Fisheries Committee on Nov. 29th, 2022

[Rick Perkins, Conservative, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Okay.

Three years ago, this committee produced a report on the state of small craft harbours. I think your predecessor, Ms. Lapointe at the time, suggested—I don't how many predecessors there have been—and the committee recommended as a result that the A-base funding needed to double for small craft harbours. Do you believe that A-base funding for small craft harbours needs to be doubled?

[Adam Burns]

Right now, we're focused on harbour repairs related to Fiona. I haven't come here with a full assessment of what any sort of future budget would need to look like. We're focused on the engineering assessment of the damage, so we can identify what the full cost will be.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Thank you, Mr. Perkins.

We'll now go to Mr. Morrissey for six minutes or less.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Again, I'll make one comment. Whether it's a hundred, three hundred or a billion, we're discussing what's needed to improve the infrastructure of small craft harbours. Regardless of the amount, the official opposition voted against providing any additional money to the east coast to assist after hurricane Fiona.

My concern—and this is a point on which I do agree with opposition members—is the timeline for getting projects designed and tendered, and getting work going. What I would like to hear from the members of the department is whether there are ways we can simplify and speed up the process for getting some work done.

I'll start with Mr. Burns, then I'll ask Ms. Cuddy to comment on how we can improve the timelines for getting projects approved and delivered, as they relate to small craft harbours.

Go ahead, Mr. Burns.

[Adam Burns]

Thanks.

Absolutely. We are working very closely with the various service providers in the regions to get as much work done this fall as we can, so we benefit from as many of the engineering and overall assessments as we can, in order to have a plan ready to go for the spring, when construction season restarts.

We are working with Public Services and Procurement Canada to ensure that, to the maximum extent possible, we're streamlining the processes and getting as much work done as is reasonable this fall, before the snow flies.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

My question to Ms. Cuddy is this: Will small craft harbours be operational this spring in fishing areas that depend on those harbours?

[Lori Cuddy, Area Director, Prince Edward Island, Department of Fisheries and Oceans]

I can only answer for the P.E.I. area. For the question, in general, I'll defer to—

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

I'm just asking about P.E.I.

[Lori Cuddy]

Yes, all wharfs in P.E.I. should be operational this spring.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

The fishing season will start on time. There will be no delay due to the infrastructure of small craft harbours.

[Lori Cuddy]

Exactly.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Thanks.

My other question would be this: Do you see a role for the local port authorities? There's been a lot invested in the operation of port authorities. They have acquired an expertise, over the years, on some projects.

Could the government roll out some minor maintenance projects through port authorities, in order to speed up the process?

I'll start with Mr. Burns, then go to Ms. Cuddy.

[Adam Burns]

We already have the authority to engage with the harbour authorities for smaller projects.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

If you have the authority, are you going to do that over the next number of months?

[Adam Burns]

I believe we already are.

I'll turn to my colleague.

[Stephanie Hopper]

Certainly. It depends on the scale of the work that needs to be done.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

What's the scale you can deal with? Don't be evasive. I want to get—

[Stephanie Hopper]

If it's a minor repair—

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

What's “minor”?

[Stephanie Hopper]

If it's a longer-term, major capital project that will require over a year and a half, or years, then we'd obviously be looking at—

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

What's a minor repair?

[Stephanie Hopper]

Minor repairs are things that could be done within a couple of weeks.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Put a dollar value on the minor side.

[Stephanie Hopper]

We have procurement options, within the department, to go directly to harbour authorities for up to $80,000, after which we have to go through our own DFO procurement hub and, following that—as Mr. Burns mentioned—Public Services and Procurement Canada.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

How long has the $80,000 limit been there?