Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to sincerely thank my colleagues around the table for allowing me to make this request.
First, I'll give you a little bit of background. We didn't want to get to this request, but as we move through the file on capelin fishing in our part of the country, we're seeing that weir fishing hasn't had the chance to be well integrated into the thinking of the department, the Minister and her officials. Weir fishing is an indigenous legacy and part of the intangible heritage. There are only two fisheries practising this technique in the entire eastern part of the country. The first nations have this science of going out and tapping into the resource without altering it, so it's fishing that isn't harmful to the resource. We have submitted scientific advice, we have asked that the fisheries be consulted, and we have made representations to the minister and her officials. You've seen the questions I've asked in this committee when I've had the opportunity.
I will give you the facts and explain the situation so that you understand it. Weir fishing is done on the banks of the St. Lawrence River. This fishing technique is used in Saint‑Irénée, Charlevoix, and Isle‑aux‑Coudres, the island where I was born. The technique involves using an L‑shaped screen that moves forward towards the water, so from the bank and gently into the river. As soon as the ice disappears, capelin spawn in the St. Lawrence at the rising tide. After the males spawn, they die on the shore. Instead of letting them dry on the shore, fishers collect them. In any case, the fish die after they've spawned.
This fishery is very popular in our area. Everyone awaits their plate of capelin. When the first capelin rolls onto the banks of the St. Lawrence, there's a celebration in the village, spring is coming. Everyone eats capelin. It's not complicated, no one wonders what will be on the menu for supper; it will be capelin.
Now I'll tell you about the problem. Every day matters to fishers. Last year, because the fishery was set to open on May 1, which was an inappropriate date, they lost more than half of their catch. That's why we've been making representations for the past year to open this fishery earlier.
With climate change and the seasons getting longer or shorter, fishers want to be able to fish when the capelin arrives. Every day counts, because capelin is caught in small amounts, since it has to be processed fresh. You can't say that it's no big deal and that you'll catch three tonnes more the following week. That's not how it works. Small amounts are caught every day. That's what the minister and the officials need to understand. The Charlevoix and St. Lawrence resource is nothing like the Newfoundland and Labrador resource. The fishers we're talking about fish 0.35% to 0.5% of the total quota that's allocated to that type of fishery, so every day counts.
The fishers are ready to fish. They're just waiting for the signal from the minister, who could, in all respects, offer a moratorium and allow them to fish earlier than May 1. They would like to be invited to the consultation table to ensure that there is a clear understanding of the situation and, at the end of the consultation process, that the opening date of this fishery be reviewed.
I hope I've made myself clear and that the common sense of this request will take its place in your considerations.
I realize that I'm asking you to attend a meeting—ideally to be held virtually—during constituency weeks, which are very busy and very important for us all. I realize all that, but at the same time, I couldn't sleep at night knowing that I hadn't done everything in my power to save this piece of intangible heritage, an indigenous legacy that is beloved by every resident of the Charlevoix region, when all it would take for that legacy to continue is some plain old common sense. This is an iconic part of Quebec's heritage, and now that you are all more familiar with it, I'm sure you will appreciate it as well.
With that in mind, I encourage everyone here to consider my request, taking into account the fact that what I am asking of you and of the minister is entirely in keeping with her mandate letter: supporting a responsible fishery and local consumption, while stewarding, not altering, a natural resource.
Therefore, pursuant to Standing Order 106(4), I am proposing the following motion:That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the committee invite Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, along with her officials, for a meeting of two hours, to be held no later than Wednesday, April 13, 2022, to inform the committee about the steps the department has taken on this issue since the spring of 2021 and the steps the Minister plans to take, as well as the time required, to correct the problem, given the unique nature of weir fishing in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, and in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Thank you.