Oh, oh!
Evidence of meeting #64 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 area.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #64 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 area.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:45 a.m.
Voices
Oh, oh!
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
Pat Finnigan Liberal Miramichi—Grand Lake, NB
Meegwetch.
In terms of resources, do you see this having an effect on the community? Are you seeing the youth leaving, for instance, or other social effects? Perhaps you could elaborate on that and on if we don't do anything with the MPAs right now.
9:45 a.m.
Regional Coordinator, North America, Indigenous Peoples' and Community Conserved Territories and Areas Consortium
I think when we have systematic violence against the earth, it creates violence within the communities. There's a high correlation between intensive primary industry activities and social degradation and domestic violence. My mother worked at a women's shelter for 25 years. She saw that correlation first-hand.
In terms of how it impacts the youth, we create instability within our communities when we don't have a balanced relationship with the environment. The MPA is one tool that is available to us, but we have to be creative in the way in which we approach this.
9:45 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
Thank you, Mr. Enns and Mr. Finnigan.
Mr. Arnold, you have five minutes, please.
9:45 a.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to thank all the witnesses for travelling great distances to get here. You're having to adjust to the time zones. We travelled as a committee last week to the Northwest Territories and out to B.C., and some of us may be still suffering a little jet lag. It's a big country, as we're finding out.
Ms. Ehaloak, in your earlier statements you questioned whether MPAs would have economic impact. When we were in the Northwest Territories, we heard that the indigenous people there weren't necessarily looking for economic gains from the creation of the MPAs. They were looking at protecting their cultures, their food. They simply didn't feel sustained properly on western or other North American food. They needed their muktuk and so on. That was their main reason for the MPAs.
You mentioned economic impact. Is there more of an interest in Nunavut to see economic gain for the local people?
9:45 a.m.
Executive Director, Nunavut Planning Commission
Thank you, Mr. Arnold.
It's a balance. Our demographic cost to be living in Nunavut, where Inuit have lived for thousands and thousands of years, in terms of food security, jobs, and economic opportunities, means that achieving that balance is of the utmost importance to Nunavummiut. That's what we heard in our consultations.
In terms of economic opportunities, I think as Eli defined, it's holistic. It's not just based on jobs. It's based on a healthy community. There's a balance. I can tell you that food security and jobs, and feeding our families....
I wish you had come to Nunavut, because we truly are God's country. You would have seen the poverty in our communities, which is heart-wrenching. People here are saying, and the Inuit are telling you, that they need jobs, they need sustainability, they need food security, but they also need access to traditional foods. Traditional foods sustain our communities for the majority.
This may be off topic, but I just saw on Facebook that in Arctic Bay, for example, it's $26.29 for two litres of milk. To access healthy food, we look to the land. We look to the sea. Traditional harvesting is still an inherent right. It is something that is very well respected with Inuit, as is having a future for our children with the changing times. Achieving a balance with our culture and our economics is the priority.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
The economic opportunities certainly need to be considered when we're establishing MPAs, as well as the biological values we're looking to protect.
9:50 a.m.
Executive Director, Nunavut Planning Commission
Yes, it's a balanced approach.
9:50 a.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Thank you.
Mr. Enns, in much of our testimony we've heard different criteria for what might be considered an MPA internationally or in Canada's eyes. What type of MPAs would be most effective in your organization and your local community's eyes? Would it be smaller onshore areas that may be important to spawning and rearing habitat, or is it larger areas, possibly offshore, or larger areas in general, that might be closed to all activity? What kind of input do you have that way?
9:50 a.m.
Regional Coordinator, North America, Indigenous Peoples' and Community Conserved Territories and Areas Consortium
Yes, from an indigenous people's and local community's perspective the kinds of marine protected areas that are most desirable would be those that have a balanced perspective on sustainable livelihoods.
Within the area wherever you're creating the marine protected area, in a Canadian context for example, we were looking at the Constitution. Enlivening the Constitution creates harmony through the various other jurisdictions that co-exist with the Constitution.
Part of that harmony is about creating sustainable livelihoods. We have the opportunity to continue to maintain relationships with the resources within marine protected areas, but to do it in a way that's more consistent with the traditional governance, values, and principles.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
Thank you, Mr. Arnold.
Thank you again, Mr. Enns.
Ms. Jordan, you have five minutes, please.
9:50 a.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank all of the witnesses for appearing. It has been extremely interesting, especially given that last week when we were in Inuvik, Paulatuk, and Tuktoyaktuk, we saw quite a few differences in how they approach marine protected areas even in those areas. Some were interested in development and ecotourism and then another area shut it all down; they didn't want any of that.
I'm interested in your perspective on that as well as on development, because we talk about jobs and how much you need that balance in Nunavut. Where is your line? They don't even want cruise ships in parts of Darnley Bay, or they don't want any ecotourism. Are you open to those type of measures for economic growth?
9:55 a.m.
Executive Director, Nunavut Planning Commission
Thank you. That's a very good question.
The commission's mandate is to compile all the datasets from the communities, the signatory parties, the interested parties, anyone who has an impact within the Nunavut settlement area. Our job is to bring forward all that information.
The staff have done that. The draft Nunavut land use plan process that's under way is now with the commissioners. The commissioners are hearing evidence and will make those final decisions. The mandate is for an anti-poverty plan that achieves balance among sustainable development, economic opportunities, and food for healthy communities.
Following our broad planning policy goals and objectives is the commission's mandate. I can't answer further.
9:55 a.m.
Executive Director, Nunavut Planning Commission
It's not my final decision. The commissioners will make those decisions.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Okay. Once the Nunavut land use plan is approved and your recommendation number seven meets DFO's criteria, could it be considered part of the MPA process?
Has anyone discussed that possibility with DFO? Have there been any discussions with either Environment Canada or DFO about your targets or your plans to make protected areas, and could they be considered?
9:55 a.m.
Executive Director, Nunavut Planning Commission
I do not believe that discussion has happened.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Mr. Clark, one of the things that we heard time and time again, not just in this study, but in pretty much every study we've done, is the funding capacity of DFO. I know that substantial investments have been made in science in the last year, especially in DFO with the hiring of 136 new scientists. Can you expand your comment about DFO's not having the ability to do the work they need to do and that they should be relying more on the proponents who do have that? I think that is what you said.
June 6th, 2017 / 9:55 a.m.
Environmental Advisor, Registered Professional Biologist, Pacific NorthWest LNG
Yes. It's a big country, so 120 or 160 scientists....
9:55 a.m.
Environmental Advisor, Registered Professional Biologist, Pacific NorthWest LNG
If you were in Prince Rupert, you'd notice that the DFO building has echoes and things like that. They have folks working out of Nanaimo. I think they're understaffed along the entire coast—and probably in all of Canada.
The science that is out there is from the 1970s. DFO did stuff in the seventies, and they haven't done anything significant, at least in the published stuff that's out there. This is the thing about proponents. We do these studies but there is no set of requirements, that “You will do it this way”. There are four or five LNG companies alone in the Rupert and Kitimat area doing studies. The DFO government just has to say, “This is what we want and this is the way it's collected.” But all of a sudden you have five different companies spending $10 million each per year. That's a lot of data. I see no reason that governments shouldn't be asking for data in a certain manner. It goes into a common database, and there's your research.
9:55 a.m.
Liberal