Evidence of meeting #20 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was organization.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Gerry Byrne Liberal Humber—St. Barbe—Baie Verte, NL
I couldn't have said it better.
Are there are questions?
11:45 a.m.
Liberal
Scott Andrews Liberal Avalon, NL
Ten seconds. Okay, I have one question.
When you look at the partner contributions over the years and the question of getting the fishing industry to buy into some organization, in your first mandate the fishing industry contributed 15%. In your second mandate it contributed 30% to 35%, and now the fishing industry is contributing over 45% itself to this organization.
Could I get your comments on the fishing industry buying into something? It's not easy to get anybody in the fishing industry to buy into a concept alone.
11:45 a.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation
We make it a requirement, which is why we're getting it, as an organization, that when industry comes to us with a concept that we'll take and run with--and you have to think about this in context. Our industrial liaison officers are the brains behind our centre. They spend a lot of time out in the field. When they go and sit down with an industry, fishermen in St. Mary's Bay or otherwise, they're bringing the entire academic community of Atlantic Canada with them, in terms of their knowledge base. When these ideas get formulated, and they have merit, we have one key requirement from that industry client, and it's that he contribute to the project cash and in-kind contributions. In that case, he takes ownership of it.
We're seeing more and more...we have projects now where we have an industry client contributing $25,000, $30,000, or $40,000 in cash to a project, which was almost unheard of maybe 10 years ago. So I think it speaks to the testament of the centre and how we're able to leverage these funds and bring industry to the table. If you look at other initiatives through other programs, that leverage rate just isn't there. We take a great deal of pride in that, so we focus on it in every initiative we undertake.
11:45 a.m.
Conservative
April 23rd, 2009 / 11:45 a.m.
Bloc
Raynald Blais Bloc Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Welcome. I represent the Bloc Québécois, along with my colleague, Yvon Lévesque. My riding is that of Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine. It is perhaps worth mentioning to you that the Bloc Québécois, as a member of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, is very interested in all of the issues involving fisheries. I was not aware of your situation; this is the first time I have heard talk of it.
We are currently facing the same problem with regard to another file, that of the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec. The funding for organizations devoted to economic development or research has been questioned. Fortunately, thanks to various interventions made by Quebec, we succeeded in somewhat changing the government's opinion or way of doing things. In the end, it came back on its decision to put an end to the funding of these organizations. I would not say that the battle is completely over, but I am seeing that the problem exists elsewhere. In other words, we have seen the same thing crop up in other circumstances.
In order to help me defend you, I would like to know more about your organization. If I do not know who you are, I will not get anywhere.
What does your annual funding amount to? How many people work with you? You stated that you receive funding from other sources. What amount or what percentage does this other funding account for? From what I understand, you cover several provinces. Do you have offices spread about the area? Do you only have offices in St. John's, Newfoundland? How do you go about covering such a vast territory?
11:50 a.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation
Thank you very much.
There are a couple of points on that. First, we have two offices. We have an office in St. John's, Newfoundland, where under normal circumstances we have two industrial liaison officers, me, and an executive assistant and secretary. So there are five people in that office. We have an extension office in Bedford, Nova Scotia, where we have one industrial liaison officer. That gentleman is responsible for all of our efforts in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. All the administrative work is done out of St. John's, obviously, to lessen the burden for him.
In terms of going more broadly, we have had some general discussions with the Quebec government on exploring options for the broadening of the centre into Quebec. I've spoken briefly with Minister Lessard and his officials in the past on this. We've also had discussions with the B.C. industry, and we've had strong support from the B.C. industry on broadening our mandate nationally to the west coast, which we'd like to explore as well, and the eastern Arctic. I lived and worked in Nunavut for a period of time, and we've had discussions. There's an interest in taking this centre on a Canadian scale.
We've done some limited work in Quebec. The Quebec industry and government worked with us on the lobster initiative and the lobster round table. We hosted a snow crab workshop in Moncton last year, and the Quebec industry was actively involved in that, as well as government officials. We actually submitted a proposal to ACOA three years ago through the Atlantic Innovation Fund. We wanted to broaden our mandate--50% of our R and D into the Maritimes--and we were going to open a bilingual office in Moncton. The hope was that this might be a catalyst to expand into the Quebec region. Obviously, that hasn't happened yet. We've been of the opinion that we have to get our base in Atlantic Canada secure before we can broaden our mandate into other regions. But it's something we would love to do as a centre, broaden it, because there is support for it amongst industry from a broader scale. Those that have been introduced to us in the last couple of years see great merit in this work outside of Atlantic Canada.
I'm not sure if that answers your question.
11:50 a.m.
Bloc
Raynald Blais Bloc Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC
Not completely. You did not discuss your funding.
