Fisheries Committee on May 28th, 2010

[Mike Allen, Conservative, Tobique—Mactaquac, NB]

I guess we shouldn't all be surprised, given the cyclical nature of the industry, that we were going to hit this low point sometime. That's why I'm asking the question about being out in front of that. The employees in those plants knew we were going to be hitting these cycles, and we know we have an aging stock. Wouldn't it be prudent to be planning for this, even on the processing side?

There have been reductions in the TAC each year since 2006. We could argue about the quantities, but there has been a reduction in TAC. What are some of those things the province can do on the processing side to get ready for this modernization, knowing that we're going to see a reduction in the number of employees? The average age now is about 51 or 52 years old.

I just put that out because it is important to those workers, and from the province's standpoint, a transitioning maybe to a much more skilled workforce in these plants because of the different types of equipment and efficiencies involved....

[Rick Doucet]

We could argue this until the cows come home.

We were bracing ourselves for 40%, and the industry was getting ready, the harvesting sector, the processing. They felt that 40% was bad enough, yet they were finding some glimmers of light, some hope to be able to get through it. Nobody knew that 63% was coming. Not one person in the industry, absolutely no one, knew that 63% was going to hit us broadside like that.

As I said, I found out about it the day of, a couple of hours before the House went in at one o'clock. At 11:35 a.m. I got a courtesy call from the Minister of Fisheries, who, by the way, very nicely called my fisheries critic that morning to let him know. I thought, “Well, that was great collaboration.” As I said to Raynald only a few minutes ago, I take people at face value.

I respect the decisions that are made, but at the same time we have to respect each other and know what's coming our way. There was an opportunity and there were all kinds of off ramps to let us know what was going to happen. If you ask anyone from the crab sector, if you ask any fisherman, if you ask any plant worker, if you ask any operator of a fish plant what was coming, they will tell you the same thing: they didn't know. They knew they were bracing themselves for an impact, but they had absolutely no idea. That's like my mother putting on Christmas supper for 10 people and having 25 people show up.

We have to work together, and it has been the spirit that I've put across for the past four years, with all ministers, that we have to have a spirit of cooperation, where we work together, because no matter what decisions you make, they're going to impact coastal communities. We need to work together as to what the impact is going to be in those coastal communities.

Moving forward here, we could talk about this and talk about the mistakes, but let's take this and learn from it. How do we move forward on this? With some of the work we've been doing in the provinces, how do we rationalize the industry? We've worked hand in hand with the processors, the marketers, the harvesters. How do we brace ourselves for the older population? How do we modernize the plants to prepare for the future?

A lot of the plants have picked up that challenge because they're realizing that their workforce is aging, things are changing, plant workers have completely changed, and they've had to modernize. Come into Connors Bros. next month, as an example. If you want to see a state-of-the-art facility...that's a sardine plant that's been around for over 100 years, and they've just invested, give or take, $18 million in that plant to modernize it and to prepare themselves for total utilization of the species.

One of the things we've been talking about for the past couple of years is how we utilize from the mouth of the fish to the tail. How do we utilize every piece of that fish? Look and see what Connors is doing. They've changed their process; they're mechanizing. They've mechanized to the point of getting better value from the product. They're utilizing the total species. It's tremendous work they're doing.

Did that beeper go again?

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

I have one question, Mr. Minister, if you don't mind. We've had a lot of discussion here today, and there has been a lot of discussion around the sharing arrangements with the crab, and a lot of discussion among the traditional fleet and what some people call the new arrivals, new entrants into the crab fishery here in New Brunswick and in the gulf.

There's a recognition, no question, of the cyclical nature of the stock. My question is about the sharing of the stock or of the quota, taking into account its cyclical nature. There were some suggestions today that the traditional fleet has some needs, if you wish, and the needs...some graphs were presented to the committee that outlined the needs of the traditional fleet to maintain the industry, so to speak.

Back in the day, a position was taken by the provincial minister when the decision by the federal minister to make that a permanent share...and I guess a suggestion was made today to the effect that when the stock drops below a certain level, then the TAC has to drop below a certain level and the LIFO formula should be applied. I know you're aware what LIFO is: last in, first out.

The province wasn't shy back in that day to take a position on that. What's the position today?

[Rick Doucet]

I'm glad you mentioned that. We're not against sharing. Had the quota been in great shape, it wouldn't be an issue. We wouldn't be in this discussion at all. We wouldn't be having this committee had we had a viable industry, but the crisis comes about when you don't have a viable industry.

If you're talking about sharing, we go back to the Fisheries Act. It's the same old broken record conversation I've had for ages. You've got to clearly define the parameters. They've got to be crystal clear as to how you have discussions and how you move forward. The only way you can define the parameters as to sharing arrangements is in direct consultation with the industry--not only the harvesters, but also the processors. How is this going to impact? What is going to happen with the entire industry? At the same time, you start having discussions about viability. How do we maintain viability of the fleets? Each of the fleets has to be viable to continue to prosper. So here we go back to that situation of getting serious about rationalization.

As an example, we've been working with the groundfish fleet for years now. When you were minister, they were having trouble with their viability. Now we're into the same situation, but we have to get serious about how we work on rationalization with these players.

I keep on going back to the Fisheries Act. Every one of you folks around this table has a responsibility. When this Fisheries Act comes to the table in the House of Commons, we have to get it to the point of having the standing committee do the examinations so we can clean up the edges on it, so we can work together collaboratively, interprovincially. Across Canada, how do we work this act so that it's going to best suit our needs? We've got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For God's sake, that act is as old as Confederation. I think it's as heavy as all get-out, because it must be written on slate.

We have to get that act in place. So not only the government members, but also the opposition have to play a vital role, because each of my colleagues in Atlantic Canada supports this. We support getting it to first and second reading so that we can get it to the committee stage, so that we can have the discussions with the provinces as to how we move forward.

Will it be perfect for everyone? No, absolutely not, but we've got to take that opportunity to do our due diligence and do what's right for Atlantic Canada. I'm thinking for Atlantic Canada, but across Canada as to what this act really entails and what it means.

On that, Rodney, I go back to the viability of the fleet. The fleet has a right to be viable, and there have got to be strong discussions about the parameters, how sharing arrangements take place. As I say, we wouldn't be having this discussion here today, none whatsoever, if we were dealing with viability in the quotas, if the industry were viable.

[The Chair, Conservative, Rodney Weston]

That was the argument that was put forward back in my day, as you pointed out--as long as the quota is sufficient--but we all know this is a cyclical stock. As long as the quota is sufficient, there is no question. I appreciate your comments.

Minister, on behalf of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, I want to thank you for coming today. And thank you as well to your deputy. It's good to see you again, Jim. Thank you for coming today and appearing before our committee and taking the time to answer all our questions. Thank you very much.

The meeting is adjourned.