Evidence of meeting #119 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was communities.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:25 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
In asking this, I'm going back to my background in aviation and managing airports. What does your agreement with the federal government, small craft harbours, entail?
11:25 a.m.
Director, Community Services and Tourism, Municipality of Wawa
It entails minor repairs and no major capital upgrades, as well as the operations of the facility. It's basic things like taking funds for use of the facility and making sure the place is clean, very minor things, all things considered.
11:25 a.m.
Conservative
11:25 a.m.
Director, Community Services and Tourism, Municipality of Wawa
Safety and security would be our liability, essentially, as it's been transferred to us with the contract.
11:25 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
And you receive no annual funds outside of what you apply for, for that management plan.
11:25 a.m.
Director, Community Services and Tourism, Municipality of Wawa
Yes, that's correct.
11:25 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Is there revenue? What would you assign as revenue from that on an annual basis? How much?
11:25 a.m.
Director, Community Services and Tourism, Municipality of Wawa
The revenue is minimal. We give 10% or $500, whichever is more, to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for the lease of the facility. Most of the revenue generated would go back into the ongoing maintenance of the facility. It's very minor. We're talking in the tens of thousands of dollars.
11:25 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Thank you.
Mr. Russell, what would you say the annual revenue would be for the ports in your area?
11:25 a.m.
President, NunatuKavut Community Council
I don't have those numbers in front of me. They're obtainable from small craft harbours themselves.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
What would you say is the market value of the fish, the product coming and going out of those ports?
11:30 a.m.
President, NunatuKavut Community Council
It varies from port to port and from species to species. That would be a technical question, and I don't have the answer at my fingertips.
As to revenue for small craft harbours in our communities, I would think you're talking about maybe $20,000 to $40,000. That's it.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
11:30 a.m.
President, NunatuKavut Community Council
No, that's right. That's just what they would collect in user fees or wharfage fees and things of that nature.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Have either of you entered into any divestiture discussions with the federal government to take over completely the operation and the ownership of those harbours?
11:30 a.m.
President, NunatuKavut Community Council
There has been no specific process or negotiation regarding divestiture when it comes to small craft harbours and NunatuKavut Community Council.
I do know that sometimes we get consulted on divestiture plans around particular assets that might fall under small craft harbours or something like that, but that's about the size of it. We haven't really had a discussion about what the divestiture plans are for small craft harbours or how we might be involved, or not, in those particular plans.
I note that when you raised that issue, we talked about safe harbours. A lot of the safe harbours that we talk about are places where small craft harbours have had assets, or where they've had infrastructure. The nature of the fishery has changed, particularly with the closure of the cod fishery and now a move more to the offshore.
We're positing with this committee that small craft harbours should look at those particular assets, not totally with a view to divesting them but to asking whether we can maintain some of the infrastructure that provides a safe harbour and that is supportive of the fishing industry in the 21st century and where it's going to go in the future.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Would the divestiture concept be something that your first nation would be interested in, in terms of self-governance, self-reliability and being able to chart your own course?
11:30 a.m.
President, NunatuKavut Community Council
As an Inuit organization, as I've said, with the close relationship with the sea and the ice and the marine environment, yes, we would probably like to entertain that particular discussion. But our discussion would certainly like to go to further investments in places that support, as opposed to divesting and seeing who else can take up the liabilities of the government. We'd like to see more investment in our harbours and ports and more investments in fisheries development generally.
Because there is a correlation between fisheries development and small craft harbours development, the model where you look at landings, for instance, and how they give rise to what I would call a kind of sustainability model for small craft harbours, doesn't work in northern and indigenous communities. The participation is probably not as robust as in some other areas. The development, as I said, in the fisheries has not been great.
11:30 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Perhaps a percentage of market share, like an agreement with the fishermen or those who are using it, could help. The reason why I offer that, again, is—
11:30 a.m.
President, NunatuKavut Community Council
Fishers do pay as part of being a user. What I'm saying is that the level of activity is not enough to sustain them.