Mr. Chair, committee members, I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to present today to the fisheries committee on the review of the Fisheries Act on behalf of the Canadian Independent Fish Harvesters Federation.
As we examine potential revisions to this important legislation, the federation would like to focus on four key areas that are crucial for the continued health and sustainability of Canada's fisheries, as well as the communities that rely on them.
The first is strengthening the owner-operator principle in the Fisheries Act. The concept of owner-operator has been a cornerstone of fisheries policy in Canada for decades. However, the 2019 amendments to the Fisheries Act raised concern among stakeholders that the principle, which aims to ensure that fishermen own and operate their vessels rather than leasing or selling licences to absentee owners, does not provide the necessary strength to protect this important component of Canada's inshore fishery. The current wording in the Fisheries Act does not provide a concise level of protection for the owner-operator principle, which leads to a situation in which the sustainability of small boat harvesters and coastal communities is at serious risk.