Evidence of meeting #8 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 fish.
A recording is available from Parliament.
2:30 p.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Minister, what plans are in place to deal with the recovery of those lost stocks? What's going to be taking place in the next six months, the next year or the next two years to recover those stocks that were hit so hard last year? We know that it's the very early runs that have the most difficult time getting through.
2:30 p.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Our government, as I said, is considering measures, both short term and long term, to help with the recovery of the stocks. We know there's going to be a poor state for many of the upper Fraser River salmon, so we're looking at emergency conservation enhancement measures, including the hatchery component. I will say that, as of June 3, the holding facility is already in operation, but we're also continuing to consider all options when it comes to the recovery of these stocks.
I'm not sure, Deputy, if there's anything else that maybe you would like to add.
2:35 p.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Rebecca, I'll pass it over to you.
2:35 p.m.
Regional Director General, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Yes, we do have a number of mitigation measures in place. Of course, the first thing we want to do is to restore the natural fish passage, and the measures the minister referred to will greatly support that. In addition to that we have our hatchery facilities, the temporary storage, and we have plans to move fish to hatchery facilities.
In addition to that though, for the longer term, we're undertaking a study to look at the enhancement needs above the Big Bar slide and doing a study to see what kinds of measures need to be put in place to provide that longer term support for those fish.
2:35 p.m.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I didn't realize it was supposed to be the Bloc's turn right now. I believe this time was supposed to go to Mr. Fast, so I'd like to pass the remaining time on to Mr. Fast.
2:35 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Thank you.
Minister, you mentioned that you visited the Big Bar slide. You mentioned boots on the ground, so you know that rock slides are actually common along the Fraser River. DFO was made aware of the Big Bar landslide in June of 2019. However, based on satellite imagery, I believe the slide occurred between October and November of 2018. We lost precious time in getting remediation in place, perhaps six to eight months of lost time.
I'm assuming that DFO does regularly monitor the Fraser River for slides. Is that correct?
2:35 p.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
That is correct. We do surveillance when there is fishing going on. If there was no fishing at that time, we would not have been monitoring it at that time for the slide. Once we found out about the slide, we quickly acted on what we had learned and started work right away to mitigate the challenges we were facing from the slide.
2:35 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
How much satellite imagery does DFO actually use to monitor what's happening along the Fraser Canyon?
2:35 p.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
I'm going to refer that question to my deputy, please.
2:35 p.m.
Regional Director General, Pacific Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
First of all, just from an aerial surveillance perspective, we have regular aerial surveillance that goes on, up and down the river, when there is fishing taking place.
From a satellite perspective, that is technology that we are using more and more. I think it is something we will move toward to be able to use it more effectively. I would see that as further development down the road.
2:35 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Could you see an expansion of the number of overflights that take place outside of fishing seasons, at least on an occasional basis, to make sure that slides such as this don't go unnoticed, because those delays create significant challenges for the survival of our salmon?
2:35 p.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
As I've said, we're taking a number of things into consideration when we look at how we're going to deal with the Fraser River in the future. I'm sure that's one thing we could consider as well and that we will look at.
2:35 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Could we ask you to report back to the committee on what additional steps are being taken to ensure that we get a timely notice of any slides that occur so that remediation can take place if necessary?
2:35 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Thank you.
As you know, the wild salmon on the west coast are facing an existential threat. You mentioned the chinook. A timely response to many of these issues is critical.
I notice you referenced the Cohen commission report. How many of the recommendations of the Cohen commission have you actually fully responded to, or in other words, completed your responses; and how many are still outstanding?
2:35 p.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
As of 2018, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has acted on all 75 recommendations in the Cohen commission report. We recognize that acting on many of the recommendations is ongoing as well as incremental. Many commitments to ongoing actions are reflected in the wild salmon policy of the 2018-22 implementation plan, which outlines specific activities and approaches that will be led by the department towards restoring, maintaining the health—
2:40 p.m.
Liberal
Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Yes. I'm still talking. You asked me a question. I'm trying to answer it.
2:40 p.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
I know. I am sorry, but this is my time. I didn't want you to read talking points. I just want a simple response as to how many of those recommendations you had responded to. You mentioned that you had taken action on all of them.
We've gone through those recommendations and there are many that both the commercial fishing industry and the recreational angling industry would say have not been acted upon. They may have been reviewed, there may have been a written response, but action has actually not been taken.
2:40 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
Perhaps the minister can respond later or provide some answers in writing at a later date.