Evidence of meeting #90 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 dfo.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:25 a.m.
Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport
We're not monitoring ports, we're monitoring vessels. In terms of inspectors, I have at the current moment 367.
9:25 a.m.
Liberal
9:25 a.m.
Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport
No, that's for the country.
9:25 a.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Okay. How often do they get to each port? I'm just asking because I know I have in my riding about 75 to 80 ports, and that's just the small craft harbour ports.
How often would an employee of Transport Canada actually get to meet with fishers?
9:25 a.m.
Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport
It's difficult to say. It would depend very much on the size of the port. I should highlight that Transport Canada's major role is with larger vessels. Many of the small ports are using speedboats and things, which are not something we have a responsibility to regulate.
9:25 a.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Did you just say you don't have a responsibility to regulate smaller vessels?
9:25 a.m.
Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport
Certain vessels of certain sizes, yes.
9:30 a.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
I thought we were talking about smaller vessels for the moment. I guess I need to ask, what's the difference between a large vessel and a small vessel? If you're sitting here and saying right now that it's not Transport Canada's responsibility to monitor smaller vessels, I'd like to know what constitutes a smaller vessel.
9:30 a.m.
Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport
I should clarify. We don't go out and regulate and inspect those vessels. We regulate the construction of them. With larger vessels, we go out and check on them; we monitor them.
Luc, I'll let you give some of the precision about vessel length.
9:30 a.m.
Executive Director, Domestic Vessel Regulatory Oversight and Boating Safety, Department of Transport
We regulate all vessels, from zero to whatever the size. The inspection and the oversight are different. It's a risk-based inspection. The number of mandatory inspections increases with the size of the vessel. At the lower end, we don't have a mandatory inspection. At a certain size we have a mandatory inspection every four years. Above another certain size it's every year.
In addition to that, we do risk-based inspection.
9:30 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Scott Simms
Ms. Jordan, sorry, I'm going to have to stop you there. Your time is up.
Mr. Arnold is next, for five minutes, but I believe Mr. Doherty is going to start. Did you want to split your time?
9:30 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
I only have two quick questions. Then I will cede it to Mr. Arnold.
Ms. Weldon, you said just previously in response to Ms. Jordan that you are in conversation with and you meet with DFO up to three times a week, or sometimes more, and that you bring your concerns forward to them. They then pick and choose which ones they are going to follow through with.
I'm asking you today if you can table your conversations—the areas where you have had concerns and they have not been followed through with—with this committee at your earliest convenience. I'm referring to any of the conversations you've had with DFO with respect to vessel length and concerns when it comes to the topic we're talking about today.
Also, Ms. Jordan asked about the reporting on a vessel that has been modified. Do the accredited shops that are doing the modifications have a responsibility to report to Transport Canada when a vessel is being modified?
9:30 a.m.
Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport
Just on your first point, I don't believe I have any written records of having put specific statements on paper with respect to vessel length. I don't have that in my recollection.
9:30 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
Could you then table with this committee the conversations you've had with DFO, where you've raised your concerns and DFO has not adhered to them?
9:30 a.m.
Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport
As I said, I don't think I have any records that would specify dates or natures of conversations.
9:30 a.m.
Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport
There's nothing in writing that I can recall.
With regard to the construction or the putting in place of changes to vessels, they are not required to report to Transport Canada.
9:30 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
So you're dramatically modifying a vessel, and there is no responsibility for anyone other than—
9:30 a.m.
Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport
The vessel owner is responsible.
9:30 a.m.
Conservative
Todd Doherty Conservative Cariboo—Prince George, BC
—the vessel owner, if he or she feels it's going to affect stability.
9:30 a.m.
Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport
That's correct. It's their judgment.
9:30 a.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Thank you to the witnesses for being here.
I'm referring to a document that was provided by the Library of Parliament to the committee in early February related to this study. It says that, according to a Transportation Safety Board of Canada publication entitled “Fishing Safety, Working together”, adding stern extensions to the vessel length can create dangerous situations. It refers to marine investigation reports, and then it says, pursuant to section 3.17(2) of fishing vessel safety regulations:
In the case of a fishing vessel that has undergone a stability assessment, a record of a modification or series of modifications that affects the stability of the vessel shall be kept until the vessel undergoes a new stability assessment that takes into account the modification or series of modifications.
How long do those records have to be kept, and how soon does that recertification or reassessment have to take place?
9:35 a.m.
Executive Director, Domestic Vessel Regulatory Oversight and Boating Safety, Department of Transport
There is no time limit to keep the record.
As for the modification and the assessment, that's the reason there is a record. Some modifications are not enough by themselves to trigger a reassessment. They're minor. Others may be enough to trigger an assessment, and sometimes the sum of the modifications will trigger it.
9:35 a.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
When is the reassessment triggered? Is it open-ended?