Fisheries Committee on Oct. 23rd, 2018

[Colin Fraser]

—and that hasn't happened in Atlantic Canada yet.

[Julie Gelfand]

That's correct.

That's why we made the recommendation that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans should initiate discussions with their counterparts in Atlantic Canada to address both the quality and the maintenance of equipment to prevent these fish escapes.

[Colin Fraser]

That's my time, so thank you.

[The Chair]

Thank you, Mr. Fraser.

I'll go now to Mr. Donnelly to allow him some time, even though we've gone a little bit past the time frame allotted. I want to try and be as fair as possible.

Mr. Donnelly.

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Commissioner, I just want to get to the findings in your audit. In your last point to the committee, you say, “These findings led us to conclude that Fisheries and Oceans Canada had not managed risk from salmon farming in a way that protected wild fish.”

If you had to give a letter grade, what would you give this?

[Julie Gelfand]

In my role, I would say that I don't really give out letter grades.

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Do they pass or fail?

[Julie Gelfand]

I would say that there are many risks that they have not addressed. They're at risk of being seen to prioritize aquaculture over the protection of wild fish, and I've enumerated all those risks. I would say that's a conclusion you may come up with, but my audit stands on the facts.

We've indicated the things that they are doing well. It's not like they're doing nothing at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. They're doing a lot of work. We've identified all the gaps. We've made recommendations on those gaps. They've accepted those recommendations.

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

I know I keep asking about recommendation 75 under Cohen, which refers to the office of the environment commissioner updating this committee and the public on the extent to which the commission's recommendations have been implemented.

I was recently at an event in British Columbia for the International Year of the Salmon announcement, and the government reported that the Cohen response status is 100%. They claim 100%. We're looking at the government saying 100%, and we look at Cohen's recommendation 75, which says:

An independent body such as the office of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development should report to the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans and to the public as follows: By March 31, 2014, and every two years thereafter during implementation of the Wild Salmon Policy, on progress in implementing the policy in relation to Fraser River sockeye salmon.

They also say:

By September 30, 2015, on the extent to which and the manner in which this Commission’s recommendations have been implemented.

Do you feel these recommendations have been implemented?

[Julie Gelfand]

That recommendation has not been implemented. There's been no law that has been passed that mandates me to do that. I'm independent. I work in the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, and we're independent, and we pick our audits independently.

However, there have been pieces of legislation that Parliament has passed that then forced us to do certain audits. I'm thinking in particular of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act that required us to do an audit every two years on whether or not we were reaching goals.

That has not occurred, and it is within my mandate to select when we do an audit and on what topic. Parliament hasn't directed me to implement that recommendation.

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

I have one quick question.

If the department is not monitoring the impacts of farming salmon on the health of wild salmon, how would the department determine if there's a problem?

[Julie Gelfand]

That is exactly my issue.

My biggest concern about this is the fact that they're not monitoring the health of wild fish; therefore, I don't know how they can make that conclusion.

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

There may be mass die-offs?

Is it hard to say?

[Julie Gelfand]

You'd have to ask them, but that was my biggest concern.

[Fin Donnelly, NDP, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Thanks very much for your good work.

[The Chair]

Thank you.

We'll move right into the second hour, if our guests are ready.

Just for housekeeping, I'll read out the same statement again.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), this is a briefing on the reports of the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development for the fall of 2018.

I won't welcome our guests again, because they're already here.

[Julie Gelfand]

There's one switch up.

[The Chair]

Okay, there's one switch up. We welcome Director Elsa Da Costa to the committee. Thank you for attending.

Also, substituting in is Mr. Jowhari, member of Parliament for Richmond Hill.

Welcome, sir.

[Majid Jowhari, Liberal, Richmond Hill, ON]

Thank you, sir. It's good to be here.

[The Chair]

Ms. Gelfand, you have a small statement to make.

[Julie Gelfand]

Yes, I do.

Mr. Chair, I am pleased to be here again this afternoon to discuss my report on protecting marine mammals, which was tabled in Parliament on October 2. I am accompanied by Elsa Da Costa, the director responsible for this audit.

Our audit looked at what the government had done to protect marine animals from the threats posed by marine vessels and commercial fishing. In Canada, there are over 40 species of marine mammals—such as whales, dolphins and seals—and 14 populations are on the endangered or threatened species list.

We found that Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in collaboration with Parks Canada, Transport Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada, was very slow to take action to reduce threats to marine animals. Departments have several tools at their disposal to protect these animals. For example, they can establish protected areas, set speed limits for vessels, close or restrict fisheries and set distances for whale-watching boats.

We found that most of these tools were not used until the situation became severe. Twelve endangered North Atlantic right whales, representing 3% of the world's remaining population, were found dead in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in 2017.

It was then that the departments took action to protect a few whale species, for example, by closing certain fisheries and introducing speed limits for ships in some areas. More specifically, we found the following:

Only four of the 14 recovery strategies required under the Species at Risk Act were completed within the act's required timelines, and no action plans were completed on time. In 2017, only seven of 14 action plans were finalized, and the rest remained incomplete.

Marine protected areas are not necessarily established to protect marine mammals. Only three of the 11 marine protected areas established by Fisheries and Oceans Canada are intended to do so. In addition, fishing and shipping are allowed in over 80% of our marine protected areas.

Up to and including the 2017 fishing season, only eight of the 74 fish stocks that had interaction with marine mammals had management measures in place as required by the policy on managing bycatch. None of these measures included gear restrictions. In 2018, new restrictions were placed on fishing licences.

Even though prey availability for the southern resident killer whale was identified as a significant threat to the species for many years, Fisheries and Oceans Canada had not taken action to implement quotas on chinook salmon farming. The department announced such measures in the 2018 fishing season, which was subsequent to our audit period.

We also found that Fisheries and Oceans Canada lacked the resources and guidance to effectively respond to distressed marine mammals. There are around 900 incidents of distressed marine mammals each year, and very few people are trained to help.

The measures recently put in place have been reactive, limited and late. The clock could well be running out for certain species, such as the west coast's southern resident killer whale, which has been listed as an endangered species for 15 years and whose population is now down to 74 individuals. There needs to be continued action from the departments to manage threats for all marine mammals.

This concludes my opening statement. We would be pleased to answer any questions the committee may have.

Thank you.

[The Chair]

Thank you, Ms. Gelfand.

We'll start off with seven minutes on the government side.

Mr. Morrissey.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Thank you, Chair.

Madam Commissioner, as you are aware, the situation in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in 2017 alarmed most Canadians. It alarmed fishermen. Your report identifies that the United States gave Canada until January 22 to address the entanglement of marine mammals as new conditions on Canadian fisher exports to the United States.

Could you elaborate a bit more on what that impact is, on what that condition is?

[Julie Gelfand]

It's definitely a serious issue.

For Canada to maintain access to the U.S. market for a variety of fisheries, Canada has to meet certain requirements that the U.S.—

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

What are those requirements? Are they outlined? Are they specific?