44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 30, 2022 11:00AM
- May/30/22 8:16:56 p.m.
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Madam Chair, Marshall I states that the indigenous right to participate in the unregulated fishery of 1761 is a right to participate in the regulated fishery of today. Why, then, for at least the last three years, has the DFO allowed out-of-season lobster fishing in southwest Nova Scotia?
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- May/30/22 8:17:38 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it was the lobster fishery in southwest Nova Scotia. They were fishing out of season in the summer. Will that happen again this summer?
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- May/30/22 8:18:14 p.m.
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Madam Chair, no illegal fishing is acceptable, and we are working with the provinces and the RCMP to ensure that compliance enforcement is in place.
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- May/30/22 8:23:13 p.m.
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Madam Chair, how many prosecutions have occurred from DFO investigations for out-of-season fishing in the Maritimes?
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- May/30/22 8:36:06 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is great to be here in the committee of the whole.
Fishing is the lifeblood of our rural coastal communities from coast to coast to coast. It is the main driver of local economies. Whether it is bait, gear or simply grabbing a coffee on the way to wharf, it drives jobs directly and indirectly.
I have been on the wharves in every area of my riding of Cape Breton—Canso, chatting with the hard-working fishers, whether it is in Whitehead, Baxters Cove, Chéticamp, Glace Bay Harbour, Grand Étang and all points in between. People like Jetty Boudreau, Lauchie MacKinnon, Herb Nash, Bobby Trucker, Gord McKinnon, Carla Samson, Leonard Leblanc, and the many fishers in the three first nation communities that I serve in Potlotek, Paqtnkek and We'koqma'q, understand the need to pass the knowledge on to future generations and know how to preserve the species for the future.
I am always impressed by how much homegrown innovation comes directly from all of our rural communities. I think of a company in my riding, Louisbourg Seafoods, through whose constant and progressive innovation is able to provide hundreds of rural jobs to Canadians, which are steady and predictable employment for its staff, their families and the communities that I serve and that we serve.
With that in mind, can the minister please speak to her experiences as minister with the hard-working folks of this industry, and in particular her vision, her vision to continue to support rural coastal economies, but in particular the blue economy?
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- May/30/22 8:41:00 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we are privileged, as Canadians, to live in a country that has the Great Lakes area as part of our country. We share the Great Lakes with the United States. The Great Lakes have almost 20% of all the fresh water on this planet, so this is an amazing resource. The Great Lakes are critical in so many ways, for providing fresh water to citizens, for providing recreation, whether it is boating, swimming, paddling and even hunting and fishing. The Great Lakes are also a huge source of economic value. The wine region, the Niagara wine region, is so successful because of the microclimate around the Great Lakes.
One of the challenges with the Great Lakes, of course, is that there are some invasive species that do not belong there, that have proliferated and that need to be addressed. A primary one is the sea lamprey. The Great Lakes Fisheries Commission is a collaboration between the United States and Canada. We have a formal treaty between the Department of State and Global Affairs Canada to—
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- May/30/22 8:46:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I would like to know whether the minister believes that just closing the fishery is enough to restore the stocks, since the mortality rate from fishing for this species is about 6%.
I am wondering whether she believes that closing the fishery will be enough to restore the resource.
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- May/30/22 8:46:31 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I thank my colleague for her question.
This fish is a food source for other very important stocks, such as cod. I realize that fishing is partially responsible for some of the pressure on this stock, but it depends on the stock. If we can increase it, and I hope we can, we will—
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- May/30/22 8:51:49 p.m.
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Madam Chair, we will stick to small fish. It will do me good to speak about something other than capelin, but I will come back to that.
What statistics did the department use to make its decision to suspend mackerel and herring fishing? Does the department have data from fishers outside Quebec? The fishers in the pelagic fishery in Gaspé say they are pretty much the only ones to report their catches. What does the minister think of the fishers' statement?
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- May/30/22 8:58:13 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I cannot help but feel deeply concerned about the lack of vision and new commitments in this year's budget to protect the marine ecosystems and to support communities that rely on our fishing industry. We need real leadership and bold action, and I cannot see that in this year's budget.
I would like to use my time today to ask the minister questions. Wild Pacific salmon are a fundamental part of our ecosystems on the west coast. Wild salmon populations have declined by 70% over the last century in B.C. Successive Liberal and Conservative governments have failed this vital species.
It has been over a year since the government announced its Pacific salmon strategy initiative. Beyond long-term fishing closures, the government has been silent about how it is helping the salmon populations. Wild Pacific salmon are facing a crisis. Can the minister confirm how much of the $35 million budgeted last year for the PSSI was spent?
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- May/30/22 9:08:07 p.m.
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Madam Chair, owner-operator licencing in the Atlantic means independent harvesters and communities benefit from our fishing industry. However, corporate concentration of processing facilities threatens their ability to get a reasonable price for their catch.
How is the minister working to ensure this budget supports independent harvesters and the communities that rely on them?
