Evidence of meeting #73 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 41st Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was work.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
John Weston Conservative West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
That's very interesting. Thank you.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I appreciate the witnesses' comments.
I'm particularly interested in the delivery system of co-management. I would like to ask some questions about that. I wasn't sure, for example, whether there was a co-management board for each of the aboriginal or first nations settlement areas or treaty regions shown on the map on page 3. That's my first question.
If it isn't the case that there is a one-to-one correspondence, how many co-management boards are being operated through your department?
Acting Regional Director General, Central and Arctic Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
We have the Canada Nunavut co-management board in the east, and in the Northwest Territories we have two major ones, the Inuvialuit and the Gwich'in. Then we have the Sahtu and the Tlicho. The majority of the fisheries management that we do in the west is coordinated through the fisheries joint management committee. So I meet with the committee twice a year, same as I do in the eastern Arctic, but my staff are working with them the same as in the east, on a daily, weekly, basis. We establish our plans and priorities and then throughout the year we do a check-in and see where we are. Each of those bodies prepares annual reports that are presented to the minister for his review and information and comment.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
Is the Fisheries Joint Management Committee you mentioned an interior departmental committee, or is that a co-management board with others?
Acting Regional Director General, Central and Arctic Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
No, that's under the land claims, and they report and provide guidance to the minister.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
Let's just pick one, the Canada Nunavut co-management board. Can you give me a description of the extent of the responsibilities of that board?
Acting Regional Director General, Central and Arctic Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
It is soup to nuts, I guess. In their case, they not only do the aquatic, but they do the terrestrial. So they would have the responsibilities for polar bear, caribou, and everything on the land. Anything that's related to wildlife management they deal with. On that side it's more Environment Canada that they deal with.
When I sit down and meet with them, I'm dealing with the marine mammals and of course the fisheries.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
You'll have to forgive me because my knowledge of these matters is still pretty slender. I don't know, for example, whether or not the Canada Nunavut co-management board is in the business of setting quotas. Is that what they do?
Acting Director General, Resource Management, Ecosystems and Fisheries Management Sector, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Okay. That's my territory.
Under the land claim, the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board has a role of providing advice to the minister. It's a bit different if it is within their territorial waters of 12 nautical miles, or outside of that, in an adjacent resource. Essentially they provide advice to the minister on total allowable catches. As well, if there is an allocation to the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board, they would then advise the minister on how they would like to see that suballocated between commercial entities in Nunavut.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
You're talking about allocations and it sounds to me like what I might call a quota.
Acting Director General, Resource Management, Ecosystems and Fisheries Management Sector, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Yes, it would be an allocation. The quota is the annual amount, and then they divide it up amongst organizations.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
In terms of fisheries, does that board have anything to do with processing or marketing of the catch, or is that all done through private sector means?
Acting Director General, Resource Management, Ecosystems and Fisheries Management Sector, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
I think that would be private sector.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
Is it pretty much a standard that these co-management boards leave processing and marketing to private sector interests? Or do any of them get involved with it?
Acting Regional Director General, Central and Arctic Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
I'm not quite sure. Let me give you a couple of examples. The Pangnirtung processing plant that we've talked about is partially owned by the Nunavut government, which has a share in it, as do several of the communities.
There are arrangements between fisheries enterprises, some wholly owned by Inuit, some partially owned by Inuit, but all prosecuting the fisheries that we're talking about under an authority granted by the minister through information and support from the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board.
Conservative
Stephen Woodworth Conservative Kitchener Centre, ON
And do any of the co-management boards we're speaking about have authorization to engage in regulatory enforcement, or is that all thrown back on you and the other government agencies?
Acting Regional Director General, Central and Arctic Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
The enforcement under the Fisheries Act is done by our conservation and protection folks.
Conservative
Conservative
Conservative
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Rodney Weston
Thank you very much, Mr. Woodworth.
Gentlemen, I want to take this opportunity to thank you very much on behalf of the committee for coming today and providing us with a mountain of knowledge here and a lot of information. I'm sure that as committee members take the time to go through some of this information you provided, we'll be back to you again for some more assistance as we go forward with this report.
At this point in time, I'd like to say thank you very much to our guests for being here today and providing us with this help.
Committee members, I just want to let you know that for the report we completed on aquatic invasive species, as far as I'm concerned, everything is in place for me to be in a position to table it on Thursday. I just wanted to let you know that.
There being no further business, this committee stands adjourned to the call of the chair.