member for Kingston and the Islands.
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- May/30/22 10:52:13 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we can already see the benefits from the modern safeguards that the Fisheries Act provides. Just last month, on April 4, to be precise, the fish stock provisions of the Fisheries Act came into force for 30 major stocks prescribed by regulation, 14 of which require rebuilding. The provisions introduced binding obligations on the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to maintain prescribed fish stocks at sustainable levels and to develop and implement rebuilding plans if these stocks become depleted.
Corresponding regulations are now in place to ensure that rebuilding plans are developed in a timely and consistent manner. The fish stock provisions and corresponding regulatory amendments have significantly strengthened Canada's fisheries management framework. They are a major milestone toward restoring and rebuilding Canada's fish stocks and supporting sustainable fisheries for the long term.
These accomplishments support the already great work that Fisheries and Oceans Canada and its partners have been doing to rebuild our fish stocks and place greater accountability on the responsible management of our fisheries for generations to come. This government is committed to restoring Canada's fish stocks to abundance so that they can continue to support indigenous peoples, harvesters, coastal communities and the overall health of marine ecosystems. Healthy fish stocks support more resilient ecosystems while improving the potential for economic returns in the long term.
When a stock has declined, conservation of the stock and concrete action aimed at rebuilding it are of primary importance. Of course, this does not come without a cost. This government recognizes that when a decision is taken to close or restrict certain fisheries so that stocks can be rebuilt, there will be economic impacts during the rebuilding period. These decisions are not taken lightly. The DFO strives to minimize the socio-economic impacts and rebuild initiatives without compromising the primary goal of promoting the rebuilding of depleted fish stocks.
In practice, this is an enormous and complicated undertaking. However, more significant and potentially long-term impacts can result from delaying action, or not taking sufficient action, to promote the rebuilding of stocks.
DFO will continue to invest in its science programming to ensure fishery decisions based on the precautionary approach continue to be informed by leading science advice on the biology of fish stocks and environmental variables affecting those stocks.
The 2018 fall economic statement announced $107.4 million over five years and $17.6 million in ongoing investments to support the implementation of the fish stocks provisions in the 2019 amendments to the Fisheries Act.
A large portion of this funding is supporting science activities, from at-sea surveys to the development of reference points to apply the precautionary approach to fishery decisions. Further, DFO is funding external projects to support innovation in fisheries and science that will contribute to sustainable fisheries.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and this government more broadly, continue to be firmly committed to safeguarding the long-term viability of Canada's fisheries and coastal communities by ensuring the health of Canada's fish stocks and aquatic ecosystems.
For communities across Canada, fish are an important resource. Commercial and recreational fishing sectors are key economic drivers in coastal communities, with ocean-based recreational fisheries contributing about 2% to Canada's marine economy output. Harvesting operations both large and small are often the single largest source of local jobs in Canada's coastal regions.
In 2018 alone, the commercial fishing industry contributed $2.3 billion to Canada's gross domestic product, with the aquaculture industry contributing $700 million and the fish processing industry contributing $1.2 billion. The total direct and indirect contribution of the seafood industry to the Canadian economy accounted for $7.6 billion. This industry provides an estimated 20,400 individuals with direct employment in fish and seafood processing, with an additional 32,167 indirect jobs stemming from the industry.
With this in mind, it is easy to see why the fishing industry is so important to not just coastal communities, but indeed to Canada as a whole, which is why I have such a great interest in this tonight.
Can the minister please explain what she is doing to ensure the long-term sustainability and viability of the commercial fishing sector?
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- May/30/22 10:57:23 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thought the member's comments were very insightful, especially when he was talking about this being an enormous and complicated undertaking. When we think about the country of Canada, with two and a half times the length of coastline of any other country in the world and oceans on three different coasts, it is enormous and complicated. That is one of the reasons that ministry officials work with the local harvest community and other stakeholders as they seek to translate data into conservation or fishery action.
Our government did indeed create new tools to continue to promote healthier marine ecosystems and more abundant fish stocks across the country. We now have legislative and regulatory mechanisms in place that will protect existing fish and fish habitat, prioritize rebuilding depleted fish stocks and incorporate indigenous knowledge into decision-making. Among these tools are the fish stock provisions in the Fisheries Act that create modern safeguards on fish stocks. These provisions create binding obligations to maintain prescribed fish stocks at sustainable levels and to develop and implement rebuilding plans for depleted stocks.
This has significantly strengthened our fisheries management framework. It is a major step toward better restoring and rebuilding our fish stocks, which are essential to supporting sustainable fisheries in the long run. It is a virtual circle: Ensuring that we have healthy fish stocks supports more resilient marine ecosystems, and thus they provide greater economic returns for Canada's harvesters.
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- May/30/22 10:59:30 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, earlier, the minister said that the DFO scientific team included economists and sociologists. Could the minister tell us how many economists are employed by DFO?
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- May/30/22 10:59:54 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we could find that number out for the member of Parliament.
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- May/30/22 11:00:02 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would also like to know how many sociologists work at DFO. In addition, are there other social science experts working at DFO and, if so, what types of experts?
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- May/30/22 11:00:22 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, a range of experts are working with DFO, including sociologists and others who would have the expertise to interpret the data. We have a very strong digital team as well, which knows how to use digital means to summarize and communicate the—
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- May/30/22 11:00:52 p.m.
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- May/30/22 11:00:54 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the minister just opened a new door with her mention of data. What we are hearing on the ground is that there is a lot of missing data regarding certain species, in particular pelagic species, and especially in the St. Lawrence. Does the minister think that DFO has enough ships?
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- May/30/22 11:01:18 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it would be nice to have unlimited resources, but that is not the world we live in. We have the resources we have, and our officials and scientists work very hard to get adequate data for us to make decisions. There are gaps sometimes, and when that is clear, we find ways to help fill those gaps and make decisions based on the—
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- May/30/22 11:01:51 p.m.
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- May/30/22 11:01:54 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, does the Coast Guard have sufficient capacity? Does it have enough vessels? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be “no”. Does DFO have a plan for rectifying this? Without measures, it is difficult to make informed decisions.
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- May/30/22 11:02:15 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we have a very comprehensive fleet refresh plan that has 31 votes for the large ships and dozens of smaller ships and crafts we are replacing. This was necessary because of a decade of darkness under the previous Conservative government, when nothing was done to modernize and update the Coast Guard.
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- May/30/22 11:02:45 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, while we are on the subject of the Coast Guard, I would like to talk about the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary.
The St. Lawrence River is magnificent. It is one of the most beautiful rivers in the world, but it is also one of the most complex and perilous to navigate. That is precisely why there are pilots to navigate the St. Lawrence River. Most of the time, it is the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary that keeps people safe in the turbulent waters of the St. Lawrence.
The Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary has a very small budget. Is the minister planning to increase its funding soon, as the Senate committee proposed in its November 2018 report?
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- May/30/22 11:03:28 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the Coast Guard has been funded this year to continue refreshing its fleet, and it is a major investment in the Coast Guard. I have been very proud to see the work the Coast Guard does in icebreaking to enable fishers in constituencies such as the member's to get out early onto the water to fish.
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