Evidence of meeting #17 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was fishing.
12:50 p.m.
Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Well, there have been different numbers that have been thrown out there, anywhere in the range between $500 million to $700 million.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Randy Kamp Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC
Now, in the rationalization or the restructuring you have in mind, do you see--let's talk snow crab now--fewer snow crab being caught or the same amount of snow crab being caught by fewer people?
12:50 p.m.
Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
I think the quota is going to be determined by the science. DFO is going to continue to do that. I think the way we have to move is that we have the same amount of quota as is dictated by DFO, but we have fewer people catching it.
The example I used before is that of somebody with a 35-foot boat, with just a small quota of 10,000 or 11,000 pounds, plus a small quota of cod and something of capelin. It's just not a viable living. However, if we can find a way such that this 35-foot boat would have two or three quotas of that size, then there is a reasonable living to be made in that.
I think the other thing we have to look at, as I've mentioned here, is a glut. All of our shrimp and our crab are caught in a very short period of time, so if we can find some way to spread that out then we'd have a longer work period for fish plant workers and, as well, we wouldn't be glutting the market.
The second thing that was put forward this year is some inventory financing, so that maybe we can hold the product on the market for a longer period of time, thus giving it a better price. Now, when we checked into it, of course we had legal opinions that said you could be struck with countervail and trade issues, so we didn't go there, but I still think there's merit to something along those lines as well.
Those are strategies that we can work on to ensure that we get a better price for the product and maintain the strength on the global market.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Randy Kamp Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC
You've suggested that some of the problem--or perhaps most of the problem--lies with the fact that, subsequent to the moratorium, a number of temporary licences were issued, many of which now have become permanent.
Did the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador have an opinion while that was going on in the nineties? Were they opposed to it and saying to the federal government that they thought this could be a problem, so let's not do it...? Or were they supportive of the enlarging of the snow crab industry?
12:50 p.m.
Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
I think that's a really good question. It's a very interesting question.
There's no doubt about it: when politics is involved in this kind of stuff, you sometimes make decisions that aren't always the right ones. There's no doubt about it. If there was a community asking for a processing licence, I'm certain that we as a government probably provided that--equally, the harvesting sector....
But good governments sometimes have to make tough decisions, and I think that's where maybe we didn't make the best decisions, and as a result, you know, like I said, we went from 71 permanent licences, I believe, up to...what I was saying? Was it 2,500 or something?
12:50 p.m.
A voice
It was 3,200.
12:50 p.m.
Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
Yes, 3,200, so.... It was a poor decision, but in light of communities that were looking for plants and looking for jobs for their citizens and for people who wanted to get into the boats to go harvesting, that was what was provided. Hindsight is always a wonderful thing, but we didn't always make the right decisions.
12:50 p.m.
Conservative
Randy Kamp Conservative Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge—Mission, BC
I think we were partners there.
I have just one final question. For these enterprises that you say are not viable and so we need to restructure the industry, how many of these ones on the bubble would be more viable and would be able to make a living if there were greater competition in terms of the price that a harvester could negotiate with a processor?
We heard from a number of panellists earlier that the way it's fixed in Newfoundland is different from other provinces. In other provinces, if they were able to negotiate with processors elsewhere, they would make perhaps double what they make in some cases. So if the province were to loosen up those rules or change those rules, do you think that would make for more viability in the snow crab industry?
12:55 p.m.
Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
In some of the interviews I've done with some of the harvesters and the processors, I've asked them to consider two questions. One is why it is that every spring in this province we find ourselves in this battle over negotiating the price. I can go across the gulf and they don't have it. Quebec doesn't have it. I think that's one question that has to be answered.
We have a panel in this province that addresses the price, and maybe that's something we have to take a look at. But we definitely have to address that issue.
The other one is why we seemingly always get a lower price than the rest of Atlantic Canada and Quebec. I've asked that of a number of people. I won't comment at this point as to what my thoughts are, but I hope that many of these people will take a look at that over the coming year.
There have been letters forwarded to my office asking that we open it to outside buyers. I've looked at that, and we as a government have discussed it. On the one hand you get a harvesting sector that says we need more and more competition and that we subsidize plant workers because we're forced into that situation. But then you have plant workers who say don't allow it to happen because you will be taking jobs away from us. We have to find that balance
It goes back to one of the points I made, that the parties around the table are going to have to be rather strong in their resolve to open themselves up to the problems that are contributing to this annual negotiation and breakdown of the fishery. I think once we get to that point, and the recognition that we need fewer harvesters and fewer processors...and as to how we can somehow, as government, support that restructuring, we'll have a different fishery, and I think a more productive one, in this province.
12:55 p.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
Thank you very much, Minister.
On behalf of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, I want to thank you for taking the time out of your very busy schedule to present to us and answer the questions the members have had.
I would ask you to provide a copy of your brief to the clerk. The clerk will ensure that it's translated and distributed to members of the committee. That would be greatly appreciated.
On behalf of the committee, once again, thank you very much for taking the time.
This meeting is adjourned.