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- May/30/22 9:13:41 p.m.
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Madam Chair, it is great to participate in the committee of the whole this evening. My remarks will be centred around the Pacific salmon strategy initiative that the minister and our government are undertaking.
I would be remiss if I did not say that one of the reasons I wanted to speak this evening and ask the minister questions is that when my parents immigrated to Canada in the early 1960s to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, my mother, her four sisters and my grandmother all worked at a cannery in Prince Rupert, in a very vibrant fishing community. In high school and then in university, I worked at J.S. McMillan Fisheries. I understand very well the fishing industry. I think about going for picnics along the Skeena River as a kid and fishing. I used what is called a kitimat and bait to fish for various types of salmon at that time. It brings back very fond memories for my family, particularly my grandparents, who are no longer in this world and are in another world, and my parents, who are at home watching this evening.
I want to salute my mother and her sisters, who for many years were filleters and worked in canneries. It is very rigorous and hard work done manually, and they did it to provide a better future for me, my first cousins and siblings. They have my utmost respect and gratitude. We had many folks come from the east coast during that time, and a lot of my friends came from Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, moving interprovincially to work in Prince Rupert, especially during the summertime. It is a fond part of my childhood memories and will always be a part of me.
I am pleased to speak today about the efforts our government is taking to protect wild salmon populations. By way of background, the five most common species of Pacific salmon, which give me a big smile, are pink, chum, coho, chinook and sockeye. While the department responded to declines in coho populations two decades ago with strong management measures, the more significant declines in many southern British Columbia chinook and sockeye populations in recent years call for immediate and bolder actions.
Let me state clearly that Fisheries and Oceans Canada is committed to the long-term health and sustainability of our rich fishery resources. I am confident that Fisheries and Oceans Canada's launch of the Pacific salmon strategy initiative, or PSSI, in June 2021, as well as its ongoing work with first nations, harvesters, stakeholders and the Governments of British Columbia and Yukon, will help us address the top priority.
The PSSI is a $647.1-million investment that addresses the steep declines in Pacific salmon through a series of immediate and long-term measures organized under four pillars: conservation and stewardship, salmon enhancement, harvest transformation, and integration and collaboration. This will include significant new investments in habitat restoration, integrated ecosystem planning, hatchery capacity and science to inform decision-making. This is the largest, most transformative investment Canada has made in Pacific salmon.
The PSSI, among other initiatives, is aimed at protecting Pacific salmon and will integrate and leverage other recent investments, while at the same time ensure that our actions are designed to meet clear biological objectives and discover innovative ways to improve the resiliency of our Pacific salmon fisheries. The department is taking a long-term approach to stabilizing, restoring and rebuilding salmon stocks and the habitat that is critical to their survival. The approach of the PSSI is built on coordination, partnerships, best available science and, as I have just said, significant new financial resources through the PSSI. Fisheries and Oceans Canada will look to indigenous communities, British Columbia and Yukon partners, harvesters and other stakeholders to join us in this strategic and targeted approach to address the challenges currently facing Canada's Pacific salmon.
I wish to salute my friends and their parents who were trawlers, gillnetters and seiners and who went out into the waters in the Pacific Ocean while we were in high school and university. I remember the conversations I had and the rich experiences I was able to gain through my friendships with those individuals. I am still in contact with many of them today.
Funding for the PSSI is already being used to implement immediate and long-term solutions. Under PSSI's conservation and stewardship pillar, we are investing new resources in science, in additional salmon habitat monitoring and assessment and in integrated planning and habitat restoration. We are ensuring that our priority-setting is informed by available science, which we will also use to help us evaluate how well our management actions are working so we can adjust more nimbly.
As we know, Canadians across the country are feeling the impacts of climate-related extremes first-hand, from devastating wildfires and flooding to heat waves and droughts. Not surprisingly, these events are also having a significant impact on Pacific salmon populations. To respond to this, we are supporting integrated salmon rebuilding and ecosystem planning processes that incorporate improved climate science, salmon conservation priorities and the interests of our partners.
We have committed an additional $100 million toward doubling the size of the British Columbia salmon restoration and innovation fund, a fund that is delivered in partnership with the Province of British Columbia. We are also creating a new salmon habitat restoration centre of expertise to provide expanded technical expertise and resources to help first nations and community partners strategically direct and deliver salmon habitat restoration, informed, of course, by science. An important aspect of the PSSI is a strong focus on strengthening collaboration with the Province of British Columbia and the territorial Government of Yukon by strengthening current governance structures and better aligning our respective Pacific salmon priorities.
Under the PSSI salmon enhancement pillar, we are modernizing current hatchery programs, focusing on how salmon hatcheries can directly help conserve, restore and enhance priority salmon populations. We are also enhancing our scientific and technical support for hatcheries to ensure that we can support the broader objective of conserving and rebuilding Pacific salmon stocks. Initial planning and consultations are under way to construct new DFO and community-based hatcheries so that key populations of concern can be protected and rebuilt in areas within British Columbia that currently have no significant hatchery capacity.