11:50 a.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation
In our current proposal to ACOA and the other agencies, we have proposed a total of approximately $1.9 million a year. We've secured funding of over $400,000 from the Atlantic provinces. We also have institutional support through some overhead reductions through the academic community; we project about $171,000. That support is there. What we don't have is the million dollars asked of ACOA as well as a $300,000 request to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. That's a $1.3 million federal request.
I should mention as well that we had proposed a five-year mandate for the centre. We have struggled over the last couple of years. We've had short-term funding arrangements. Unfortunately, I've had to become a lobbyist in many ways. I'm spending too much of my time on this--unsuccessfully, right now, unfortunately.
You mentioned briefly some of the work and changes in opinion in Quebec on certain issues. Perhaps we could get some of those individuals to give us a hand, because we're certainly having some challenges from the advocacy standpoint.
11:50 a.m.
Bloc
Raynald Blais Bloc Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine, QC
There are operating budgets and project budgets. The latter provide for the hiring of additional people or the carrying out of certain projects.
What impact will the answers you get from ACOA this year have on your operating budget and on the budget for projects?
11:50 a.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation
That's a great question.
It will have a huge effect because the provincial funding that's been committed is subject to the federal funds. They look at it from a leverage standpoint, obviously. We've secured the vast majority of the funds required for our operations. That's about $500,000 to $600,000. If we include our advisory committee membership, it's about $600,000. Our direct operating is about $500,000. We had a $1.3 million request for projects to leverage that money at a five- to six-to-one rate. Without that commitment, there is no provincial commitment. Without the federal commitment, there likely won't be a centre. That's what we're faced with right now as an organization.
11:50 a.m.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, sir, for coming today and helping us understand your organization a little better.
Have you personally had a chance to meet with Mr. Ashfield, the Minister of ACOA?
11:55 a.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation
I presented to both Minister Ashfield and Minister Shea, I believe it was in February. I had what I would call good discussions. I took them through the centre, explained who we are, what we do, the importance of it, and stressed the point that without federal support, the centre does not continue. It was a cordial meeting. It was a good discussion. I think Minister Ashfield recognized and generally appreciated the success and merit of the centre and said he would take it under advisement and would make a decision in the coming weeks.
Unfortunately, the decision was made, but it wasn't the one we were looking for.
11:55 a.m.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
Thank you. I heard the argument privately that some folks within the bureaucracy of the DFO think the FRCC could be doing some of the work you're doing. Could you try to explain the difference between your organization and the FRCC in that regard? I know the FRCC is made up of fishermen and other organizations of that nature. Explain the difference between the two.
11:55 a.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation
I guess its mandate is largely advisory. It doesn't conduct research and fund research. The argument has been made by Minister Ashfield as recently as last night in the House of Commons that the CCFI does not do research. That's true, but we're a catalyst for research. Without that catalyst this research doesn't get done. You can't debate that other sources of funding can fill the void, because it's not true.
We've undertaken 60 to 70 projects over the last year. Some projects will continue, probably at a lesser level, but there's a whole range of multi-year projects that we're engaged in that are going to fall. We're already seeing the results of that in spring projects for this field season. They are just not going to happen, because the centre doesn't have either the funding for leverage or the facilitative support these projects need to move them forward.
11:55 a.m.
NDP
11:55 a.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation
As of this month I have been with the centre for four years. My first two years were spent as industrial liaison officer, and the last two years I have been managing director.
11:55 a.m.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
You've had the chance to travel throughout Atlantic Canada quite extensively.
11:55 a.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation
I've made it one of my purposes as managing director—even prior to that—to build relationships in the Maritimes, because we wanted to move on that and establish.... Our industrial liaison officer, Andy Chapman, and I have spent a tremendous amount of time throughout the region.
11:55 a.m.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
I'll ask you to think very carefully about your answer to my next question; it's very important.
When we were in Yarmouth, two of the finest ladies in the industry, Norma Richardson and Nellie Baker—unprovoked by me and with no leading questions—told us in no uncertain terms that the very best lobsters in Canada come from the eastern shore of Nova Scotia.
As an organization that has an umbrella group, can you verify if that's true?
11:55 a.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation
Can I plead the fifth on that one?
11:55 a.m.
NDP
11:55 a.m.
Managing Director, Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation
I have had great relationships with Nellie and Norma through the lobster round table. I always hype the round table because it's one of the few experiences I've had where you get such a broad and diverse group in the room. I made the point at the last meeting that there's been no major acrimony whatsoever.
People see the need, the merit, and the role we play, and they are productive in their discussions. Any criticism of a harvester versus a processor or live shipper is very productive; it's a great exchange. In my view—and don't just take it from me but from Norma, Nellie, and the other members out there—this process needs to continue. It's great work, and it's probably the first time in the history of the Atlantic lobster industry that you have this coming together of resources and interests. It's a great thing.
