Fisheries Committee on June 9th, 2016

[Christina Burridge]

Broadly speaking, that's true. It tends to be easier in fisheries that are ITQ-based to collect money from licence-holders, whether those be processing companies or independent fishermen, and most of them, as we've heard, are actually independent fishermen.

We have certainly found that it is essential to develop an effective monitoring system that accounts for every single fish caught, that tracks it on board and tracks it onshore. If you can do that, then there becomes I think a willingness to contribute to science that you find is less advanced, perhaps, in some fisheries. Salmon would perhaps be a good example of where it's not so easy to collect funds for science from the industry.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

I have just a comment. I did spend some time in the forest industry, and it was quite clear that, as opposed to the very small companies, large forest companies are able to hire biologists, ecologists, and so on. I won't use the obvious joke about size, but it's very clear that the larger companies have the resources to do these kinds of things.

Ms. Burridge, you made the point that some salmon from Japan, processed in China, can be sold for less in B.C. than a B.C. chum salmon fillet could be. How could that possibly be?

[Christina Burridge]

That would have to do with what we pay for the fish primarily, which is what goes to independent fishermen. The price to the fishermen would be higher than it would be to the fishermen in Japan. As I indicated, we're also a small-volume, high-cost producer, so we have to make that fillet more attractive to our customers because of the quality and the closeness to transportation links.

If I could just go back to your point on science, I would like to reiterate that fishermen, as I think perhaps you heard from Mr. Boyes on Tuesday, accept the system of paying for science. It's in our interest to pay for science. It's not dependent on big companies. It's accepted by the fleet—and Mr. Turris could expand on this—that it's an essential part of ensuring that we stay in business for the future.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Ms. Burridge, you talked about the way the fisheries are organized. From your perspective and your experience, you said there is “little dependence on EI” in the fishery. Last week, we heard quite a bit from people who worked in the Canfisco plant. They seemed to be anxious to get over the limit so they could collect EI. I'm paraphrasing, but that was the impression we got. How were you able to overcome that trend in the organized fisheries that you are a part of?

[Christina Burridge]

Remember that I am speaking about fish harvesting and not fish processing, but broadly speaking, with our successful fisheries our goal is to operate on a year-round or near year-round basis, and that moves us away from EI. We believe that it is in the interests of all Canadians that fisheries on this coast be profitable and not just a means to qualify for EI.

[Robert Sopuck, Conservative, Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa, MB]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Thank you, Mr. Sopuck.

Now we'll go to the NDP, with seven minutes for Mr. Donnelly.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, witnesses, for being here with us and also through technology to provide your testimony on this important subject. I really appreciate it.

Mr. Morley, I have a few clarifying questions to start with before I get to my central question.

Is the cannery open or closed?

[Robert Morley]

The fish plant in Prince Rupert.... We have two plants in Rupert, and they're both open and running right now.

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

So the cannery is open.

[Robert Morley]

Well, we have.... The canning plants are not operating.

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

Have you—

[Robert Morley]

The plant is open.

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

I just asked about the cannery.

Have any cannery workers been laid off?

[Robert Morley]

The way it works in our system is that we call people in on a daily basis, depending on how much work is available. We had some specific positions, particularly in the trades area, where we had a large crew of 20-odd tradespersons who were responsible for maintaining the canning equipment. We sat down with the union and negotiated a compensation package for the 15 or so positions that we would not require anymore. Those are the only specific people who have been laid off.

Other than that, we will be calling people back on a daily basis—

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

That was my next question.

[Robert Morley]

—throughout the year.

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

Are any of those laid-off workers able to work at the cannery in Rupert?

[Robert Morley]

The tradespeople were given an option of staying on the seniority list and doing other work in the plant. Some of them have taken that option, and some of them have sought work elsewhere.

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

We've heard testimony about the community, those fishing families, and a long line of connections in that area of those who have been working there. They say they're no longer working there. What do you say to those families? Are you saying that there is still work, and there is hope, and they can continue on?

[Robert Morley]

The plant has a lot of turnover. Every year we hire a number of people and try to run the lines. On average, we probably hire 200 to 300 new workers every year. In terms of the long-term people who have been in the plant, the operations of landing, unloading, heading and gutting, and processing the roe will provide a significant amount of work. Most likely, the senior people there will continue to get as much work as they have had in the past.

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

There's been an issue of corporate concentration and talk of that increasing, as well as the issue of equity for fishing families in coastal communities. How do you respond to that? There was a comment that seemingly there's been an increase in corporate concentration—I think I saw you shaking your head—over the years, yet there seem to be fewer and fewer fishermen over the decades. How do you suggest that we increase equity in fishing families? What do you think the federal government should do to address this issue?

[Robert Morley]

The facts are that corporate concentration has not been increasing. It's actually been declining. I think I presented some numbers to show you that the perception people have is based on misinformation, because clearly Canfisco doesn't control anywhere near what people think it does.

Number two, the real issue we have here is that.... You're hearing people say that the good old days were the 1980s and 1990s, when we caught 150 million pounds of salmon. The landed value was anywhere between $200 million and $300 million. In the last decade, the average value of the fish has been under $50 million, so there's not enough income there to support the same number of people who used to be there. Those are the facts.

I would love to go back to a regime where we could harvest more fish. That would be, to me, what I'd like to sit down and work on with the unions. Let's go after the government to come up with a better management system that allows us to increase the harvest so there's more for everybody. We have—

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

You think the fish are there—

[Robert Morley]

—families that operate on vessels—