Fisheries Committee on Dec. 2nd, 2014

[Trevor Swerdfager]

That transformation has taken place. We're now in a position where we're moving forward with a consolidated approach to the restoration of that particular species.

We will see over time if there's a need to continue to diversify the operations that are in place in Mactaquac and in Coldwater. We will continue that effort. But we are very confident that the objectives of the program will be maintained.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Next was the CITES question.

[Trevor Swerdfager]

I couldn't hear the final question properly.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

It was about the reservations put on 76 species, two of them being the polar bear and the porbeagle shark. When are you going to remove these reservations and introduce the necessary legislation to protect these endangered species?

[Matthew King]

I'm not sure we can answer that today, but we'd be happy to get back to you with information on that.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

I'd appreciate that.

The final thing was in respect to Cohen. We spent $26 million on this. It was a big deal. There were a lot of recommendations made, including in relation to the intersection between aquaculture and the wild salmon. Measures have been made in the Discovery Islands, for example, in terms of placement of facilities there. I believe there has been more science.

You reported to us the last time you attended that there were 12 responses, and you gave us something in writing. Now I'm asking if you would give the committee a further updated status report on how the department is responding to the recommendations of Cohen.

[Matthew King]

Thank you for the question, Mr. Chair.

I believe, as I probably mentioned when I was here last, that the Cohen Commission has provided the department with all kinds of valuable information that informs now and will continue to inform our operational decision-making as we go forward. I believe that in an earlier question Kevin provided a number of examples of how that type of information at the ground level is being incorporated into the way we make operational decisions.

I don't remember, Kevin, if you referenced changes in the way we're doing things like siting it, and that kind of thing.

I would just have to hold my answer there. We are taking Cohen into account. I expect that we will do so for a long time.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

Thank you.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

I just asked if we could get that in writing, that's all, a status report on that, just to confirm what you and Kevin have said.

[Matthew King]

I think we can do that, yes.

[Robert Chisholm, NDP, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

That would be great.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chisholm.

Mr. Kamp.

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

There's just one final multipart question from me.

The supplementary estimates, under “Voted Appropriations”, refer to “Funding for Defining the Outer Limits of Canada's Continental Shelf in the Arctic Ocean”. I'm assuming that this relates to Canada's submission to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which I understand was initially due in 2013.

I just wonder if you can tell us what this funding will be used for. What role is DFO playing in that submission? If the UN commission accepts Canada's petition, can you speculate for us on what that might mean for Canada, particularly with respect to Fisheries and Oceans?

[Matthew King]

Thank you for the question, Mr. Chairman.

The reference in the supplementaries is actually a capital acquisition. With it, in fairly short order, we managed to install a very sophisticated multibeam camera on the bottom of the Louis S. St-Laurent. We did that in a matter of months. In fact, the Louis was dispatched to the Arctic under an expedition led by Natural Resources Canada to provide high-definition mapping on what we would consider to be fairly critical elements of the delineation process that we will ultimately submit to the United Nations.

As members may know, we did submit our Atlantic claim last year. We submitted a fair amount of information, but partial information on the Arctic claim, so along with our colleagues in NRCan, we mapped in this past year. I expect that we will do so again next year in an effort to complete what has turned out to be obviously a very complicated process.

Once it's complete, we will submit it to the UN and a process will ensue. But we believe that, under any circumstances, the amount of territory that Canada will be able to oversee going forward will be very considerable. We're very hopeful that from a fisheries perspective, but also from a general economic perspective—oil and gas and minerals—it will bring substantial benefits to Canada.

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

Thank you very much, Mr. Kamp.

Deputy, on behalf of the entire committee, I want to say thank you to you and your colleagues for appearing before us today and taking the time to answer our questions.

Monsieur Grégoire, I want to wish you all the best in the future and thank you very much for being here the many times that we've called on you to come before this committee. We certainly do appreciate your service. Thank you once again for coming today.

Deputy, do you have a final comment?

[Matthew King]

÷I wonder if I could just come back to a question that Mr. Cleary asked me earlier, because I wasn't sure if I was as precise as I needed to be.

I interpreted the question to be whether or not the department would do specific economic impact analysis with regard to the NAFO decision on SFA-7. I answered that we would not be doing a specific publishable economic analysis on that sector. But I neglected to say that in all of the fisheries management advice that we provide to our minister, we do have a group within Fisheries and Oceans, our economic analysis group, that provides socio-economic information for consideration in all fisheries-related decisions. I just wanted to clarify that.

Thank you for the opportunity.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

Thank you very much, Deputy, for that clarification.

We certainly do appreciate everyone being here today, and we look forward to continuing to work with you and with the new members of your team. Certainly, please pass along our best to the former members who have since retired.

There being no further business, this committee now stands adjourned.