SoVote

Hon. Joyce Murray (Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Lib.)

May/30/22 9:23:12 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to thank the member for the story of his family early on and their connection with fisheries and for his concern about wild Pacific salmon. They have been such a high priority for British Columbians and for this government, and this is even more critical today given the complex challenges facing the species, including, as he mentioned, climate change, changes in land and water use, and B.C.'s year of floods, fires and slides. The PSSI will include habitat, hatcheries and harvest approaches to conserve and restore Pacific salmon. The department is continuing to work to ensure that new and ongoing investments, activities and Pacific salmon programming are properly aligned with other partners to achieve maximum and key results. In particular, programs and actions will be implemented to respond to the historic declines of the Pacific salmon by putting in place conservation approaches and plans to prioritize Pacific salmon populations and support their recovery.

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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22

Hon. Joyce Murray (Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Lib.)

May/30/22 10:21:45 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the member for his evident passion and commitment to nature conservation as well as the other aspects of indigenous reconciliation and the economic benefits of such. I love the term “nature-based solutions”, but I also think about it as ocean-sourced climate solutions. These are actions that protect, sustainably manage and restore ecosystems while providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits, and this is just what an MPA is all about. Marine protected areas protect ecologically important species, habitats and ecosystems. They improve the health of the ocean. They strengthen its resilience against climate change impacts, such as ocean acidification, coastal erosion, coastal flooding and sea-level rise. As well, they help to grow our seafood diversity and abundance. MPAs also improve coastal defences, such as shoreline buffers and barriers to storms. They help waves disperse and protect reefs. They provide carbon and greenhouse gas absorption through protected habitats such as marshes and seagrass meadows. The role of MPAs and a climate-resilient ocean are critical reasons why we need to conserve 30% of our oceans by 2030 and ensure their effective management through monitoring, compliance, enforcement, partnerships and stewardship efforts.

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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/30/22

Mr. Adam van Koeverden

May/30/22 10:23:28 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, my second question is on the topic of MPAs. It is evident that MPAs and MPA networks help to conserve and protect marine species and populations, the diversity of ecosystems that marine organisms depend on and special places such as underwater canyons and hydrothermal vents. Additionally, MPA networks also help to protect important ecological links between one area and another, contributing to improved species resilience and adaptation to future pressures. In fact, resilience and healthy ecosystems help to support sustainable industries, local economies and coastal communities. In time, protected areas can be a source of young fish to disperse to other areas and a source of larger and more abundant fish for unprotected areas near MPAs. An MPA network strategy clarifies our direction for marine conservation so that ocean users will have a clear vision of their potential access restrictions to marine resources. Depending on the important marine life that needs protection, additional activities beyond those already prohibited by the MPA protection centre may be limited or prohibited when they impact meeting an MPA's conservation objective. Mr. Chair, this past weekend, I had the privilege of being in your neck of the woods in the province of Nova Scotia. I was in Cape Breton. I ran the Cabot Trail relay and had a blast. I did visit the member for Cape Breton—Canso. We had a great chat. I also got to run a relay race around the Cabot Trail and visited a lot of fishing communities. I know how important this legislation is to them, so I thank them for their contributions. My final question for the minister is this. Would she explain how we determine what additional protection measures are needed within an MPA for continued support of ecosystems such as that around the Cape Breton region?

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Context: House Hansard - 77 - May/31/22

Hon. Joyce Murray

May/31/22 12:15:04 a.m.
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Mr. Chair, I do understand the difficulty when fisheries decline, and our job is to conserve the fishery so it can regrow in abundance and be available for those who depend on it.

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