Thank you, Chair, and thank you to everybody on the committee for the invitation to appear before the fisheries standing committee for the study on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
As a former minister of fisheries for the Province of Prince Edward Island, from 2019-23, I cannot underscore enough the importance of the seafood industry to the economy of a smaller province, such as Prince Edward Island. The seafood industry is one of the top three economic drivers of the P.E.I. economy and one of the highest contributors to the gross domestic product in comparison to other provinces in Canada. Our fishery must be preserved in a sustainable and responsible manner for all fishers.
During my tenure as a provincial fisheries minister, I worked with the wild capture, aquaculture and seafood processing sectors to ensure our fishery stayed strong and healthy for current and future generations.
We must reinforce the existing controls on our fisheries where they are needed and also develop more stringent controls in the areas where are lacking.
I have supported, and continue to support, the increase of fines to plants or buyers dealing in the sale or trade of illegal products. As plant and buyer licensing falls under provincial jurisdiction, it is important that the provincial and federal governments continue to work together on plugging gaps that allow illegal activity to continue to this day.
Fines for infractions must be increased to levels that truly deter individuals or companies from continuing illegal practices. Currently, some fines and penalties are considered to be a cost of doing business. Financial penalties and reduced fishing or buying days could be ways to send a strong message to offenders that those types of activities will not be tolerated.
I can tell you, as a former police officer, I have a great amount of respect for the men and women tasked with keeping our fisheries operating in a legal manner. Organizations such as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans must be adequately funded and staffed so that this important enforcement work can be carried out.
I am also a strong advocate for penalties being administered to all offenders in a clear and consistent manner, whatever the Fisheries Act infraction. In many ways, in conversations with harvesters at the wharf, the concept of equality and fairness among harvesters is paramount. Those who take illegal advantage of the fishery hurt not only their fellow fishers but also their communities, their provinces, Canada and our reputation on the world stage.
Unfortunately, many of our local species are in a rebuilding stage, and some may take years to reach previous stock limits. Prince Edward Island does not have the range of species that adjoining provinces even consider part of their fisheries. Therefore, we must be more diligent in protecting stocks for important fisheries such as lobster.
Our dependency on a vital fishery is not one of choice, but one of necessity for our province. Therefore, before I left provincial politics, I truly supported the efforts of the Prince Edward Island Fishermen's Association in its development of the electronic log system. I feel that e-logs are a necessary step in assisting both the federal and the provincial governments in the collection of real-time data that will allow more accurate and timely decisions to be made concerning our resources.
The capacity of these units can also be expanded to assist in the collection of scientific data and to improve harvester communications once the technology is in place and implemented.
In closing, I would like to re-emphasize the importance of the federal and the provincial governments, industry organizations and a variety of government departments working together on finding better ways to fight illegal activities across the Atlantic region and across our country. These illegal activities hurt our communities, our provincial economies and our positive international reputation.