Fisheries Committee on Feb. 2nd, 2026

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Then in no shape or form—

[Doug Wentzell]

Fishery officers uphold the regulations—

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

—would a lobster as I described be legal for anybody to harvest under any agreement with DFO.

[Doug Wentzell]

That's correct.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

What is the go-between between DFO and public prosecutions? The director clearly avoided my very specific question.

[Doug Wentzell]

I can't speak for the Public Prosecution Service, but I can speak for conservation protection.

Our fishery officers are very consistent in putting cases forward and building evidence. If there's an offence that contradicts what's in the Fisheries Act, they will put it forward.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Thank you.

There was—

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

I'm afraid I'm going to have to jump in, Mr. Morrissey. We're at time.

Mr. Deschênes, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to go back to the Atlantic salmon issue.

The Fédération québécoise pour le saumon atlantique has asked that a directive be given to fisheries officers in the Strait of Belle Isle zone so they can recover bycatch of salmon smolts or grilse and conduct scientific tests.

Is it possible for the department to issue a directive of that kind?

[Kaili Levesque]

I don't know the specific proposal you're referring to, but we'll be pleased to follow up on that. We're always open to collaborating on scientific projects, among other things. We've already invested in the Atlantic salmon population in the regions, and we're always ready to consider anything that can be done.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

I understand that you weren't here, but some people here may have heard about it, since the request was made last year.

[Kaili Levesque]

We'll get back to you in writing, because the people here don't have that information. The conversations may have taken place in the regions. I really don't want to speak for my colleagues.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Okay.

In theory, is it possible for the department to issue a directive to fisheries officers to recover bycatch and give it to the federation so that it can conduct scientific tests?

[Kaili Levesque]

Yes, it's possible. Our fisheries officers have several responsibilities, as you know. So it's also a matter of operational burden. We would have to check whether it's something they can do in their day-to-day work. That's why I'm not going to comment on it. However, it's entirely possible to start a conversation.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Okay.

I'd like to address one last point regarding enforcement. This is a bit of a follow-up to my colleague Mr. Morrissey's questions.

At the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, we heard the director responsible for enforcement say that, before laying a charge, if the person is first nations, there's no need to ask the band council for authorization. However, when he said that, a fisheries officer who was present said that, on the contrary, they did need authorization.

Have the instructions been cleaned up? Have clearer instructions been sent since he appeared before the committee?

[Kaili Levesque]

As was said the last time I was here, there's a continuum of tools. Restorative justice measures can be used, among other things. In that case, there's interaction with the band council of the first nation concerned, yes. I don't question Mr. Wentzell's comments at all. However, that doesn't mean the case isn't sent to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada. Every case is sent there, without exception.

So there are no other directives; it's just that there are a number of tools available in the tool box, including a restorative justice process, but again, I really don't want to speak for the officer who was here.

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

Thank you very much, Mr. Deschênes.

Next we're going to Mr. Gunn for five minutes, please.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

I have a question about the bidding process for the FFMC. Were the bid proposals based solely on the best deal for taxpayers or the highest bid, or were there other non-monetary considerations at play?

[Kaili Levesque]

A variety of criteria were put together in the bid, including questions around rural, remote and indigenous access to markets.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Were the bids restricted to Canadian-owned companies? No?

On the capacity funding that was mentioned, I think the minister mentioned that some organizations were provided the opportunity to access capacity funding to facilitate their participation in the bidding process. Was that capacity funding—just to clarify—to participate in the bidding process or to actually fund the bids themselves?

[Kaili Levesque]

That's an excellent question.

It is for capacity building to participate in the process...to amounts to participate, say, in data due diligence. Looking at the types, we were actively engaged with industry, and one of the biggest things we heard was that independent harvesters did not have the capital resources to even do a data room, for example, to understand what was there and what capacity would be required to participate in a commercial process of this nature.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

It wasn't to fund the actual bids.

[Kaili Levesque]

No.

[Aaron Gunn, Conservative, North Island—Powell River, BC]

Was the capacity funding in the form of grants or loans?

[Kaili Levesque]

It was grants.