Fisheries Committee on March 13th, 2008

[Claire Dansereau]

No. Dansereau Consulting and Facilitation was me, and it was only on the west coast. It's true that the Dansereau family is quite a large family in Quebec.

[Yvon Lévesque, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

I definitely won't ask you whether you believe that the deforestation of the St. Lawrence River banks is responsible for declining cod stocks. You'll never admit that; that's for sure.

[Claire Dansereau]

No.

[Yvon Lévesque, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

I hold a labour relations advisor's diploma, and I've rarely held the same job for a number of years. I've been a business executive on occasion, and it was the same thing. Moreover, I had a job offer from Iron Ore, in your corner of the country, which I turned down because I didn't feel I was able to work for a long time in the same field.

I wonder whether you too aren't that kind of person, because you've never worked in the same place for more than four years. There are people like that. After two or three years, since they evolve quite quickly, they may think that their work is advanced enough for them to be able to go and work in another area. Others are too nice with their employees and, after four years, they feel they won't have as much control and that they would be better advised to leave room for others.

I wonder what category you fall into. To date, your employees see quite satisfied to work with you. It's up to you to tell us whether you would like to change fields in order to be useful elsewhere.

[Claire Dansereau]

First, my longest job wasn't for four years. I believe the shortest lasted five years. You can change jobs within the public service, but it's still the same employer. So in the provincial government, it was longer than four years. However, I held one position for five years that I knew, when I started, would not last any longer. I thought that, in personal terms, you could only do that kind of job for five years. The federal government is changing, and we have to change.

I believe the purpose of your question is more to determine my way of governing and the kind of manager I am. I must admit that all my employers were very disappointed when I left, and my employees as well, but that wasn't because I was too soft. My demands are quite high, but I provide employees with a very significant degree of support. I take them and their personal lives very seriously. At the British Columbia Ministry of Transport, there were approximately 2,600 employees, and I knew virtually everyone's name and background when I left.

I take the job of human resources manager very seriously. I think that all those who go to work in the morning should feel that their work environment is energizing. They don't necessarily always have to be happy and smiling, but the work should at least be energizing. It is somewhat my responsibility as a manager to be sure that they play a part in what we develop together. I take human resources seriously, and financial management as well. As I said earlier, I take that very seriously. I work in a professional manner, because I also think it's important at times to change environment.

When I left British Columbia to come to Ottawa, it was also for personal reasons, which we don't need to discuss here. It was the right time to do it. My daughter was at a certain age, and she was on the east coast. So I wanted to move back toward the centre.

[Yvon Lévesque, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

I would like to go back to the department's business. Someone quite dynamic and, I would say, opportunistic, is needed. You have to be a bit opportunistic to be able to support the position of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as I see it, in the negotiations being conducted at the WTO.

I would like to know your vision of things, in view of the current position of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in the context of those negotiations. How do you see that, in view of where we are now and the time left before the present negotiations expire?

[Claire Dansereau]

I know that Fisheries and Oceans employees, who are working very closely with their colleagues in International Affairs, take these discussions very seriously. They are deeply aware of the importance of these issues. I can tell you very sincerely that no one will be closing his eyes on that subject. We are all aware of what is at stake. I am sure that Canada will be well represented. The interests of Canadians who depend on our industry will be well represented in the context of those discussions.

[Yvon Lévesque, Bloc, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC]

I sense that my colleague is dying to ask some more questions. So I'm going to give him part of my time.

[Raynald Blais, Bloc, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

Thank you, dear colleague. Yes, I'm dying to do it.

In view of what you've just said. I'd like to know what role you'll play in the discussions on the WTO file.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

You wanted five minutes. I've given you seven. Your time is up.

[Raynald Blais, Bloc, Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC]

My time is up.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Feel free to answer.

[Claire Dansereau]

As I said earlier, the role of associate deputy minister varies a little with the department and the relationship between the deputy minister and associate deputy minister. In our case, we work in very close cooperation. We often attend the same meetings; we talk frequently.

As you know, Ms. d'Auray has a lot of experience on the matters we're talking about, and that's in addition to my own experience. So there's really another pair of hands, another pair of eyes and another pair of ears. That makes it possible to ensure that files are not set aside. We are both occupied by these issues. Our role is always to support the minister and the department. So we'll be working in very close cooperation on this matter and on a number of others. I'll have responsibility for managing certain files, but that will always be based on the deputy minister's accountability.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you.

Mr. Stoffer.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Kamp is absolutely right when he says the gravel extraction on the Fraser would be contentious no matter which way you go, and I wish you good luck on that problem.

One of the concerns, as you know, in the last meeting we had was that Mr. Bevan had indicated that if the 2008 runs coming up the Fraser are not as productive as we would hope they would be, there may be some reduction to the aboriginal food, social, and ceremonial amount that they receive. I would assume that also means less sport-fishing opportunity and less commercial fishing as well.

I can see the argument now. The first question should be this. When do you anticipate, all things considered, extraction of gravel to begin on the Fraser?

[Claire Dansereau]

The extraction is ongoing right now. It's almost done.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

On all aspects of it?

[Claire Dansereau]

For this year, yes.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

For just this year. Is there anything anticipated later on?

[Claire Dansereau]

For the summer, no. It has to happen at certain water levels.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

When those extractions were being done, were first nations people included in the discussions, that you may be aware of?

[Claire Dansereau]

I don't know. I think those discussions would have happened before I arrived. I'm not sure what the planning went into for the two, the Hamilton Bar and the Spring Bar, for this coming year. I don't know what the conversations were last year. I know that obviously their fishery would have been taken into consideration, and really our goal and our role in the permitting of this is to protect the fishery in all of its elements. That has to be our first consideration. Clearly, if human life is at stake, then we have to do some reconsideration, but we don't believe that it is at the moment.

What we're trying to do is to get away from those kinds of emotional conversations that happen at crisis times and get into a planning process that allows us to make that dual determination of protection of life and property and protection of the fish.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

My next question is to Mr. Bevan.

Sir, when do you anticipate any kinds of discussions with the various fishing groups on the Fraser regarding any possible reductions?

[David Bevan]

Those are under way.

[Peter Stoffer, NDP, Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS]

They're under way now.