Fisheries Committee on May 13th, 2008

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I know you were going to recognize me for the remainder of Mr. Kramp's time. I'll just go on with my question.

I certainly appreciate the opportunity to be here. I just have a couple of questions from the perspective of looking at the small craft harbours mission statement. It's obviously there for the purpose of supporting a commercial fishery.

In your particular case you've already testified that it's not much of an issue at your particular harbour. However, I'm guessing you'll have competing interests, whether it's people who are boaters, sport fishermen, commercial sport fishermen—for example, people who take people out fishing for money—whatever the case might be.

I'm just wondering, from that perspective, how do you manage those conflicting interests insofar as berthage space, or do you have enough berthage space to accommodate everybody who wants to come in? How do you handle that and give access, prioritize that access, after divestiture?

[Barry Braun]

Probably the same as we do now. Because we manage the harbours we haven't divested yet, I don't see our practice changing. In all honesty, it has not been an issue.

As Mayor Finnegan indicated, the majority of commercial fishing—that is, busy commercial fishing—is at the southeastern end of the municipality.

We do sometimes have issues with some of our chartered fishing people competing for space. However, due to the nature of our municipality being virtually an island, many of them have their own facilities already and do not necessarily depend on the harbour facilities.

So it really has not been an issue for us.

[Blaine Calkins, Conservative, Wetaskiwin, AB]

Okay. In some places around the country it does become an issue after divestiture. I'm glad it hasn't become an issue for you.

As far as dredging is concerned, I notice it's obviously a concern, especially at Wellington. What would you expect to happen if divestiture at Wellington were to happen? If you got it to the status where you wanted it, would you expect that dredging would be continued by Fisheries and Oceans, or would you expect that to be part of the divested responsibility to the municipality? How do you see that working?

[Barry Braun]

I don't believe it would be considered as part of at least the current divestiture practice. First, the property in which the jetties lie is provincial and not federal. However, it's access to federal property.

I guess ideally for us it would be a similar partnership as I've referenced earlier with Frenchman's Bay in Pickering, where both the province and the federal government partner with the municipality to ensure we have a safe, accessible refuge from Lake Ontario.

One of the things we hear constantly from boaters, both from the States and from various parts of Ontario, is that it is one of the best public refuge spots, particularly between Cobourg and Kingston. So if you're out on Lake Ontario and you have an issue, Wellington Harbour is there, particularly if you're in that area between Cobourg and Kingston.

Our concern is that it may get to the point where the municipality is not able to contribute to that dredging on an ongoing basis and the harbour would not be accessible any further.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you, Mr. Calkins.

For the committee's information, there are some individuals here who represent the eastern Ontario commercial fisheries committee. They weren't scheduled to appear here this morning, but I have consulted most of you now, and I'm going to give them an opportunity in a few moments to have a few words.

We have to finish by 12:45 p.m. in order to meet our schedule and to get back to the train. I'd love to spend the night here, but we're not scheduled to do that.

I'm going to give a two-minute round around the table. I ask you to stick to two minutes. I'm going to be strict on the time in order to accommodate this couple of individuals down here, and then we'll complete our case here by 12:45 p.m.

Two minutes each. Mr. Byrne, you're on.

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

So we should, Mr. Chair, thank you.

Gentlemen, you mentioned the relationship with DFO small craft harbours officials as being paramount. That was part of your story. There's a relationship of trust. You negotiate with each other. You build a plan together. You developed a funding plan together.

Would you be offended if that relationship, as it evolved, resulted in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans making a final recommendation to reject a particular project that you were working on with your local, regional, and provincial officials? Would that be offensive?

[Leo Finnegan]

It certainly would be. We'd be knocking on Mr. Kramp's door immediately.

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

Do you feel there should be some accountability or transparency built into this process?

[Leo Finnegan]

Yes, certainly we do.

[Gerry Byrne, Liberal, Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL]

That's all I have, thanks.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you, Mr. Byrne.

Our colleagues are going fast. That doesn't leave you their two minutes, Mr. Stoffer.

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

I have a question in terms of American boating. How much do you get in this area? You're quite close to the U.S.

[Barry Braun]

Leo may have some additional information, but we are just starting to keep track. Wellington is the most prominent. We certainly get Americans in Picton Harbour as well, but by far it's in Wellington. It's right across the lake. I would say at the moment probably 20% of our boaters in an overall season would be American.

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

Out of curiosity, is Salmon Point Lighthouse still there?

[Leo Finnegan]

Yes, the lighthouse is still there.

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

The reason I ask is that this committee worked very closely along with the Senate to pass the new lighthouse preservation bill, and something of that nature, if it's not divested, has an opportunity to become divested if you have a community group of over 25. Mr. Kramp could help you work on that.

The preservation of lighthouses, especially in western and eastern Canada, is very important, but a lot of us tend to forget about central Canadian lighthouses as well. In that photo it looks like a really good one, so it would be nice to keep it around for a long time.

Mr. Kramp can give you that information.

[Daryl Kramp, Conservative, Prince Edward—Hastings, ON]

I thank you, Mr. Stoffer.

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

Daryl, that's in case you needed more work.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Mr. Kamp, you have two minutes.

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I have a very quick question.

You have harbours that are still owned by DFO but managed by the county, in a way, and then you have harbours that used to be owned by DFO but are now owned by the county and managed by the county. Are there other arrangements? For example, are there harbours that are owned by, say, Parks Canada or some other entity?

[Barry Braun]

I don't think so.

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC]

Who owns and manages Point Traverse, for example?

[Barry Braun]

I believe it's federal. It's been designated as a national wildlife area, so my assumption is that--

[Randy Kamp, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC]

It's probably Environment Canada or Parks Canada, in that case.

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Conservative, Fabian Manning]

Thank you.

Thank you to our witnesses, and I thank the committee. I'm going to break for five minutes to prepare for our next set.

Thank you.