Fisheries Committee on March 25th, 2026

[Marie-Gil Fortin]

To open a new site, Environment and Climate Change Canada requires a series of 15 tests spread over 18 months. They can be receptive to historical data, if there are any. Then they could ask for slightly fewer tests. But if a site has never previously been documented, they will ask for 15 samples over a period of 18 months.

[Ernie Klassen, Liberal, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Do you think there are new technologies or methods that could speed up the testing process?

[Marie-Gil Fortin]

The test process itself is not terribly long. Testing is done within 30 hours after the water was sampled. Staff to do the testing is not a problem. The delay is mostly due to the documentation of the site, which has to be done over a year and a half. The department really wants seasonal data. That process cannot be sped up.

[Ernie Klassen, Liberal, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

Thank you.

Ms. Lambert Koizumi, is there a commercial component to the indigenous communities for the fish harvesting?

[Catherine Lambert Koizumi]

At the moment, the issue is with a subsistence fishery, meaning that it is about a food source, rituals and social needs. However, if we came to realize that there were enough clams for sustainable harvesting, activities could be diversified. As we have just heard, New Brunswick has a commercial fishery. I do not see why that could not be the case in Quebec. It would also help to diversify community revenues.

Perhaps Mr. Jerome would like to add something.

[Jeremy Jerome]

I just want to add that it would be great at subsistence level.

[Ernie Klassen, Liberal, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

You mentioned the elders, Mr. Jerome, and the lack of being able to fish right now. They would appreciate having that back, as it is a tradition within their culture. Can you talk a little bit about that?

[Jeremy Jerome]

Culturally speaking, given the number of years we haven't had access, it's sad to say that it's a dying.... Speaking for myself right now, I'm an active commercial fisherman. I'm still healthy enough to go out and pick just the same.

[Ernie Klassen, Liberal, South Surrey—White Rock, BC]

I think we would all agree that we don't want to see this as a dying part of your tradition. If there was a way that we could bring this back into your culture, how would you see that process happening?

[Jeremy Jerome]

Basically, it would just be to have more access within our community. By rights, we have access to the east and to the west of our community. Given the closures of areas, we're right in the middle of it all.

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

Thank you very much.

We now move to Mr. Deschênes for six minutes.

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

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

My thanks to the witnesses for their enlightening and helpful testimony. We are seeing that, at a technical level, we do have the capacity to open new sites, especially with Merinov's support.

Mr. Jerome, thank you for your testimony. I agree with you: This is something on which all the communities in Chaleur Bay can work together. They could revive a tradition that is unfortunately dying. I am quite open to working together, hand in hand, on this.

If I understood correctly, you used to pick clams on the tidal flats at Gesgapegiag. Do you remember those times?

[Jeremy Jerome]

Yes, I certainly do. It was in the western part of the community, almost in the village of Maria. We would walk along the shore. It probably took us 30 to 45 minutes to reach the spot I remember. That spot is still there. I have been there; I wouldn't say I was picked up, but fishery officers caught me.

I went to court and paid some fines. But it has never stopped me from picking clams.

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

You are like Mr. Roberge.

[Jeremy Jerome]

Yes, I am a bit like him. A lot of things happen at night, even fishing.

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

So you had to deal with an enforcement issue too: fishery officers were there and gave you tickets.

[Jeremy Jerome]

Yes, but I had a good discussion with the group. We talked about human resources. I remember that I was alone with one of my little cousins and there were four or five officers on the beach. I went over to see what was happening. They told me that the site was closed and I had no right to be picking. They were talking about tests.

I wondered about the validity of the test. I asked when the darned testing was last done. They looked at each other, all four or five of them, and they had no answer. Their answer was that they did not know.

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

Thank you, Mr. Jerome.

Ms. Lambert Koizumi, basically, here's the problem. We know the water is fine because there are sites already. We have the technical ability to open them. The problem is the lack of resources. The federal government does not want to bother.

I asked for sites to be opened in December. The answer I received was that they felt obliged to tell me that the Canadian shellfish sanitation program was not in a position to support requests for further expansion because of the constraints on resources.

Has your association had a similar experience and a similar response from the federal government?

[Catherine Lambert Koizumi]

We certainly have. We have gone through much the same thing. The AGHAMW has had a marine farming site in Paspédiac Bay since 2018. We grow algae there.

As one of our mandates is diversification, we wanted to add molluscs, specifically scallops, as another crop at our site. When we wrote to try to get permission, we were thinking that we would work with Merinov to collect water samples and have them tested, so that we could get approval to add that species to our aquaculture permit.

However, we were told that nothing could be done. It didn't seem to be a question of money, because we had the funds to pay for the testing. We had the ability to go and collect the samples. I don't have the answer in front of me, but it was exactly as you said. At the moment, nothing can be done, but we don't really know why. But apparently, no service is available to move our request forward.

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

Mr. Courtemanche, you will be able to speak right afterwards.

Ms. Lambert Koizumi, in the case you described, you were willing to pay all the costs.

[Catherine Lambert Koizumi]

Yes, absolutely.

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

But the reply from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, from Environment and Climate Change Canada, or from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans was that they didn't even have the time to look at it, right?

[Catherine Lambert Koizumi]

Exactly. It was not about the money, because we were ready to go; we even had the funding to help us develop the coculture. But, at the moment, everything is on hold because the feds are not able to respond.

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

They aren't able to respond to a request.

Mr. Courtemanche, you want to add something.

[David Courtemanche]

Yes, just a little. Given that only a handful of sites are open, the pressure that fishing puts on those open sites is much greater than if other sites were open. In terms of biomass or stock management, that's certainly an additional problem.

I have also picked clams, softshell and hardshell, with my family, with my children and my father-in-law at the time. On days when sites were open, the pressure was great. Crowds of people were there. It shows how important a social activity it is in Gaspésie—