Fisheries Committee on Feb. 15th, 2022

[Christina Burridge]

They're clearly closer to the consumer end than at the end I work with.

[Technical difficulty—Editor] requirements, DFO had to set up this office of catch certification and come up with a process for issuing certificates before any shipment can go to the EU. Most processors on this coast—and I'm sure it's true on other coasts as well—are able to fully comply with that, so [Technical difficulty—Editor] as those systems begin to break down closer to the consumer.

As I indicated before, the challenge is going to be, how are we going to bring those people on board into a system that is actually workable and practical?

[Caroline Desbiens, Bloc, Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix, QC]

What about you, Ms. Strobel?

[Sonia Strobel]

I think Ms. Burridge answers that quite well. It's such a good example that we have these mechanisms in place in Canada to trace seafood so that it can meet the more stringent demands of the EU market, so there's clearly a breakdown between what's being harvested and processed in Canada and what is reaching the end consumer.

Additionally, I think we would resolve the problem with imported seafood if we also had these strict rules when it comes to how seafood is labelled closer to the consumer and at retail and restaurants.

I think it points out that we are already doing this work in Canada with our own seafood, and I think it's about being a gatekeeper to the flood of this mislabelled seafood that is coming in from outside the country.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Thank you, Madame Desbiens.

We'll now go to, and finish up with, Ms. Barron for two and a half minutes, please.

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Following my on previous questions to Ms. Strobel, can you talk a little bit more about the importance of domestic processing? Specifically, I think of St. Jean's Cannery and Smokehouse, and I wonder if you can expand on how domestic processing helps Canada to facilitate transparency in the supply chain with effective labelling.

[Sonia Strobel]

Again, this is what Ms. Burridge has been addressing as well. We have these rules in place. We have these mechanisms in place in our domestic processing system to trace seafood.

There is such a diminished processing capacity in British Columbia for a variety of reasons and we need to protect and preserve what remains of that processing industry here to be able to keep that domestic supply and create those good jobs. St. Jean's Cannery on Vancouver Island is such an excellent example of a well-run business with great local jobs, tracing seafood for domestic markets. There's such a growing demand for the product that they're able to produce. Some of the products they can cut for us, we otherwise would not be able to sell. We need close-to-home domestic processing for hake, for example. It needs to be cut the day it is caught if we're going to have hake fillets for the public.

There's a huge and important role there for us to protect our domestic processing supply chain. If we lose that, then our fish re-enter the foreign system where we lose the ability to trace that fish for our customers.

[Lisa Marie Barron, NDP, Nanaimo—Ladysmith, BC]

Thank you very much.

This question is for Ms. Burridge. We hear a lot about the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. For example, it was pointed out that there were a lot of issues around traceability and certification that are currently being left up to industry partners, such as wholesalers and large grocery stores. Do you have any suggestions about how government can better coordinate efforts between various industry groups to move us forward in a positive direction?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Give a short answer, please.

[Christina Burridge]

It has to encourage conversations like the one that we're having. However, the challenge, as I mentioned just before, is going to be finding the right representatives from what I'll call the more problematic sectors of the supply chain. That's what we need to work on with CFIA and others.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken McDonald]

Thank you, Ms. Barron.

Thank you to our witnesses in the second hour of our committee meeting today.

Thank you to the clerk, analysts and translators, and everybody who played a role in making the meeting a success. See you on Thursday.

The meeting is adjourned.