Thank you, Chair. I'm happy to be here again.
It is a pleasure to be joining you today here on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe peoples, alongside senior officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
They are Tim Sargent, deputy minister; Mario Pelletier, Coast Guard commissioner; and their senior teams.
I'll start by providing a brief overview of my department's 2021-22 supplementary estimates (C) before speaking about some of the high-level items in more detail. Following my remarks, I'll be happy to answer, of course, any questions you have about these proposed expenditures.
Through this supplementary estimates (C) exercise, I'm seeking $243.2 million. These funds will be used for three key initiatives: first, $148.4 million for the small craft harbours program; second, $36.8 million for the Pacific salmon strategy initiative; and third, $31.3 million to offset costs associated with the Bligh Island marine pollution incident.
Mr. Chair, last week I attended Seafood Expo North America, which may be referred to as the “Boston seafood show”. I met stakeholders, discussed our growing blue economy, and promoted Canada's world-class fish and seafood sectors. The fish and seafood sector is critical to our country's economy, and is by and large in excellent shape thanks to the stewardship of harvesters and industry.
In 2021 Canada exported $8.7 billion worth of fish and seafood to 119 countries. In 2020 the commercial fishing, aquaculture and processing sectors employed over 68,000 people. That's very significant.
Harvesters depend on small craft harbours. In fact, 90% of Canada's fish and seafood moves through DFO's national network of small craft harbours.
Keeping almost 1,000 commercial harbours safe, accessible and in good repair requires considerable time, effort and money. The funding I am requesting today will speed up repair and maintenance of Fisheries and Oceans Canada's core small craft harbours in communities across the country. It will also be used to divest non-core harbours and close inactive harbours that are unsafe but can't be divested
Mr. Chair, as I mentioned during my last appearance, our government is making a generational investment to stabilize and restore Pacific salmon and salmon habitat for the communities, the people and the ecosystems that depend on their sustainability. The funding I'm requesting today will go towards the Pacific salmon strategy initiative, which uses a collaborative approach to address Pacific salmon declines and ensure that federal investments are focused on the areas of the greatest importance.
Some of the areas we're targeting are the implementation of key activities across all four of the PSSI pillars. These activities include creating a habitat restoration centre of expertise, climate science and ecosystem planning; an enhanced fisheries monitoring process; and a commercial licence retirement support program for harvesters, as well as the allocation of capital funding to build and retrofit both DFO and community hatcheries.
The department's continuing work will ensure that new and ongoing investments in Pacific salmon are appropriately aligned in response to these unfortunate and historic declines, along with the development of conservation approaches and plans to support the recovery of prioritized salmon populations. With this funding, we will provide sustainable harvest opportunities for the indigenous, commercial and recreational sectors through effective stewardship and integrated ecosystem planning.
Mr. Chair, between December 2020 and July 2021, the Canadian Coast Guard led a unified response to a petroleum leak stemming from a historic shipwreck near Bligh Island in British Columbia. By the time this environmental response had concluded, 60 tonnes of pollutants were removed from the ship and surrounding waters at a cost of $31.3 million.
Our government funded this environmental response operation given the urgency of the situation and because the shipwreck occurred in 1968, which exceeds the time limitation to claim response expenses against the vessel owner under Canada's Marine Liability Act.
My department is well positioned to deliver on our government's priorities.
The funding I am seeking today will allow Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard to continue carrying out their important work on behalf of the people we serve.
I am happy to answer any questions related to this work, with the help of the officials who are joining me.
Thank you.
