Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, I appreciate the question from the deputy House leader for the Liberal-NDP government. The answer to that question is this: What is obstructionist is Motion No. 11, which takes away democracy in the House, threatens prorogation at any time, and removes quorum from the standard, 400 years since Magna Carta, of parliamentary democracy.

Committees of the House  I appreciate that, Madam Speaker. We are splitting the time.

Committees of the House  Madam Speaker, the Liberal deputy House leader from the NDP should know that we do not have to name the other individual when we are splitting our time; he should read the rules. The lack of commitment by both the NDP and the Liberal government is seen again in Miramichi, where the government does not put its money where its mouth is.

Committees of the House  moved that the third report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, presented on Monday, February 28, 2022, be concurred in. Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in the House to speak on behalf of the hard-working people of South Shore—St. Margarets, including over 7,000 fishermen.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  Madam Speaker, it is a long history. I went through some of the history on the financial side of the Liberal Party, which always intervenes in provincial jurisdiction. Our party and I know the hon. member's party is very conscious of the Constitution, abiding by the Constitution and allowing the provinces to do their role, whether it is property taxes or the recently announced pharmacare program, which is of course another example of the intrusions into provincial responsibility that the Liberals do.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  Madam Speaker, it is a great question. Of course we support teachers. If I did not support teachers, I could not go home because all my in-laws are teachers in Ontario. They are the Waite family. At the root of it is that teachers should not have to buy supplies for their classrooms.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  Madam Speaker, I am always intrigued by the interventions of the member for Winnipeg North, and I appreciate that he thinks I am a future finance minister. I hope he passes that on to the member for Carleton and others. Well, I promoted myself to government. As members know, we supported those initial programs because of the speed with which the pandemic hit us.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  Madam Speaker, it is always such an honour to rise in this place and speak on behalf of my community of South Shore—St. Margarets. Today, we are debating the report stage of Bill C-8, an act to implement certain provisions of the economic and fiscal update tabled in Parliament on December 14, 2021 and other measures, in other words, more government spending on COVID‑19.

Conservation of Fish Stocks and Management of Pinnipeds Act  Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join this discussion and listen to the thoughtful remarks of my colleagues from the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. I am also pleased to rise to speak to Bill C-251, an act respecting the development of a federal framework on the conservation of fish stocks and management of pinnipeds.

Economic and Fiscal Update Implementation Act, 2021  Madam Speaker, my question is with regard to small craft harbours. For some reason, the fall economic statement and the current budget contain zero new money for small craft harbours. Small craft harbours are in desperate shape. There are over 10,000 of them in Canada, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans estimates that it will take almost $700 million just to bring the small craft harbours in southwest Nova Scotia up to operational standards.

Avon River  Mr. Speaker, summer sandstorms have been wreaking havoc in the town of Windsor, Nova Scotia due to the dried up Avon River mud flat. The destructive sandstorms are not just an annoyance; they pose serious health threats to residents. The dry pond has also reduced summer activities on the Avon River, such as canoeing, kayaking and swimming, and has stopped the important pumpkin festival lake race.

Fisheries and Oceans  Mr. Speaker, what is lost in time is any answer from the government. Recent decisions by the government, which take away fishery licence holders' quotas on the east and west coasts without compensation, are counter to the long-standing policy of “willing buyer, willing seller”.

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to employees at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO): (a) what was the total number of employees or full-time equivalent on the (i) Fisheries section, (ii) Oceans section of DFO, broken down by year since 2015; (b) what was the number of fishery offices field supervisor positions in conservation and protection at DFO, broken down by year since 2016; (c) what is the current number of fishery offices field supervisor positions in conservation and protection; (d) how many positions at DFO were eliminated in conservation and protection in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021, (iii) 2022; and (e) how many positions at DFO were eliminated in total in (i) 2020, (ii) 2021, (iii) 2022, broken down by section of DFO and type of position?

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to research conducted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO): (a) what dollar amount and percentage of DFO's scientific research budget has been provided to the (i) oceans department, (ii) fisheries department, broken down by year since 2016; and (b) what is the breakdown of (a) by topic or area of research?

Questions Passed as Orders for Returns  With regard to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Eastern Shore Islands Area of Interest (AOI) and the proposed marine refuge off the Scotian Shelf bioregion: (a) how many (i) groups, (ii) individuals, have been consulted since January 1, 2019, regarding the AOI or the proposed marine refuge; and (b) what are the details of all such consultations, including, for each, (i) the date of the consultation, (ii) the format, (iii) the name of the individual or group consulted, (iv) who conducted the consultation, (v) the summary of the feedback or submission related to the consultation?