Evidence of meeting #3 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was amendment.
A recording is available from Parliament.
11:05 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
Serge, if that's your point of order before you get to your motion on the list that we have developed, Mr. Perkins has a point of order as well.
11:05 a.m.
Conservative
Rick Perkins Conservative South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
I want to give notice that, depending on how today goes—because it was originally scheduled to be a meeting to sort through the work plan and figure out what the priorities and timing would be—I have a motion in that regard before the end of the meeting, if we don't get to that part.
11:05 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
It is my intention, if the committee is in favour and we get through a number of these motions, to dedicate the last half hour to some scheduling. If not, we're going to run into a problem when we start our first meeting when the House opens. We'd like to know what we're doing for the first couple of studies so that we can line up witnesses and send out headsets, if need be, or any equipment they need in order to appear before the committee if they're not doing it in person. It was my intention to get things ironed out in that fashion.
I also want to mention that I am delighted to see Mr. McLeod, the member for Northwest Territories, subbing in on the committee today. This is probably the first time for him to be on the fisheries committee. He sits close to me in the House. I find at times that he has a wealth of knowledge and other times he doesn't. I hope this is a time when he has a wealth of knowledge to offer the rest of the members of the committee. Welcome, Michael.
Serge, it's back to you.
11:05 a.m.
Liberal
Serge Cormier Liberal Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We are back to my motion that I presented last Tuesday. I think you've had a chance to see it.
I've explained it a bit. It's a study that was adopted in the last Parliament by all members of this committee to study the right whales measures that were put in place by our government in 2017 to protect the right whales that are increasingly present in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and have an impact on the fishing industry, the communities and the fish plant workers. We had to deal with that.
The measures that were put in place were good. They do a lot of things. Yes, they protect the whales, but they also protect our market in the United States. You know how difficult that is sometimes.
This is a study that I want to do to make sure that we are on the proper track and that what has been done so far with these measures strikes a good balance between protecting the whales and protecting the industry we have and the communities all around it. This does not only affect my area; it touches some parts of Nova Scotia, P.E.I. and Quebec. We were lucky that in the last two years there were almost zero deaths in relation to fishing gear and the entanglement of whales, but there were some strikes involving big boats that transport our goods from one place to another.
I want to look at those measures to see if there is a way to improve them. Is there something else the government and all the fishermen's associations can do? There has been unbelievable work. We have some testing being done right now on some traps without ropes. They press a button, the trap goes up and there are no ropes in the water. It's things like that. Sometimes it's difficult for fishermen to fish with that gear, and there are all sorts of other measures that were put in place. I want to study that. I want to see what more we can do.
This is what my motion is. It's something that will be impossible to do right now, this spring, because the fishing season is starting pretty soon, as you know. When we come back in the fall will be the time to do that. The crab fishing season is over then. It also has bit of an impact on lobster. With global warming and the oceans warming up, whales can be present in other places, so it would be a good study to have. It will benefit everybody on the screen.
I hope that I have your support for that study. If you have any questions, I am open to answering them.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
11:10 a.m.
Conservative
Rick Perkins Conservative South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Cormier, I fully support what you're proposing here. I have no questions. I think it's a very valuable study for the committee.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
I don't see any other hands up.
Do I see consensus on the motion as presented by Mr. Cormier? Are there any dissenting opinions? No.
(Motion agreed to [See Minutes of Proceedings])
11:10 a.m.
Conservative
Rick Perkins Conservative South Shore—St. Margarets, NS
On December 14, I gave this notice of motion:
That the following reports of this committee in the Second Session of the 43rd Parliament be adopted as reports in this session:
Report 1, Striped Bass in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and Miramichi River: Striking a Delicate Balance;
Report 4—Implementation of the Mi’kmaw and Maliseet Treaty Right to Fish in Pursuit of a Moderate Livelihood; and
that the Chair present the reports to the House.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
Mr. Chair, before probably heading into some votes, did we get a clear interpretation or ruling on the eligibility of participating in committee voting without being live? I don't want to deny Mr. Zimmer his role, but did we get a clarification on that?
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
Yes. If Mr. Zimmer is required to speak or if there's a vote, he would have to have his camera turned on.
11:10 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
I believe that's what the clerk kind of indicated to him. While there's discussion on the go, of course, he can leave it off, but if he wants to speak or vote, the camera has to be on.
I hope that settles that issue.
11:15 a.m.
Conservative
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
Okay. Thanks, Bob.
Mr. Hardie, you have your hand up. Are you speaking to the motion of Mr. Perkins?
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
Ken Hardie Liberal Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
Yes, I am.
I'm wondering if the clerk can give us advice on whether we can gang them all up and handle them in one motion or if we need a separate motion for each study that needs to be brought back.
11:15 a.m.
The Clerk
Mr. Chair, if this is regarding the motion of Mr. Perkins that's just been moved, I would recommend that they can be done together in one motion. However, it is recommended that they be separated into two separate motions, because they do refer to two separate studies, and it would be clearer in this way.
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
If we do separate them, we'd obviously have to do a separate vote on each one, would we?
11:15 a.m.
The Clerk
A separate vote...? I'm not sure I understand the question. The current motion that's before the committee, as it's been read into the record, has both together.
I'm sorry; could I speak with you for just one moment?
11:15 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Ken McDonald
To make it easier, Tina, I can ask Mr. Perkins if he'll withdraw the motion as read and do report number one first and then report four.
