Fisheries Committee on June 5th, 2018

[The Chair, Liberal, Bernadette Jordan]

Thank you, Mr. Morel.

Mr. Hardie, now, you have the final seven minutes.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, everybody, for being here.

There's quite a bit of additional funding, and I want to get a sense from you as to how this funding is being applied vis-à-vis the longer 10- to 15-year history of funding envelopes for the ministry. It's been well canvassed that you faced cutbacks from, say, 2006 through 2015. Now funding has been increased, first for science and now for other things. Are you going back and restoring things that were cut, or are you leaving some things off the table now and moving forward into new areas?

[Catherine Blewett]

Thank you very much for that question. I really appreciate that.

The investment has really been substantial for the department over the last two budgets, and it's making a big impact in our department. I might just talk about some of what we call—

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Be brief, if you can, because I have other questions.

[Catherine Blewett]

—the integrity funding. We're starting to be able to reinvest in some of the infrastructure, the actual labs. There's the human resource side: hiring the new scientists. We brought on 135 new scientists. Also we're actually being able to shore up the real property—the wharfs, the labs—and making those really sound. They're kind of boring investments. For our department, actually, IT is pretty critical when you have scientists who actually can't download the data because they don't have the IT space, or when we're making sure that we have connections from coast to coast to coast. That backbone infrastructure investment has really made a big difference.

To your question about what we're doing with it, I want to stress that we're not just moving the money back to what was always done. Actually, this is our opportunity, and as a management team we're focusing on the mandate commitments that our department is driven by and the results framework and the architecture that we have. We're trying to allocate the resources to the highest and best use for outcomes for the department, so it's an opportunity for us to actually make sure we're thinking it through and maximizing the investments.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Good. I'll stop you there, because I want to get specific with respect to the small craft harbour funding. When was the last time that the basic funding envelope was increased for small craft harbours?

[Catherine Blewett]

As Sylvie mentioned, it's been B-base funding. I'll turn to Sylvie for the specifics on that.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

I have one more question after that, so again a short answer would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Sylvie Lapointe]

My recollection is that it's probably not been since the early 2000s or late 1990s that our A-base budget would have expanded.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Okay. Good. Thank you for that.

Turning to aquaculture, we had an incident in Washington state over a year ago now, I think, where there was a huge escape, and based on that, Washington state is moving away from ocean-based aquaculture. What is the department's reading of the state of aquaculture on the west coast?

I understand that the conditions on the east coast are different, and the approach is different, but on the west coast, what are you seeing, what are you hearing, and where are you going?

[Catherine Blewett]

Actually, I should say that aquaculture on the west coast does warrant a lot of our attention. Late last night I spoke with the deputy minister from British Columbia because we're trying to work collaboratively with the provinces as they work their way through aquaculture.

On the west coast, indigenous engagement is really important. You referenced the escape in Washington state. It certainly has raised the profile and a lot of questions.

Canada's chief science adviser is Dr. Mona Nemer. Through the minister's office, we've engaged her to have a look at how we're doing in our decisions on aquaculture. Are we adequately considering science? Is science the backbone for the decisions? That's really going to be strongly guiding us. The science is changing all the time, and we expect that science is going to continue to come out.

Where are we going? We want to work, again, as I mentioned, with British Columbia to find what's acceptable in that jurisdiction. We have a different management regime, as you will know. For example, there is a lot of discussion about aquaculture in the Broughton area. The province is responsible for the tenure—that's where they're located—and then DFO does the licensing. We work co-operatively to make sure that we are achieving the best outcomes. We also do some joint science together.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Per the motion that we tabled this morning, we've seen research that shows that the fishery on the west coast is underperforming. Alaska is doing well. The east coast is doing well. Even with lower catches, average incomes are going up. The prices at the wharf are in good shape. But that's not so much the case in British Columbia.

A lot of fingers point to the ITQ system, where all of a sudden you're getting a huge concentration of ownership. The separation that you see as being very core to the belief on the east coast isn't there on the west coast. It appears that many communities are suffering.

If we want to take another look at this, is this like trying to unscramble an egg, or is there a way forward?

[Catherine Blewett]

Thank you very much.

I'm going to turn to Kevin Stringer, who is smiling at your question.

[Kevin Stringer, Associate Deputy Minister, Department of Fisheries and Oceans]

There are hugely different histories on the west coast and the east coast in terms of how the fishery developed. The core policies around owner-operator—you have to be on the boat—and fleet separation, where a processing company can't own a fish licence, were established back in the seventies and eighties, and the fishery has been developed since that time.

That said, are there things that you can do with respect to the inshore fleet and the independent fleet on the west coast? Certainly, that can be done. We note, with interest, that the committee is going to take a look at that.

[The Chair, Liberal, Bernadette Jordan]

Thank you, Mr. Stringer.

We'll go now to our five-minute round.

Mr. Doherty, you have five minutes, please.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

If Five Nations is proceeding, has it identified a boat, and when will it start fishing?

[Catherine Blewett]

I just want to back you up in terms of that. The department actually has not given a licence yet.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Thank you.

Then, with that, Ms. Blewett, will you ensure that the 2018 surf clam quota will be maximized for value this year?

[Catherine Blewett]

Again—

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Yes or no?

[Catherine Blewett]

I'm not sure that's a yes or no question.

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Okay. Thank you.

Commissioner, during your last appearance before this committee, you were requested to table the department's report on the MV Aiviq, the heavy icebreaker proposed as part of project resolute. You said that you would provide it, but later you wrote that you were unable to provide it because you could not disclose it under the access to information rules.

Commissioner, I'm asking you today if you can table with this committee, by the end of this week, the letter from the ATIP commissioner that directed you not to disclose this document.

[Jeffery Hutchinson, Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, Department of Fisheries and Oceans]

Madam Chair—

[Todd Doherty, Conservative, Cariboo—Prince George, BC]

Yes? No?

[Jeffery Hutchinson]

As of yesterday, you have received from us a redacted report related to the MV Aiviq. We have done our best to comply with the spirit of the confidentiality restrictions that we believe apply, and we will await further direction from you on that report.