Evidence of meeting #46 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 amundsen.
A recording is available from Parliament.
NDP
Fin Donnelly NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
You also mentioned that there are coast guard officers on board.
Commissioner, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
But they are paid for by Université Laval. The salaries are paid. The food, the maintenance...everything is covered.
NDP
Fin Donnelly NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
I understand. Is this your way of saying yes, this is the best use of coast guard resources?
Commissioner, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
Well, as I said in my opening remarks, we would not have this ship if not for this. In fact, what it gives us--
NDP
Fin Donnelly NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
Right, and those officers wouldn't be deployed on that ship.
Commissioner, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
Well, they wouldn't exist, because they would be elsewhere or they wouldn't have been hired.
Commissioner, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
So the answer is yes, we do benefit from this arrangement, because it gives us--
NDP
Fin Donnelly NDP New Westminster—Coquitlam, BC
But that wasn't my question. My question was, is this the best use of those officers on that ship?
Fleet Regional Director, Quebec region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
Without the science, the Amundsen would stay alongside in Quebec City with--
Fleet Regional Director, Quebec region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
Without the science, the Amundsen would stay alongside in layup in Quebec City, every summer, summer after summer.
Fleet Regional Director, Quebec region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
We would try to redeploy them somewhere else.
Fleet Regional Director, Quebec region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
Without science, the Amundsen would stay alongside.
Conservative
Robert Sopuck Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB
Section 34 of the Oceans Act states: “The Minister may coordinate logistics support and provide related assistance for the purposes of advancing scientific knowledge of estuarine, coastal and marine ecosystems”.
I presume this is the section of the act that you're operating under, so this was a completely legal operation, obviously.
Commissioner, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
Oh yes, absolutely, and whenever we would draft an MOU it would be done by our justice lawyers. So this is perfectly in line and within the context of the Oceans Act, as you mentioned.
Conservative
Robert Sopuck Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB
Okay. Good.
Can you give us any other examples of other vessels being used in the same way?
Commissioner, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
We don't have any other vessel used in the same way, except that we have scientific missions in other vessels. These would be grants or funds transferred from universities to the science sector of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Then the science sector would transfer the money to us. But in all other cases, this is a normal coast guard mission, and a portion of it is paid for through those grants.
Conservative
Robert Sopuck Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB
I'm constantly struck by the demonization of the petroleum industry in Canada. When one looks at the benefits that are provided by the oil industry in this country in terms of jobs, employment, and taxes right across the country—it's not just in Alberta—the implications are always shocking to me that somehow the oil industry is somewhat less than to be desired as an important player in the Canadian economy. Again, that's not a question for you gentlemen, of course, but it's just quite remarkable to me.
So let's just say that if a high-tech company—Research in Motion, for example—wanted to do Arctic research, pay for the Amundsen, be part of ArcticNet, and use some of their cutting-edge technology to perhaps test it out or perhaps do leading-edge research, presumably that would be appropriate, wouldn't it?
Commissioner, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
Well, that's a question better asked to Louis Fortier, who is the scientific director in charge of that. We couldn't deal with such a company directly, though, and we wouldn't.
Conservative
Robert Sopuck Conservative Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette, MB
No, I understand that. But if ArcticNet were to contract with a Research in Motion, for example—and again, I just use that as an example—that presumably would make no difference if the coast guard were looking at a productive voyage, would it?
Commissioner, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Canadian Coast Guard
That is correct.
