Fisheries Committee on April 6th, 2017

[Kevin Stringer]

As I understand it, it's been 660,000 tonnes for years and years and years. Science has adjusted the model and is now saying it's 882,000 tonnes, but where we're at in terms of the percentage has not changed. I would have said that we were at 34% of the limit reference point. They just adjusted the scale. The actual limit reference point is now formally 882,000, but we're still, as of last year, at 34% of the limit reference point.

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

I appreciate that.

Do I still have time, Mr. Chair?

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Robert Sopuck]

You have a minute and a half.

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

Okay.

This will be really quick, Mr. Stringer. Do you believe—yes or no—that DFO received adequate levels of funding in budget 2017?

[Kevin Stringer]

I think the deputy answered that one. You'll always find public servants looking for additional funds, etc., right?

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

All right. Perfect. I knew that answer. I just wanted to get it on record.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

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

To either Ms. Blewett or Mr. Stringer, a number of times we've had you before the committee, and we've talked about the disconnect between Ottawa and the regional offices. We've also heard that there's been investment, that we have better technology, and as such, things are getting better.

Tell us about the plan in place to ensure that the priorities on the ground reach the decision-makers in Ottawa, that there isn't a disconnect, that management is doing what they can to be effective and efficient, and that we are not sitting here next year still seeing that we have 16 critical plans not done.

[Catherine Blewett]

I'm really delighted you asked that question.

What's different? I'd like to tell you a little bit about the structure and what I've done as a manager coming in as deputy minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. There are lots of different models and lots of ways you can manage them. We have the largest, most decentralized department in the country, with 85% of our staff operations in the regions.

I come from a region, although I'm not wearing the tartan that I should be wearing today. I'm very shy about that.

[Voices]

Oh, oh!

[Catherine Blewett]

I'm very sensitive to the regions. It was a change I made, as someone coming into the office. I made the regional directors general report directly to the deputy minister. That's a structural change. For me, as I've said, it's a recognition that there are times when what we do at 200 Kent Street in Ottawa doesn't connect to the ground, and it's critical that we are tuned in. That set a pretty good tone and a pretty good signal.

The other thing we've done is this. I've implemented regular.... Every two weeks I'm talking to them. We're out in the regions. It makes a difference. Our regional management, our regional leaders, know that they can pick up the phone. And I have expectations as well in terms of delivery.

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

Thank you.

[Catherine Blewett]

You're welcome.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Robert Sopuck]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Donnelly, you have seven minutes.

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

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Welcome to our witnesses. Thank you for appearing before our committee today.

I want to take a crack at the resource question. Prior to the last election, the department did suffer a fair number of cutbacks, which some would categorize as very severe cuts. In terms of making choices and choosing what gets done and what doesn't get done, obviously when you're cutting it's very hard to carry out some of these things that the environment commissioner has identified.

Ms. Blewett, you mentioned the $40 million in budget 2016, but you didn't mention anything in budget 2017. I want to ask that question. In order to fill those gaps, in 2017 are there resources to help identify and close those gaps within the time frame of a year, I'll say?

[Catherine Blewett]

As you can imagine, we've been very focused on what the resource picture looks like. I have to say that we are still unpacking budget 2017, and I'm actually quite hopeful that we are going to get some resources and support that will come alive for us this fiscal year.

We're very focused on our fisheries management area, and we are going through the exercise right now. Yesterday, we had a quite protracted executive committee meeting about how we're going to ensure that the resources that came from budget 2017 will be focused in the areas where we've had integrity issues.

We've had a frank discussion about the integrity challenges the department has faced. You heard Minister LeBlanc speak about them before, and yes, we are going to see resources directed to the area.

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

You mentioned that 79% of the plans are complete. Could you supply those IFMPs to this committee?

[Catherine Blewett]

Yes, we could.

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

That would be great.

[Catherine Blewett]

Marc, is that noted?

[Marc Clemens, Manager, National Fisheries Policy, Oceans and Fisheries Policy, Ecosystems and Fisheries Management, Department of Fisheries and Oceans]

Yes.

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

Good.

Maybe I could switch to Mr. Stringer.

In response to the report by the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development, your department committed to developing a plan with priorities, targets, and timelines for completing rebuilding plans for stocks in the critical zone by the end of the last fiscal year. Can you tell the committee if that plan is complete, and if so, can it be made available to this committee?

[Kevin Stringer]

It is complete, and our response to the report is on the website.

What it basically says is that we've set some priorities for 2017 and are planning to get that specific plan into the public domain. I can tell this committee, as the deputy already said, there are four that we plan to move forward on and to have done this fiscal year. These are yelloweye rockfish, Atlantic cod, redfish in Unit 1, and redfish in Unit 2.

In terms of the latter two, the management strategy evaluation for them would done at this time next year, and early in the following year they would be finalized. We have those four, and work is continuing on the others. We'd be happy to get those to you.

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

Okay, that would be important, because I think what you're giving us is a plan for a plan for a plan.

[Kevin Stringer]

What is on the website is our response to the committee, and it says that we have a plan. The plan is focused on short-term objectives—what we are going to do this year—and priorities for future years. That is what we have.