Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you, gentlemen, for being here in front of the committee.
Mr. Grégoire, you mentioned that the department is engaged in streamlining services. It was also mentioned that there will be a reduction of just over $80 million over the next three years. In the short time I have, I'd like to focus on two things: one, the Pacific fishery, specifically the wild sockeye salmon; and two, the Canadian Coast Guard, specifically the closure of the Kitsilano coast guard station.
In terms of the Pacific fishery, Justice Cohen recently published his report, along with 75 recommendations, and he was very critical that the government gutted the Fisheries Act before publishing these recommendations. I'm wondering if you have allotted appropriate funding to carry out Justice Cohen's recommendations.
I'll ask my second question, on the Canadian Coast Guard. The department has announced it will be consolidating five MCTS stations in the Pacific region into two centres for the entire coast, and you also intend to close the Kitsilano coast guard station in Vancouver, the third largest city in the country and the busiest port in the country.
Could you tell us how much this closure will cost and how much it will save in terms of operating the station? It's my understanding that the annual operation of the Kits coast guard station is as little as $900,000 per year. You can correct me if this is not the case.