Evidence of meeting #26 for Finance in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was sector.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Thanks, all of you, for that round.
We're turning to Mr. Fragiskatos and then Mr. Cumming.
Peter.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the witnesses.
This first question is directed to Mr. Irvine and Mr. Mallet.
Folks, I'm a member of Parliament from London, Ontario, in southwestern Ontario, which for the purposes of our meeting here today is another way of saying that I know very little about fish and I know very little about lobster, but that is not to say at all that I do not care about your sector. I think all of you have made a very persuasive case here today. I think Canada is strengthened when our fishers are doing well, and obviously it's a difficult time right now.
Could you speak to me in general terms and, I suppose, speak to the country as well, about the importance of supporting fishers right now? When we hear about fishers we think about the Maritimes, about Atlantic Canada, about the B.C. coast, but I think all Canadians ought to get behind the idea of supporting our fishers.
Could you make that general argument? How would you put this to Canadians outside of your regions about the need for the federal government to continue to provide supports?
4:25 p.m.
Executive Director, Lobster Council of Canada
I would put it this way. In lobster, we have over 9,000 licence-holders who would have thousands of crew members, so I think that's about 30,000 harvesters, in literally hundreds of communities. If we don't have fishing revenue in hundreds and hundreds of communities, we don't have small communities, and that's what is really the lifeblood of the east coast. On the processing side, there are probably 30,000 people who work in processing plants that are also live shipping facilities. It's absolutely the lifeblood of the east coast. If we don't have the fishing industry, we don't really have an east coast.
4:25 p.m.
Executive Director, Maritime Fishermen's Union
Very briefly, I'll echo exactly what Geoff Irvine just mentioned. Many small-town communities and rural communities in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and Newfoundland depend on the lobster fishery now. This is basically the most important fishery now, with the cod sector having gone down over 20 years ago, as well as other species. Between snow crab and lobster, that's pretty much it.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
4:25 p.m.
Vice-President, Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Association
Yes, if you don't mind. I want to also remind everybody about all the residual businesses that depend on these industries as well, from the boat haulers and the boat builders to the diesel trucks and the mechanics. It's not just the harvesters who are affected. When the fishermen are doing well, there are a lot of jobs created from that.
4:25 p.m.
Liberal
Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON
It's a point that I think is very important. There's an entire chain of supply and support that's at stake here.
Mr. McIsaac, from a harvester's perspective, what are we talking about here in terms of long-term implications down the line, even in grocery stores? For people in my community—as I said, I'm from London, but it's true of any community—you go into the grocery store and there's seafood prominently displayed, even in communities that are not fishing communities.
There are real implications, real consequences, I would think, from a food supply perspective if the sector doesn't see further support. Is that a fair argument?
4:30 p.m.
Vice-President, Pacific, Canadian Independent Fish Harvesters Federation
That's certainly a fair argument. What happens if we're not supporting the Canadian harvesters and making sure that harvesters survive this year and into next year and get to a place where we can rebuild access to export markets or build more domestic markets? We will have the sector completely controlled and bought up from outside, and then you won't be seeing Canadian seafood on food shelves across Canada.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON
Ms. Burridge, I could be wrong about this, but it looked like you were interested in replying as well. I'd like to give you an opportunity.
4:30 p.m.
Executive Director, BC Seafood Alliance
Yes. I'd just say that Canadian seafood is a particularly high-quality sustainable protein source. We're seeing that retail demand for certain kinds of products is definitely growing. We really want to make sure that we can supply that demand, but it is going to take changes in the way we do business.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
Peter Fragiskatos Liberal London North Centre, ON
Sure.
I do see Mr. Smith anxious to offer a response as well.
4:30 p.m.
Commercial Director, Group MDMP
Thank you.
Fisheries are extremely important to our regions of course, whether in the Maritimes, Quebec or British Columbia. For the regions, this sector represents at least 33% of the GDP. We must also remember that there will be no tourists this year, which will make fisheries that much more crucial for our regions.
Since you were talking about details, I also wanted to say that, for the rest of the year, we are very likely to have problems in the food chain, particularly for meat, as we are already seeing. Our fishing season will therefore probably help to support the protein category as a whole. If no help is provided to the fishing industry today, we are all going to suffer the consequences.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Wayne Easter
Leonard, do you want in for a minute? You probably bought a truck from Peter's area there.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
4:30 p.m.
President, Gulf Nova Scotia Fishermen's Coalition
Actually my niece lives in London. She's a nurse. She's on the front lines.
4:30 p.m.
Liberal
4:30 p.m.
President, Gulf Nova Scotia Fishermen's Coalition
I sure will.
I think the lobster fishery is the backbone of communities along the coastline where I live. I fished for 33 years. My father fished before me, and I come from a family of 19, so we ate a lot of lobster over time.
It's worth billions of dollars to the Nova Scotia economy every year. It's one of the main economic drivers in the province, so we need to make sure it gets through the hard times and we need to make sure it comes back during the good times.