Evidence of meeting #17 for Fisheries and Oceans in the 45th Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was enforcement.
A video is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Paul Connors Liberal Avalon, NL
From an enforcement perspective, will this speed up the enforcement processing perspective? How will it impact the enforcement perspective?
National Chief Enforcement Officer, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
We're very excited about the introduction of our digital modernization strategy, and we see tremendous efficiencies coming out of that digital modernization.
AI tools can absolutely help us advance in any number of areas of enforcement that are largely human-led right now, saving officers time in terms of level of effort and increasing our time for boots on the ground and boats in the water. That's really where the focus is going with our digital modernization right now. Those AI tools can be put on wharves, on vessels, in the air with drones and on body-worn cameras. All of those things are enabling factors in finding efficiencies.
Liberal
Paul Connors Liberal Avalon, NL
As we move toward introducing AI—which is very important to the industry for data collection, enforcement and everything—are there going to be any additional costs to individual smaller fishers and their boats in adding equipment or anything like that?
Interim Deputy Minister, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
No, that is not the intention, sir.
As you know, licence-holders are all required to report on catch, regardless of vessel size, but we work directly with the licence-holders and the associations to minimize the reporting burden and make sure that, as you noted, the technology transition for even just reporting is as simple and seamless as possible.
Liberal
Paul Connors Liberal Avalon, NL
I'll just follow up on that. We only have a little while.
How will concerns from fishers, especially the smaller fishers, be addressed?
Interim Deputy Minister, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
There are a few ways that we address them. It can be through direct engagement with DFO or through engagement that has taken place with the various federations of small independent harvesters. Sometimes the associations work with us to help provide education, supporting the licence-holders themselves to better adapt and adopt technology as they're using it in real time. Also, they do directly engage DFO for support as needed, and we do have an active dialogue in that space and different support tools to help them without increasing the burden.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
Thank you very much, Mr. Connors.
I'm just looking at the time here. We finished the second round. We don't have enough time to go into a proper third round. I'm just going to give each party the opportunity to ask one question before we need to get into our votes on the supplementary estimates.
We're going to go next to Mr. Arnold.
Conservative
Mel Arnold Conservative Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, BC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Madam Levesque, I want to go back to the aquatic invasive species issue. Under the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework, Canada committed to fight invasive species, but the government is short-changing the fight in British Columbia.
The Okanagan Basin Water Board has committed $200,000 to work with UBC Okanagan to develop a rapid eDNA detection tool for invasive mussel biosecurity. Is it possible to find a matching $200,000 in the $4.7 billion funding the DFO has to match the Okanagan Basin Water Board funding?
Interim Deputy Minister, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Thank you for the question and for your efforts on an aquatic invasive species.
We haven't seen the correspondence yet from the Okanagan water basin, but I commit to reviewing that correspondence with folks in the region following this conversation, sir.
Liberal
Liberal
Serge Cormier Liberal Acadie—Bathurst, NB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We've been talking about arrests a lot since we started. I think that what we're trying to say is that we want these fisheries to be sustainable. We want future generations to have the opportunity to fish. I'm the son of a fisherman. I didn't follow in my father's footsteps, but it still means a lot to me.
A lot of people have appeared before the committee. Many of them represented the industry, but others came from other sectors as well, such as the recent appearance by a Crown prosecutor. Fines handed out to violators sometimes amount to $250 or $500. Yet even after being fined, some people go poaching again the very next day.
Do you think that fines should be a lot higher?
Fines are not all there is. Of course, as we said earlier, we're not going to throw a 14‑year‑old in jail for stealing a candy bar one time from a convenience store, for example. However, a person who commits the same offence five times has to be penalized.
First, should higher fines be introduced?
Second, should we consider revoking licences, regardless of group membership, if people commit repeated poaching or other violations?
Do you think that would help deter these people from committing offences?
Interim Deputy Minister, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
You're quite right about the fines. We often hear that as well.
To add another tool to the tool box, the department is exploring financial and administrative penalties. These would go beyond mere fines for a violation. They would consist of harsher penalties designed to hurt the wallets of recidivist-type violators, as my colleague said, a little harder. That's what we're aiming for. Things are still in the exploratory stages, but that's also part of our review of our inshore fishery policy and, more broadly, our approach to managing the conditions of licence, as you said. We're taking a careful look at that.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
Thank you very much, Mr. Cormier.
To conclude, I give the floor to Mr. Deschênes.
Bloc
Alexis Deschênes Bloc Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I have a question for the chief financial officer, Patrick Amyot.
After analyzing the supplementary estimates tabled, we see that the budget has increased by about $150 million. Of that amount, just over $146 million relates not to transfers to other departments, but to expenditures. Of that $146 million, $142 million is really earmarked for things like reconciliation on issues related to indigenous rights and the fisheries, recognition and gradual implementation of self-government agreements and implementation of reconciliation agreements on British Columbia fisheries.
Can you explain to me, Mr. Amyot, how that money is being spent?
Chief Financial Officer, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
These amounts are part of vote 10b, with respect to contribution agreements. As the deputy minister, Kaili Levesque, explained, procedures regarding our contribution agreements are in place to assess requests and provide the money. Right now, we're on the process for money under supplementary estimates (B). The money hasn't been received yet. The supplementary estimates have to be passed first. Once that happens, the negotiations will resume.
Bloc
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
I'm sorry, Mr. Deschênes, but your time is up.
If you could provide that to us in writing, Mr. Amyot, we would appreciate it.
That's going to finish our panel here today. We need to get to voting on the supplementary estimates at this point.
In all, there are three votes in the supplementary estimates (B), 2025-26. I will seek the unanimous consent of the committee to group the votes together for a decision. Is there unanimous consent to do so?
Bloc
Alexis Deschênes Bloc Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC
Mr. Chair, are you asking for unanimous consent for the vote only, or for everything else too?
Liberal
Bloc
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
Shall all votes referred to the committee in the supplementary estimates (B) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, carry?
DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES AND OCEANS
Vote 1b—Operating expenditures..........$5,483,487
Vote 5b—Capital expenditures..........$131,250
Vote 10b—Grants and contributions..........$140,808,125
(Votes 1b, 5b and 10b agreed to on division)
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Patrick Weiler
I'm going to do that very quickly, because we have Routine Proceedings happening right now.
Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, when we'll hear from the final witnesses under our review of the Fisheries Act.
We're also going to spend time on drafting instructions after the two panels on that day, as this will likely be our last meeting of 2025.
With that, the meeting is adjourned.