Evidence of meeting #55 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was chairman.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Bloc
The Vice-Chair Bloc Raynald Blais
We are ready to start the meeting, that will be in two parts. First of all, a group will tell us about the crab fishery in Area 12. We have with us Paul Noël, Serge Savoie and Fernand Vienneau. You have a presentation to make. Following that, members will have an opportunity to ask questions and make comments. I will give you 10 minutes.
Go ahead, Mr. Savoie.
Serge Savoie Chair, Acadian Peninsula Traditional Crab Fishermen's Coalition Committee
I want to thank the chairman, Gerald Keddy, and Mr. Blais, who is replacing Mr. Keddy.
Gentlemen, honourable members of the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and the Liberal Party, we want to sincerely thank you for inviting us to appear before this prestigious committee to express the concerns of the Acadian Peninsula Traditional Crab Fishermen's Coalition Committeee, the CCCTPA.
I want to thank the chairman, Gerald Keddy, for welcoming us to his office on about April 18, 2007. I sensed that he had heard the heartfelt cry of alarm we shared with him, Aldo Noël, Louis Marie Haché and me, Serge Savoie.
Mr. Chairman, honourable members who also agreed to meet with us, on behalf of the CCCTPA, I want to thank you with all of my heart. Moreover, I would like to stress the work done by Ms. Burke throughout the process.
Above all, I want to highlight the presence of Conservative, New Democrat, and Liberal members of Parliament, as well as my brothers from the Bloc Québécois, as the traditional crabbers from the Gaspé peninsula and the Magdalen Islands are our blood brothers. Moreover, I will point out the presence of the NDP representative who, despite us, has represented the riding of Acadie—Bathurst for nine years. Of course you realize that that's a joke.
We are here to tell you things that have never been said nor heard by the Liberal Party for many years. Our concerns deal with three major points: area 12, under the Liberals, was divided up, torn apart—it was the traditional crabbers who built this great area 12 at the time when prices were at 10¢ a pound; non-sharing in this small area 12 until 2010, given the decline in the snow crab stocks that all scientists and biologists agree with; we also want to see a public inquiry into the way that DFO is managing our resources in Moncton.
I also want to thank the Honourable Minister Hearn for having met with me in his office, along with Senator Comeau, on April 6, 2006. He gave us an opportunity to express our concerns and share our views. Minister Hearn, and we want to congratulate him for his action, re-established the federal government's share that the previous government, under Paul Martin, had abolished. He overturned the Liberals' decision to charge fees for observers at sea.
I have attached to my document an e-mail from Louis-Philippe McGraw. The French version of the document dealing with the reversal of the previous federal government decision does not correspond to the English version. According to the French version, crabbers, this year, would pay no fees for Biorex observers. I have asked for a revised version, and I am expecting some news shortly.
Bloc
The Vice-Chair Bloc Raynald Blais
Could you send us a copy of the letter you are referring to, so that we can have it translated and distributed to all committee members?
Chair, Acadian Peninsula Traditional Crab Fishermen's Coalition Committee
Yes, may I put it here?
Chair, Acadian Peninsula Traditional Crab Fishermen's Coalition Committee
Moreover, the minister made a commitment to review the costs in various sectors of the industry and to make them fairer. I am talking about licences, and so on.
Finally, Minister Hearn increased the capital gains exemption which was $250,000 under the Liberals to $750,000, which is huge and which will help mainly crabbers.
After all of these congratulatory remarks to the minister, I would like to tell you that we intend to study Bill C-45, not with a view to demolishing it, but with a view to being constructive. The minister is quite right to amend a piece of legislation that is over 128 years old. In passing, we have received a letter from the minister asking us to provide our input by the end of October. If you want to invite us back, we could discuss the bill with you.
Now, that's enough compliments for the minister. He had promised to come and meet with us at home, on the Acadian Peninsula, where the fishery is under way. He did not keep his promise. At his request, Senator Comeau was to accompany him. He did not keep his promise. We understand that he is very busy. I want to highlight that his staff, at least the people with whom we have had discussions, are excellent people. However, I must add that there is a blatant lack of communication, because many of them are not bilingual. As a result, there is often a lack of communication on both sides.
I think that a good Acadian who knows the fishery could serve this minority Acadian community that has seen so much humiliation. Are we not a founding people, like our aboriginal and anglophone brothers? We have seen enough of the Justin Trudeau of this world.
The snow crab fishery is vital for the economy of New Brunswick and the Acadian Peninsula. The industry is the peninsula's economic driver. It creates a livelihood for thousands of people directly and thousands of others indirectly. The snow crab industry is threatened until 2010. Biologists and scientists alike are predicting a decline in stocks. Quotas will therefore suffer the consequences of that.
Under the Liberal government, even independent studies, that I have here and that I can share with the chairman, like the one conducted by Gardner Pinfold, stress the fact that political pressure was so strong that DFO was accused of mismanaging the fishery. What do you think about the scientific research given to the cod fishers and the fact that the crabber who appealed the decision in court won? I have a copy of that here and I can leave it for the chair.
Our proposals are as follows:
(1) That the remainder of the current area 12 be reserved exclusively for the traditional crabbers from the Acadian Peninsula, Aboriginals, our brothers in the Gaspé Peninsula and the Magdalen Islands, crabbers in Prince Edward Island and the two crabbers in Nova Scotia.
(2) That scientific research be given to traditional crabbers. I believe, given this court decision, that the minister will have to comply.
(3) That there be no sharing with other types of fishers, until 2010.
(4) That there be a public inquiry into resource management by DFO Moncton.
