Evidence of meeting #4 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 43rd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was work.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:25 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
That's based on our estimates, on what we know today.
9:25 a.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
That's based on your estimates. Is this a one-time expense, effectively, or do you believe there are ongoing costs that DFO will be incurring as a result of this slide?
9:25 a.m.
Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
In terms of rock removal, it would be a one-time expense until the rock is removed. We're continuing to monitor. One of the complex things about this is that, as water levels change and as the vendor continues to blow up rock, we learn more and more about the slide in the river and we get more information as we go through so that we continue to adjust our estimates.
9:25 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
You've gone a little bit over time, actually.
Now we go to the Liberal side.
Mr. Weiler, go ahead for five minutes or less, please.
March 10th, 2020 / 9:25 a.m.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Do you think that everything possible has been done to respond to this issue?
9:25 a.m.
Regional Director General, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
I think we have done everything we can think of and we have asked every expert we can find.
9:25 a.m.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
To your knowledge, has DFO faced an issue like the one with the Big Bar slide before?
9:25 a.m.
Regional Director General, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
The closest example I could give you is the Hell's Gate slide of 1914.
9:25 a.m.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
How does this slide compare with the Hell's Gate slide of 1914?
9:25 a.m.
Regional Director General, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
It's similar in scope and scale. Of course, the Hell's Gate slide was different. They were aware of the slide immediately. For us, it took some time to discover it. In that case there was significant ongoing infrastructure required to ensure fish passage at that location.
9:25 a.m.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Could you speak a little to the ongoing effect that the Hell's Gate slide has had on Fraser salmon populations?
9:25 a.m.
Regional Director General, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
The Hell's Gate slide resulted in a couple of years of almost complete obstruction of fish passage—three years—and has had a long term, everlasting impact on the successive years of those salmon, so you can still feel the effects of that slide.
9:25 a.m.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
What types of restoration efforts are now under way to rebuild some of the affected stocks in the Fraser River?
9:25 a.m.
Regional Director General, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
We have a number of management measures to protect returning stocks that Andy can talk about. We also have a salmonid enhancement program that has been in place for over 40 years. It has a hatchery component, a restoration component and a community involvement component. We have also undertaken a lot of restoration work throughout the years to support the habitat that the salmon need.
9:25 a.m.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Are these restoration efforts geared directly at the Fraser River or more generally throughout the province?
9:25 a.m.
Regional Director General, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
We have restoration activities that go on throughout British Columbia and the Yukon, which is my area of responsibility. Certainly, there is a lot of focus on the Fraser because of its incredible importance, but it's not just the Fraser.
9:30 a.m.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
I was hoping that you could speak a bit about the tripartite arrangement with the province and the Secwepemc Nation and about the various roles and responsibilities of each party.
9:30 a.m.
Regional Director General, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
When we discovered the slide, the first thing we did was convene a discussion with the Province of B.C. and first nations leadership. Based on that, we developed this unified command post. We had first nation government representatives, B.C., DFO and Coast Guard sharing decision-making at the incident—daily operational decisions.
As well, we had a first nations leadership group that we met and consulted with regularly that provided advice and shared information. There has been an ongoing role for the local first nations—the High Bar First Nation and the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation—as well as continuing communication and outreach to first nations who have an interest in the area. I should say that, of course, there are a lot of nations that have a very high interest because Fraser salmon is very important to many, many nations.
9:30 a.m.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
How much of the remedial work right now is being funded by the federal government?
9:30 a.m.
Regional Director General, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
We have a cost-sharing arrangement with British Columbia, and we have a sixty-forty split, depending on the nature of the work. It's not exactly sixty-forty—it depends on what activity is going on—but that's the arrangement that we have.
9:30 a.m.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
Is that arrangement split for all work or for specific types of work?
9:30 a.m.
Regional Director General, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
With each different item, there is a decision about who leads—federal or provincial—and it depends on the nature of the work. Rock and water is a provincial lead. Fish is a federal lead. Overall, it works out to about a sixty-forty split, depending on the activities going on.
9:30 a.m.
Liberal
Patrick Weiler Liberal West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country, BC
With regard to the type of work that's being done now, what is the anticipated date that the work will need to be completed by before the water levels will be too high?