Fisheries Committee on Feb. 25th, 2020

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Order, please. Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), we are studying committee business. I believe we're in public.

Mr. Arnold.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Mr. Chair, I'd like to move a motion, if I could.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Do we want to stay in public, or do you want to go—

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

I'd stay in public.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Okay.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

We have it translated. Perhaps we could take a minute to have it circulated.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Is there anything else that anybody...?

Gord.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, it's come to my attention—I think the clerk identified this—that I need to make some changes to the motion we passed in camera at the last meeting.

Is this the time to bring those forward?

[The Clerk of the Committee, Ms. Nancy Vohl]

There is a motion on the floor.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Oh, there is. That's right.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Has everybody received a copy of the motion?

Go ahead, Mel.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'd like to move this motion, as follows: Whereas the obstruction on the Fraser River caused by the Big Bar landslide poses an acute threat to salmon stocks and Canadians who depend on them for food, employment and recreation, I move that the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans invite the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to appear at the committee to provide up-to-date information on the government's response to the landslide and answer questions from members; and that, in the invitation to the minister, the chair impart the urgency of the ongoing situation and request that the minister appear before March 14, 2020, for a two-hour televised meeting with the committee.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

We've heard the motion. Are there any...?

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

We'd like a three-minute recess, please.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

I'll give you two.

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

All right.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

We'll suspend for two minutes.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Before we start the discussion, there was a little bit of a preamble to the motion. The actual motion reads as follows:

That the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans invite the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to appear at the committee to provide up-to-date information on the government's response to the landslide and answer questions from the members; and

That, in the invitation to the Minister, the Chair impart the urgency of the ongoing situation and request that the Minister appear before March 14, 2020 for a two-hour televised meeting with the committee.

Is there discussion?

Mr. Hardie.

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

I have a couple of points. I think this motion nests within our motion to study the salmon fishery a little more broadly and in detail, but I agree with the sense of urgency. This in fact could be a first phase of that bigger study. What we determine out of this study or this portion of the study could inform some of the other things that we want to hear about in the broader study of the state of the salmon stocks.

It's difficult to know the minister's exact schedule. We could consider getting department officials in here sooner rather than later to give us the update that's required so that we know exactly what's going on. In that regard, I'd like to propose a slight amendment to request that the minister appear before “April 1” for a two-hour televised meeting with the committee. That would give us the option of having officials in first to give us a bit more background on what's going on.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Mr. Arnold.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We looked at the March 14 date. That's the final day of a sitting week. The correspondence we've seen on Big Bar indicates that the spring freshet could start at that time. There's an urgency as to whether or not the contingency plan has been put in place should the remediation or clearing project not be successful. There's an urgency to this. We believe the minister should come in.

If necessary, we could consider an amendment that if the minister is not available during the regular meeting, then maybe we can schedule an extra meeting or a longer meeting to accommodate the minister's schedule.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Okay.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

If I may continue, we certainly don't want to diminish the motion already on the table to study the salmon stocks, but it is worded “undertake a study on the state of Pacific Salmon”.

This is, I think, a very specific issue with a very short timeline to act upon it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Just to be clear to the committee, Mr. Arnold, what you're saying is that this would be an independent study, apart from the salmon study for which a notice of motion was introduced last week.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

This would be a hearing. I don't think we would be required to do a report on this.