There are 140 traditional fishers. When you add our aboriginal brothers' 80 boats, that makes 240 traditional crabbers in area 12. Today there are more than 400 fishers. Of course, more than 160 of them are non traditional fishers. That cannot continue for 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Acadian Peninsula has paid a very high price...
Yes?
Chair, Acadian Peninsula Traditional Crab Fishermen's Coalition Committee
Okay. I will shorten my remarks and go directly to the request for an inquiry.
If we look at the Maritime Fishermen's Union approach to fishers, namely inshore fishers, we note that they have set up several companies. I have some of the companies names here, and I will give them to you. We want to know, since DFO is also financially committed in these companies, why were they created, where the profits are going, and who is funding them. The MFU has forced inshore fishers to pay $300 to join a medical insurance plan, which is completely illegal, because that is not under its mandate. Moreover, the MFU returns a set amount to inshore fishers for crab. If the price of crab on the market goes up, the inshore fishers do not receive an increase. The MFU represents 1,200 fishers. DFO has signed agreements with the MFU for area 12, following the pressure that I mentioned earlier.
Mr. Chairman, I will conclude by saying that a public enquiry could help answer the questions of thousands of people who have signed a petition, which I will submit to you later.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Bloc
Gérard Asselin Bloc Manicouagan, QC
I would like to make a suggestion, Mr. Chairman. The witnesses have travelled from far away, they went to great lengths to prepare their file and they want to give the committee as much information as possible. I will not be able to question the gentleman on the part of the brief that he did not have time to read. I would prefer allowing him to finish. Instead of going around the table twice, if we don't have time, we could just do one round, but at least we would know about this Acadian situation.
Bloc
The Vice-Chair Bloc Raynald Blais
Mr. Asselin, I simply want to point out that I have been quite generous with Mr. Savoie, because I did not count the time he spent thanking the committee. So it wasn't a 10-minute presentation that we had, but rather a 15- to 17-minute presentation. Witnesses choose how they present their issues. I feel that Mr. Savoie has delivered his message to us. I am sure that if Mr. Savoie feels that there are aspects that he could not mention, he will be able to do so in response to the questions that will be asked later. I acknowledge what you are saying, Mr. Asselin, I simply wanted to point out that I had already given the witness considerable leaway with respect to the presentation.
Mr. Simms.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Pardon my French, but I am a member from Newfoundland. This is difficult, but I will try. That was a good suggestion. I think that we need to continue the presentation for another five minutes.
Bloc
The Vice-Chair Bloc Raynald Blais
You want him to continue with his remarks.
Do you need another five minutes to wrap up? He's asking you to continue for another five minutes, that will be subtracted from the 10 minutes allocated to him. Go ahead.
Chair, Acadian Peninsula Traditional Crab Fishermen's Coalition Committee
Okay. Thank you, Mr. Simms.
That will enable me to tell you about the need for a public enquiry at DFO Moncton.
Chair, Acadian Peninsula Traditional Crab Fishermen's Coalition Committee
I will give you a petition. All categories of fishers are calling for this inquiry. The Île Miscou lobster fishers association is one of them. It is true that we don't have the support of the four other traditional crabbers associations, but there again, we must be very careful. The leaders are the ones who are not supporting us, and not the crabbers themselves. Perhaps they have spent too much time under the reign of Brigitte Sivret, who was a liberal organizer in the 2006 election campaign, when I was a candidate for another party. Moreover, she has recently been appointed a judge.
Under the liberals, the temporary sharing arrangement in area 12 with the MFU, among others, became permanent.
None of the fishers associations trust DFO Moncton, because of the arrogance of the director, Mr. Robert Alain, who in June 2004 stated to a local newspaper L'Acadie nouvelle, that he would remember crabbers next season. How can such a senior official utter such threatening comments to a category of fishers of our importance? As far as we are concerned, we would clearly be very happy with Mr. Alain's resignation.
The election of Jean Chrétien's liberals in south-east in New Brunswick has been beneficial to the people of that region. Since then, we have seen our plants, our industries move to south-east New Brunswick, and close their doors in the north-east and on the peninsula. That did not happen by accident, in our opinion. Certain people are to be thanked for that.
We would like to know more about the contracts awarded by the former liberal prime minister, Paul Martin, to Biorex and that entailed expenses for crabbers. There are also the contracts for the black boxes, a system that means crabbers must pay, not for each day worked, but beginning at the start of the month, even if the fishery begins on the 20th day of the month, and right to the end of the month, even if the fishery finishes on the second.
Are the returns Biorex is required to pay fair? Was the bid that unable Biorex to win the contract fair? What about the agreements between DFO and the MFU under which inshore fishers receive a certain amount of the price of crab and another amount goes to the MFU? What is the MFU doing with that money? The MFU had made a commitment to invest in our communities. We have seen nothing to date.
That more or less covers the additional five minutes I have been given.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
You mentioned something about a medical plan.
Chair, Acadian Peninsula Traditional Crab Fishermen's Coalition Committee
Yes.
Liberal
Chair, Acadian Peninsula Traditional Crab Fishermen's Coalition Committee
The inshore fishers. The MFU charges each inshore fisher $300 for a medical insurance plan. But that is absolutely not part of its mandate. A very high percentage of inshore fishers are opposed to that.
Chair, Acadian Peninsula Traditional Crab Fishermen's Coalition Committee
People wonder where the money is going. It is $300. Does it really cost that much? No one gets a direct answer. Apparently, the money is put into an account. Where is the money held? I have discovered that it is in some of the companies that belong to the MFU and the DFO looks after as well. These are the questions that we never get answers to.
Liberal
Scott Simms Liberal Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL
On Bill C-45, you said your response is going to be in October. Is that correct?
Chair, Acadian Peninsula Traditional Crab Fishermen's Coalition Committee
The minister has asked us to respond by October.