Through the PSSI harvest transformation pillar, Fisheries and Oceans Canada took steps last June to introduce additional restrictions and closures in commercial salmon fisheries to further protect stocks of conservation concern. We intend to implement this more precautionary approach for the longer term.
Since then, we have begun work with Pacific salmon harvesters to transform how these fisheries are being managed. This includes recognizing that the Pacific salmon commercial fishery must be smaller and more resilient, and that it needs to employ more selective fishing methods and approaches to reduce bycatch of weak wild stocks. To this end, the new Pacific salmon commercial licence retirement program, which we will be launching in the coming weeks, will give commercial harvesters an option to retire their licences for market value, helping us to right-size the commercial fleet.
The department has also been meeting with first nations to better understand how harvesting for food and for social and ceremonial purposes has been affected by declining salmon returns, or salmon runs, as we used to say. DFO will also be discussing the economic impacts related to communal commercial salmon licences, which are held by many first nations in British Columbia and Yukon. DFO will be working together with first nations to explore options, such as shifting to more selective fishing gear and harvesting non-salmon species.
The department is modernizing how recreational salmon fisheries are managed by improving fishery monitoring, data and management tools. For example, DFO will be consulting broadly in the coming weeks about developing a framework for implementing additional marked selective fisheries in the future.
Lastly, the activities under our fourth pillar, integration and collaboration, will develop our all-important collaboration with indigenous partners and stakeholders even further. The challenge before us is a long-term one and will require all hands on deck.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada cannot do this alone. The last six years have been the warmest on the planet. The recent widespread floods and landslides in British Columbia are another major setback to wild Pacific salmon stocks. Our efforts to protect, recover and rebuild these iconic species are even more important now. Our government is making generational investments to protect and restore Pacific salmon and their ecosystems by working in partnership with indigenous nations and other governments.
Moving on to my questions, as I mentioned, the last six years have been the warmest on the planet. When we take this into account, along with recent floods and landslides in British Columbia, it is clear that we must prioritize the protection, recovery and rebuilding of these iconic species. Pacific salmon need our help, and the $647.1 million announced in budget 2021 will guide a strategic and coordinated long-term response to these issues.
Can the minister please explain how the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard are hoping to stem the decline of Pacific salmon stocks and populations and protect and rebuild these stocks?
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- May/30/22 9:30:03 p.m.
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Madam Chair, B.C.'s public fishery represents $1.1 billion in revenue and supports 9,000 direct jobs. When I asked the minister in committee if the minister would work with our angling community, she said that she would. She has since broken her promise. Why is she determined to shut our province's fishing communities down with continued unnecessary closures?
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- May/30/22 9:30:49 p.m.
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Madam Chair, who specifically in the fishing community did the minister meet with?
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- May/30/22 9:30:57 p.m.
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Madam Chair, if the minister had actually met with the fishing community, one would think it would be first-hand. It is easy to remember the fishing community. Believe me, I know a lot of them in B.C., and they are certainly unforgettable.
A study funded by the minister's own department recently found that the numbers of chinook salmon in the Salish Sea during the summertime are four to six times more abundant for southern resident killer whales than in northern resident whales' feeding grounds. A lack of prey for southern resident killer whales has been used by the minister's predecessor as the reason for shutting down our public fisheries. This has now been clearly debunked. When will the minister's department start making science-based decisions when it comes to keeping our public fishery open?
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- May/30/22 9:32:01 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the minister's recent decision to reject the sport fishing advisory board's chinook salmon retention proposals is again a broken promise. Why is the minister refusing to work with our public fishery community to ensure science-based decisions are made?
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- May/30/22 9:33:32 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, through the Chair, why did the minister reject the sport fishing advisory board's two very modest chinook salmon retention proposals for portions of PFMA 17, 18, 19, southeast Vancouver Island and 28, Howe Sound, for the months of April and May? Why?
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- May/30/22 9:35:56 p.m.
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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?
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- May/30/22 9:37:42 p.m.
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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?
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- May/30/22 9:51:36 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, that brought me back to a time when I was in opposition, in the opposition lobby, visiting with some representatives from an oceans conservation organization who told me about ghost gear. It was the first time I had heard about it and the idea that this fishing gear is trapping and killing fish and even whales endlessly, because it was abandoned in the ocean.
I am so pleased to say that our government is taking action on that. The member did a great job of laying out how important that is. We have a ghost gear program. The results of this program have been very impressive so far. Approved projects are funded based on activities under four pillars: abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear; responsible disposal, like the one he saw and I have seen at Steveston Harbour; acquiring and piloting innovative technologies to do these things; and international leadership.
This will be available for a wide range of individuals, companies, businesses, not-for-profits, indigenous organizations, research institutions and other levels of government. I really encourage interested parties to apply. The applications are due by June 6 this year at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time.
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