Evidence of meeting #78 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was product.
A recording is available from Parliament.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
On that very point of helping to promote, I'm the chair of the Canada-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group, and I notice that Taiwan is not listed as one of your major buyers.
Chinese people do love this type of seafood. Is it just the smallness of the population of Taiwan, or are there other factors that don't put Taiwan on that list?
12:40 p.m.
Executive Director, Lobster Council of Canada
I imagine it's just a factor of how we add up the numbers. I think they are probably in there. They could be a part of the China numbers or the Hong Kong numbers. I don't know where Taiwan fits there, but I'm sure we sell good volumes in Taiwan.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
All right. I was really intrigued by your description of the history of your council. It's only three years old and yet you have an optimistic view of the level of cooperation among the members. Is that perhaps because one's imminent execution concentrates the mind, or is it because you see other good motivations driving people to work together, which perhaps could spell a more optimistic future?
12:40 p.m.
Executive Director, Lobster Council of Canada
They couldn't have picked a more optimistic guy to have this job than me because this is the most challenging position I think there is in the fishing business. Keeping the lobster sector working together is very tough. So I'm optimistic because we have bountiful harvest, we have big opportunities to market and brand and do all these exciting things, and I think we'll do it. I think there's momentum building to do it. I'm not sure if that answers your question.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
You're optimistic. You're clear in your answers. You know the industry. You're obviously the right person in the job.
You also mentioned thousands of people are not involved in the council. What plans do you have to get them involved?
12:40 p.m.
Executive Director, Lobster Council of Canada
With some money from DFO in the last quarter of last year, we were able to hire a communications staffer. So I have 100% more people right now, and we have been able to keep her.
Our plan with that is dramatically more and better communications. We have started an e-newsletter. We have started a much more vibrant website. We talk every day about ways to bring more people into the council through other, different means.
It's really a communication strategy of promoting ourselves within the industry. It's a huge industry. It's a fragmented, multilingual industry. We have a strategy in place, but it's slow. Many thousands of harvesters are represented by unions and associations, so it's also working closely with the leadership in the PEIFA, the MFU in New Brunswick and the Grand Manan Fishermen's Association, the FFAW, and getting them to pass on all the information. That's coming, but it's daily.
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
You're ferocious, but I earned that, didn't I?
12:40 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
It's because of the comment to the chair about the lobster. We could be studying peanut butter soon, so just be careful.
Mr. Irvine, I want to thank you for your presentation today. I have a couple of questions myself. I want to expand upon something you mentioned in the intervention with Mr. Weston. You talked about 200 million dollars' worth of lobster that was imported from Maine into New Brunswick last year.
My question is around the numbers that you talk about for exports by province, that slide you showed. It showed New Brunswick having a $476 million export figure last year. Are those 200 million dollars' worth of exports included? Is this a processed product? Can you break that number down, I guess is what I'm trying to find out. That $200 million of lobster that was imported, does that go into the $476 million that was exported as well, for that figure you have put before us here today?
12:40 p.m.
Executive Director, Lobster Council of Canada
Sure. Just to be clear, most of that lobster comes into New Brunswick first, but some of it goes to P.E.I. and some of it goes to Nova Scotia to be processed.
I don't know the number, but I would say the majority of it stays in New Brunswick to be processed. So yes, the number I presented for New Brunswick exports includes any products produced from the Maine raw material.
12:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
I understand that. We in Atlantic Canada had the value of having the processing sector. To be very frank with you, we have the majority of the processing sector. The lobster that's imported comes across that border from Maine into Atlantic Canada to be processed in Atlantic Canada, I guess is what I'm saying. We are receiving some value.
I'm trying to establish if it's factored into these numbers that you provided us today because obviously those numbers aren't exactly what's harvested and processed. I guess some of the harvesting is taking place in the state of Maine. It's hard to isolate Atlantic Canada.
I'm getting to the fact here. I know I'm taking a long way about it, but the 25,000 crew, plant workers, and other supports, those people would be in the processing sector. They would receive some value and some benefit because of that importation of lobster into Atlantic Canada, because we have the processing sector more established in Atlantic Canada. Would that be a correct statement to make?
12:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Lobster Council of Canada
Oh, absolutely. I think that slide showed the three peaks in the year, and I tried to explain that having that Maine product in the fall of the year keeps our plants open year-round, which hasn't always been the way.
12:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
That's the point I want to highlight here. Maine's not the enemy here, I guess is what I'm saying, because they are facilitating, keeping our processing sector alive by our being able to import that product as well.
I'm not trying to pit one against the other, but you made the comment that it was the low price of the Maine lobster that precipitated the issue last year. We know the issue we're talking about here. We're talking around it, but I'm just trying to establish that there is cooperation that exists between the regions as well.
12:45 p.m.
Executive Director, Lobster Council of Canada
Absolutely, and there are many who think we should be collaborating with Maine on our marketing efforts. It's the same species, we all fish Homarus americanus. We catch roughly the same amount now, but we've resisted that. We think the way to go is to promote Canada, but we work with them all the time. I talk to the Maine folks all the time, and there are lots of linkages, and the Maine border takes lobster back and forth, as we know.
12:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
I appreciate your comments, because that's where I was going. Is there value in working with the State of Maine? As you said, there is a levy being applied in Maine—
12:45 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
—or about to be applied in Maine. Is there value for the Lobster Council to work with the State of Maine, recognizing the fact that globally we're seen as one area? I know we have a border there, but the seafood product doesn't know that border.
It's more of an observation and it's not a criticism at all. I want to end by commending you on the work that you've done. You've brought us a tremendous amount of data, and certainly, to Mr. Weston's comment earlier, it's a huge challenge to try to bring all these groups together and to work toward the direction that you're going.
We do understand a little about the industry and that what you're doing is not easy. I want to commend you on that and encourage you, more than anything else, to keep going because I do believe you're going in the right direction. Some of the data you've put before this committee today has clearly outlined some of the opportunities that are out there for the lobster industry.
You showed some numbers with respect to exports and where these products are going. I see increases just in the last few years into some of the Asian markets. If we expand in those markets, it's going to make our product more valuable in the other markets as well. There is a means to the end, and I wanted to comment on that. I want to commend you once again on what you're doing. I do appreciate it.
Thank you very much, Mr. Irvine, for coming today and thank you for providing us with the information you've put before this committee. We certainly do appreciate it.
Is there any further business for this committee?
Mr. MacAulay.
12:45 p.m.
Liberal
Lawrence MacAulay Liberal Cardigan, PE
Yes, Mr. Chair, just on the direction of the committee after what we heard today, are we going to bring more witnesses before the committee?
I'm very disappointed. Mr. Allen is shaking his head.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
Mr. MacAulay, you're asking a question. The committee did pass a motion to hear from Mr. Irvine, and we did that today. There hasn't been any discussion within the committee to go any further or any decisions with this committee to go any further.
I'm not sure what you're asking here today. Is it for further direction or what's the case? We say many times that a committee is the master of its own destiny, and certainly I'm asking for some direction from you and from the committee members here today.
Mr. Woodworth.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
I guess we've now moved from the process of hearing evidence to the process of determining committee business, and I'm sure Mr. Irvine would like to stay and listen, but I think we should at least give him the opportunity to leave if he wants to do so. I don't know if he was properly thanked and sent on his way.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
I hope he was properly thanked. Thank you, Mr. Woodworth.
I assume you're moving that this committee go in camera.