Fisheries Committee on June 17th, 2020

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

I'm sorry, sir, I'm going to have to intercede here. I have more questions and limited time.

Do we have too much fishing need, chasing too few fish, in British Columbia? There's a desire on the part of a lot of people—sports fishing, commercial fishing, the indigenous fishery, etc.—to go out fishing, but in the same breath we hear that there's a shortage of fish and that we have some fundamental issues there, that are not pandemic-related, that need to be addressed to really come up with a sustainable solution to your problems.

[Martin Paish]

I would answer—

Go ahead, Owen.

[Owen Bird]

Okay, thanks.

I would suggest that the SFAB proposals are quite a road map to show that there is a reasonable, sustainable approach to addressing your concerns and concerns that—

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Owen—just in the essence of time here—are you saying then that we might not be getting the right information out of DFO as to the state of the stocks and the necessity for the closures?

[Owen Bird]

I would say that is accurate. There are many—

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

I have one last thing, and then my time will expire.

We've seen in a lot of sectors that the people who are closest to the activity are being expected to absorb most of the hit, most of the pain, if you will, as a result of the pandemic. Is that the case, for instance, with the lodge operators, Mr. Helmer, or with the equipment providers?

What about upstream from you? What about the banks? What about the others who want to be kept whole while the person closest to the action is expected to take all the hit? Is that a factor you are looking at?

[Owen Bird]

Are you asking that of Fred?

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

I'd ask that of Fred if Fred is still online.

He is.

Fred, what are your thoughts?

[Fred Helmer]

Absolutely. The way I look at the whole thing.... It's a holistic value.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

I'm sorry, Fred. We can't hear you.

[Fred Helmer]

Okay, hang on.

Can you hear me now?

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

Barely. Move as close as you can to your computer.

[Fred Helmer]

Okay, thank you for that.

I believe that we need to look at things holistically. Your question—

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

I'm sorry, Fred. We still can't hear you.

Is your language button on English or French? Maybe you could just check that.

[Fred Helmer]

It is on English.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

It is on English. Okay.

[Fred Helmer]

Owen, can you answer that?

[Owen Bird]

Yes, maybe if I could make a remark..... It's a significant problem that there are no tools available to the public fishery and the industry to be able to make it through the significant effects of the pandemic, and to take them through to believe that they can operate in the next year.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

The key question I have is whether the pain is being shared equitably, kind of up and down the financial food chain here.

[Owen Bird]

I think not entirely. There are means in place to generate funding support that the government has provided, and in some cases, that's been quite helpful. Unfortunately, for the tourism industry, as a general comment, and therefore for the sport fishing-related tourism industry, there still remain some significant gaps. There is not funding available.

[Ken Hardie, Liberal, Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC]

If you have some examples of that, we would appreciate getting those after this session.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Thank you, Mr. Hardie, and thank you for reminding the witnesses that they can submit something in writing to the committee.

We'll now go to Mr Blanchette-Joncas for six minutes or less, please.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to thank the witnesses for being with us today.

My questions are for Mr. Bird, but first I'd like to pass along greetings to him from my colleague Ms. Gill, who couldn't be here today as she is in the House at the moment.

In Quebec, we don't have as permissive a regulatory framework as British Columbia. I have a lot of questions for you about recreational fishing.

How do the supports help the recreational fishing sector in the communities? How could the Department of Fisheries and Oceans help the industry at this time?

[Owen Bird]

I would say that it is an acknowledgement of the public fishery, the recreational fishery and the industry that it's difficult for the department to aid the businesses along the lines of Mr. Hardie's earlier question.

What we observe, per some of the remarks I made, and Martin would have made if he had made it all the way through, is that what we need is certainty and stability as far as opportunity goes. Fred, as well, touched on it. Opportunity is essential for the public fishery to be able to operate, to be able to plan, to be able to make its experience and options available to the people who would plan to participate. That goes for those who are interested in harvesting for food security, and also for those who are planning a trip to visit small communities and that sort of thing.

What we desperately need from the department is a decision about opportunity to make it clear what can be accessed and where the fishing is reasonable and possible.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

In British Columbia, what species can be caught in recreational fishing? If the list is too long, what species are prohibited?