Evidence of meeting #37 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was wharf.
Bloc
Raynald Blais Bloc Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC
I have another question for you, Mr. Furney. You talked about having an ombudsman to resolve various problems related to Fisheries and Oceans. That is an excellent idea. Overall, this idea could be applied to that department, because all kinds of bizarre situations occur that could be quite easily resolved. However, there could also be a complaint mechanism implemented, or something similar.
Could you elaborate on the idea of having an ombudsman, an idea with which I fully agree?
Mayor, Town of Port McNeill
Thank you for the question. It's a subject that's near and dear to my heart. Having helped administer a municipality for the last 40 years, I know a little bit whereof I speak.
It is very important to work well with other levels of government, which we do as a municipality. We work as active representatives or participants with our regional district, which is like a county council. We work well with the provincial government, the various departments we have to work with that have an ability to function well on our behalf, such as highways, as an example.
The Department of Highways has been very cooperative with us. There were no roads whatsoever when I first landed in Port McNeill. There were a couple of roads into the bush for logging, and that was the extent of it. There was no road to Port Hardy or Port Alice, and no road south to Beaver Cove or to Campbell River. The highway virtually stopped at Campbell River.
I've been involved at one level or another with ongoing developments as the need has arisen. We had chambers of commerce before we had municipalities. The chambers of commerce worked almost as municipal councils in getting a message across to the other levels of government.
About the only problem I've ever seen, because we've always maintained a really good relationship with each level of government, was that once in a while we'd run up against someone who had his jockey shorts in a knot and couldn't overcome the problems he had, and that could be reflected back into the relationship with us.
If there were a system of an appeal process there, which there is in many other levels of government, and advisedly so, it could make it much easier for little people in little communities to get their concerns across in a serious way and at a respected level.
I happen to be a very large believer in referees. You couldn't run a hockey game without a referee, and you really can't play the game of government without referees. The most logical conclusion I come to, then, is that we should have a referee.
A referee is essentially an individual with common sense who knows a little bit about each thing, can see through the BS that he's going to get, and gets down to practical brass tacks of making sure that everyone lives up to their obligations.
The two little examples I mentioned are honest-to-God examples. I didn't want to bother your committee this morning by showing you the ditch covered in weeds, bushes, garbage, and all the other things that get blown into a ditch on a city street, but that's the kind of thing I'm referring to.
The person who is ready to spend a lot of money on dredging and building a really good facility to handle the commercial and the recreational fishery--with services, water, electricity, moorage, and other services, such as fuel, for example--is up against a stone wall right now. And this is a classic example of where a referee is needed.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Fabian Manning
In my role as chair, I referee also.
With that, I'll thank Mr. Blais and move on to Mr. Stoffer, for five minutes.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you all very much for coming and presenting to us today.
I have one question for all of you. Are you all members of the Harbour Authority Association of British Columbia?
Mr. Wainwright?
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
You're not.
Is it a divested harbour that you have, Gwen?
Secretary-Treasurer, Quatsino Residents' Organization
No, it's still funded by the government.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
It's still under small craft harbours directorate. Has there been any discussion with...? I know that your community is quite small. Is it because of the size of your community that there's been no divestiture, or have they asked you and have you said you just don't have the capacity to do so?
Secretary-Treasurer, Quatsino Residents' Organization
The committee did come to the north island to check out a few of the government wharves and put them in private hands. Ours is maintained as a rural site, because we have no other access out. We're not big enough to support it on our own.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
That's understandable.
Mr. Masterman, you had indicated a concern about the new harbour construction going on in Port Hardy. I was quite impressed by the style of that construction and what it could mean. I was unaware that it was interfering with your private business.
Did you have any conversations with small craft harbours directorate or the port authority prior to the installation of those wharves, which may or may not affect your business?
Chief Financial Officer, Keltic Seafoods
I didn't, personally, but our CEO has told me that at every meeting he requested that there be enough space left between our wharf and the new wharf to allow us to bring boats in without being infringed upon by boats mooring along that wharf.
It's a real source of concern for us. I just walked it off this morning, and there's approximately 50 feet between the two docks. One of our boats is 26 feet wide. He has the drag doors hanging out the back end. He'll never get in there if there's another boat tied up on the other side.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
In your view, is it too late to move the new wharves more to the right? Is it too late for that, or is it possible?
Chief Financial Officer, Keltic Seafoods
I think it's too late. The whole design means that it has to stay right where it is. The ramp down to the main float is in place. I was looking at that this morning. There's no way to move that over at all because of the ramp base.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
I don't think for a second that anybody did this deliberately. I can only assume that it was maybe an oversight on someone's part in the planning part of it. This is obviously an error in location. I don't think it's necessarily an error in design of the wharf, but obviously it's an error in the design of the proximity to your operation.
Have you estimated the cost to assist in what you were asking for earlier?
Chief Financial Officer, Keltic Seafoods
No, we haven't done an estimate of costs. We know what has to be done, but we don't know what the cost would be.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Have you had a meeting with DFO, in any possible way, to discuss this?
Chief Financial Officer, Keltic Seafoods
No. We've talked to the local municipal government. That's all.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Lorraine, I have a question for you. Besides all the other things we've heard about, I'm glad to hear that your relationship with small craft harbours directorate is still very positive.
In regard to what you would need to have done for your particular harbour, what would be the top three things that you would require right now with respect to Sointula?
Harbour Manager, Malcolm Island Lions Harbour Authority
Well, we have requested, on the books, additional dock space for the summer, especially for the smaller boats. It wouldn't even need dredging, because the 20- to 30-foot boats that take up a lot of room don't seem to raft. We could use more space.
The end of the older side, the southern side, will need replacing eventually. We have a plan with small craft harbours directorate to dismantle and readjust it so that it will be in good shape. There has been a request for a boat launch, but that would require dredging and finding a place to put it.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Mr. Wainwright, what would be your request, sir? If you had DFO say yes to your request, what would you like to see done for your particular harbour?
Chair, Winter Harbour Harbour Authority
Could I answer that from a field perspective? I also sit on the regional district board as the area director for area B within the regional district, which encompasses from north of Port Hardy to Brooks Peninsula, which is south of Winter Harbour. Winter Harbour is kind of in the southwest corner of my area of representation.
My wish at this point in time would be for mooring buoys to be maintained within my area. And I see the issue of mooring buoys came up six or eight years ago. There was a reluctance on behalf of the small craft harbours program and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to see them reinstalled. They wear out. They're for marine safety. One set of buoys is within a provincial park area and the other two sets of mooring buoys are south of my community—they're for emergency purposes.
You also spoke of what happens in the summer when we get more traffic. Our commercial fishers very often stay on mooring buoys when the recreational fishers are around. The commercial traffic stays closer to the fishing grounds when the weather is better.
Our harbour authority feels we're well treated by the small craft harbours program and by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, but if you could pay some attention to the mooring buoys, I think it would help our area, and for the fishers who come to my area from all over, it would certainly help from a safety perspective.
I know it's difficult to fund everything, and the last time they replaced them they said it would be difficult to find funds to replace them again. They're starting to look a little shabby, so I hope there is some initiative, some funds that can be put towards those mooring buoys.
Conservative