Fisheries Committee on Nov. 23rd, 2016

[Kevin Stringer]

It's a total amount of $360,000 that is being moved from last year's funding to this year's funding to be able to complete the work on those projects. Naufrage is construction of a wharf and repairs to the breakwater. Alberton is wharf repairs. I know Naufrage is completed and Alberton should be done in a couple of weeks.

It's in the supplementary estimates because it was supposed to be in last year's funds. It didn't get done last year, so we needed to move monies over to this year's funds.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Do I have one minute?

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

You have one minute.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

I would like you to elaborate on the impact you will have with your new capital expenditures, the small craft harbours going from $75 million to $149 million, I believe you said.

Is that $149 million each year over the next two years—

[Kevin Stringer]

No.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

—or $149 million spread over two? Which is it?

[Kevin Stringer]

Yes. It's the latter.

In other words, we get $75 million a year. That's the A-base budget and it's ongoing. We get it every year. This year, they said, “We're going to give you $149 million over two years.” They didn't say how we had to divide it up, but we have done that.

With that $149 million, we're doing 85 projects. It's around $2 million a project. These are substantive projects in every region of the country. These are largely project-ready things because we have a list of lots of them that need work.

It does really enable—

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Do you have that list now?

[Kevin Stringer]

I think we can provide the list of where those projects are. Most of them have been announced and work is under way on them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Thank you, Mr. Stringer. Thank you, Mr. Morrissey.

Mr. Donnelly, you have three minutes, please.

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

I have a couple of questions. I want to start off with the Fisheries Act. You have identified $3.4 million in funding to review the changes to the Fisheries Act and to enhance monitoring and reporting of existing projects permitted under the Fisheries Act.

Mr. Stringer, could you explain a bit more about how that money will be spent?

One of the concerns we have, or certainly I have at this committee, is not having enough time to hear fully from all the witnesses that want to comment on the Fisheries Act. Is this funding going to allow for a fulsome input from Canadians who have concerns in the limited time available and do you have time to spend these funds?

[Kevin Stringer]

We're going to make sure we do hear from as many Canadians as we can.

Regarding funding, in terms of the engagement, as you know we have a federal-provincial table that's working on this, including deputies meeting with provinces today on the Fisheries Act and other issues. We have what the committee is doing. We very much look forward to that report, but there are other elements as well.

There are also indigenous consultations. In indigenous consultations, some of this funding is to support indigenous groups to come to the table, to work with us, etc. Also, there is the online engagement. The process of setting up that website, being able to pull the data off, etc., is covered in this funding.

Regarding the monitoring, there has been a challenge. We want to fully engage Canadians, take the time to think through what we want to do, yet we want to make progress immediately.

We said, let's at least enhance the monitoring; let's at least develop a monitoring protocol, start doing more, and commit to a report in terms of how we're doing in monitoring, so there are seven FTEs or seven people that have been brought on to be able to do that work.

That's what the $3.4 million is for.

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

Thank you.

I've heard some first nations are very frustrated regarding how they can get involved. I talked about the Heiltsuk First Nation today in committee. I've talked about others in the lower Fraser aboriginal fisheries groups, and there are others that have been writing to us and expressing their concerns.

On the $11.8 million that has been designated for marine conservation to the MPAs, I want to say that, according to the fall 2012 report of the commissioner on the environment and sustainable development, DFO has established eight MPAs and is working on another eight.

Can you give us an update on that? Do you think you will hit the 2017 target by the end of the year next year?

[Kevin Stringer]

We intend to hit the target next year, in 2017, remembering that 2017 starts soon but ends a year from now and a bit, so we are going to hit—

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

Thank you.

Very quickly, will you hit 5%?

[Kevin Stringer]

Our plan is to hit that target. We're taking it very seriously. It doesn't mean these all need to be formal MPAs. Those extra eight MPAs, which we are working on, including Hecate Strait and Laurentian Channel and St. Ann's Bank—those are the ones we've been working on.... That doesn't get us to 5%. To get to 5% we're going to have to count other measures. The Aichi biodiversity target 11 resolution says through marine protected areas “and other effective area-based...measures”, so we've been working on making sure that we meet the criteria for real “other effective area-based measures”, understanding that by 2020 we have to live up to that.

Our plan is to make it—

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

Thank you, Mr. Stringer. I'll have to leave it at that.

I want to thank Monsieur Pelletier, Ms. Thomas, Mr. Stringer, and Mr. Matson for joining us for the supplementary estimates. Don't go anywhere. We have to do some votes here just to end off this meeting.

We have three votes in this particular round for the supplementary estimates (B) referred to us on November 3.

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES AND OCEANS Vote 1b—Operating expenditures..........$20,842,744 Vote 5b—Capital expenditures..........$1,588,390 Vote 10b—Grants and contributions..........$3,060,074

(Votes 1b, 5b and 10b agreed to)

Shall I report these votes on the supplementary estimates back to the House of Commons?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Scott Simms]

There being no objections, that will be done.

Thank you very much, everybody. We will see you next Monday.

The meeting is adjourned.