My presentation will be in French.
First, I would like to thank the committee for having us. The Acadian Regional Federation of Professional Fishermen is made up of the members of the Association des pêcheurs professionnels membres d’équipage, the Association professionnelle des crabiers acadiens, the Association des crevettiers acadiens du Golfe and the Association des senneurs du Golfe. Our fishermen have joined forces for more than 40 years to represent shared interests in scientific research geared to protecting and preserving marine species and their habitats.
Like all groups living around the Baie des Chaleurs, fishermen are deeply concerned about the construction of the Bennett Environmental contaminated-soil incinerator near the Bay. We are afraid that there has not been sufficient study of the risk of contamination to the Bay and the species harvested there. We find it difficult to understand why it is so complicated for an ordinary citizen to build a chalet at the edge of the water yet so easy to set up a plant that is as potentially dangerous for the environment as the Bennett Environmental plant is. We also do not understand why concerned groups are having such difficulty getting an environmental impact assessment conducted. Given the scope of the economic impact of this project on the Baie des Chaleurs, we believe that an environmental impact assessment is needed. Furthermore, such an assessment should also take into consideration the project’s social and economic impact on our communities, where there is already a job shortage.
We are aware that our region has one of the lowest income rates in the country and a very high rate of illiteracy, which makes us an ideal candidate for this type of high-risk industry. However, we are also keenly aware of the importance of a healthy environment, since our survival has depended on the fishing and seafood-processing industry for more than 400 years.
According to University of Moncton economist Maurice Beaudin, the fishing industry accounts for 22 per cent of jobs and 23 per cent of employment income in the Acadian Peninsula. There are approximately 55,000 of us in the Acadian Peninsula. This represents a rather large number of jobs and a substantial economic contribution.
In contrast, the Bennett plant is expected to create 32 jobs. For how long? Given the contamination of the St. Ambroise site in Quebec, there is reason to wonder how long the government will allow such a plant, which contaminates and pollutes the surrounding area, to operate. Clearly, this industry is incompatible with the environment.
Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture New Brunswick’s 2004 industry report—the most recent statistics—indicates that seafood makes up 82.11 per cent of total exports to the United States. Of that number, herring, crab and lobster—the main species harvested in the Baie des Chaleurs — account for 69 per cent of exports to the United States and are worth $560 million annually.
Americans are known to monitor the quality of imported products very closely. By sending their contaminated soil to Belledune, our neighbours to the south will know better than anyone else what toxic contaminants are being treated at the Bennett plant. They will be watching the quality of our seafood products very closely and impose an embargo on imports at the slightest trace of contamination.
The new bioterrorism measures being adopted by the US government include substances, such as BPCs, dioxins and furans, that will be monitored and tested in fish samples. According to the current draft of Bennett’s operating permit, New Brunswick could allow Bennett to burn up to three tonnes of BPCs annually and 10 tonnes of chlorinated hydrocarbons. These substances will be incinerated and will come from contaminated soil.
Bennett would also be authorized to incinerate dioxins and furans of a certain concentration level. If a single fish specimen was found to contain toxic substances above the US standards, we could find ourselves in a situation similar to the mad cow scenario, which led to bankruptcy for many producers.
Fishers have few means at their disposal to force Bennett to prove that it takes the matter seriously and show its ability to rectify errors and compensate others who use the Baie des Chaleurs, in the event of contamination.
Some of the information circulated in the media casts doubt on Bennett’s honesty and credit worthiness, and this does not reassure fishermen.
A number of questions are being asked. What impact will the emissions from contaminants have on fish habitats? What are the dangers of dioxins and furans for humans and fish? What about the bioaccumulation of these substances in fish and the environment? Why is Fisheries and Oceans Canada not intervening to protect the damaged fish habitats of the Belledune area? What is the likelihood of an accident during shipping of contaminated soil? Who will compensate us? Who is going to want to buy our businesses?
Our job as fishermen is to supply fish-processing plants, within a protection and conservation framework created in co-operation with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. That framework includes the At-Sea Observer Program, the Dockside Monitoring Program, the keeping of ship’s logs and even the installation of black boxes.
Needless to say, all of these measures are expensive for our fishermen and stem from F&O's desire to develop co-management and shared stewardship arrangements with fishermen.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s commitment is to enforce the protection and conservation conditions. Since fishermen are being closely watched, we demand the same treatment for Bennett Environmental, and all other industries, enterprises and users in Canadian waters.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has a legal obligation under Section 36 of the Fisheries Act to protect fish habitats from contamination. We ask the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans for help in urging F&O to fully assume its responsibilities with regard to the Bennett Environmental plant in Belledune, New Brunswick.
Finally, we request a full environmental assessment of the impact on the Baie des Chaleurs of Bennett Environmental’s planned incinerator of soil contaminated by toxic waste. We also request a moratorium on the proposed plant and ask F&O to protect the fish habitats from the dangers associated with the incinerator.