Fisheries Committee on March 25th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

Good afternoon, colleagues.

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 29 of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

I want to start by acknowledging that we are gathered on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people and by expressing gratitude that we're able to do the important work of this committee on land they've stewarded since time immemorial.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108, the committee is meeting to commence its study of recreational and traditional fishing for softshell clam. Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the Standing Orders. Members may attend in person or remotely using the Zoom application.

Before we continue, I would like to ask all in-person participants to consult the guidelines written on the cards on the table in front of you. These measures are in place to help prevent audio and feedback incidents and to protect the health and safety of all participants, but particularly the interpreters.

Pursuant to our motion, I can advise the committee that all witnesses appearing today have done the required testing.

To ensure the meeting goes smoothly, I'd like to provide some guidelines to the witnesses and members.

Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those participating by video conference, click on the microphone icon to activate your mike and please mute yourself when you're not speaking.

For those on Zoom, at the bottom of your screen you can select the appropriate channel for interpretation: floor, English or French. Those in the room can use the earpiece and select the desired channel.

A reminder that all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair.

For members in the room, if you wish to speak, please raise your hand. For members on Zoom, please use the “raise hand” function.

I would now like to welcome our witnesses. With us today, we have Dorina Allard, fisherwoman; Gaston Bourdages, fisherman; and by video conference, Ghislain Roberge, fisherman. We will start with opening statements of up to five minutes each.

Ms. Allard, you have the floor.

[Dorina Allard, Fisherwoman, As an Individual]

Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak before you about the importance of opening new shellfish clam fishing areas in Chaleur Bay.

I am speaking to you today first as a 65-year-old woman, but above all as a daughter, sister and mother from a long line of clam harvesters from Chaleur Bay. I began harvesting clams when I was very young, alongside my father, my brothers and my sisters, in the Saint-Omer region, a clam harvesting zone that is currently closed. For us, clam harvesting was more than an activity—it was a family ritual. It was a lesson in patience, respect for the sea, and above all, a way to understand that natural resources are borrowed from future generations.

Now, more than 60 years later, I harvest clams with my children, my sisters, my brothers, my nieces and nephews and their children, as well as with friends. However, this time, one thing has changed: Miguasha is not what it used to be. There are far too many people, too much harvesting on an area that is too small and with limited access to the sea. When an ecosystem begins to show signs of strain, it puts our traditions, our culture and our future in jeopardy. Harvesters from Saint-Omer, like me, who have access to the sea, can reach the authorized harvesting site in Miguasha from their own shore. However, they need to walk roughly two kilometres round-trip carrying the required equipment and their catch, carefully crossing the current of the Nouvelle River estuary, depending on the current and rising tides. Miguasha is located only a few kilometres from New Brunswick, where the neighbouring shores support clam harvesting.

I'm not speaking only as someone who is deeply attached to this place. I'm also speaking as a witness to the changes that have been accumulating year after year. We all want to continue to benefit from this resource, but to do so, we need to act intelligently and prudently. This is why I fully support—and ask for you to support—the opening of new clam harvesting areas in Chaleur Bay.

Opening new areas doesn't mean opening the door to abuse. On the contrary, it's a protective measure. It would alleviate pressure on the Miguasha shoal, which can no longer sustain all the demand on its own. It would also better spread out harvesters to avoid overfishing in any one location. It would also preserve the ecological balance of the bay so that the resource remains healthy and abundant, and ensure that our traditions endure without jeopardizing future generations.

I don't want to change our ways; I want to give them a chance to survive. I hope that every child can, as I once did, feel the simple joy of discovering a clam beneath their fingers, filling a small bucket, and then sharing a meal that tastes of the sea and pride.

However, for this tradition to continue, we need to be responsible, and responsibility today requires a collective decision: to diversify our fishing areas to protect those that already exist.

Chaleur Bay is vast. The resource is there. We simply need to manage it wisely, by opening new areas, respecting natural cycles and working together to ensure that clam harvesting remains an ecological, cultural and family treasure.

Thank you for your attention, and especially for your concern for the future of our bay, our francophone, anglophone and indigenous communities, and our traditions.

Together, we can ensure that clam harvesting remains vibrant, sustainable and accessible for all generations to come.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

Thank you very much, Ms. Allard.

We will now hear from Mr. Bourdages for five minutes or less.

[Gaston Bourdages, Fishermen, As an Individual]

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.

Please raise your hand if you've ever gone softshell clam harvesting. I see that only two people out of about 20 have. I brought you a real specimen of a softshell clam that was caught on Sunday morning. I can pass it around so you can see what it looks like. The softshell clam is a mollusc with a pallial sinus protected by a flattened bivalve shell that is very delicate. They can be found burrowed in mudflats at depths of up to 90 centimetres. They are harvested with shovels or rakes. Some people use siphons. This species lives in the sandy sediments of tidal coastlines from the southern United States to Canada and along certain European coastlines, including the Wadden Sea.

The Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec provided a summary: Some 350 clam harvesting areas were listed in 2016 and softshell clam fishing was open at only 87 sites. In the area that my neighbour and I are talking about in Chaleur Bay, we have 48 potential harvesting areas, and 41 of them are closed. That means that softshell clam harvesting is only allowed in seven areas. A La Presse article entitled “Des coques qui ont la cote” compared softshell clams to maple syrup, blueberries and cranberries as regional delicacies. If you ban caribou hunting for indigenous peoples in the Far North or harvesting blueberries and cranberries in Lac-Saint-Jean, there will be an uproar. However, when it comes to softshell clam fishing, there's been no uproar so far.

Let's now turn to water treatment. There were no restrictions on softshell clam harvesting over 35 years ago and all areas were accessible, even though some cities and municipalities didn't have waste water treatment then. I don't get it now, because they all have waste water treatment systems, and yet 41 of the 48 fishing areas are closed. I used to be an engineer and was involved in at least 80% of the water treatment south of the Gaspésie. My map shows Chaleur Bay in blue, and New Brunswick. All municipalities, with the exception of Caplan, have had sewer systems put in.

Magazine Gaspésie had a three-page article entitled “Effervescence printanière” and I'll read an excerpt from what one of my neighbours André Babin wrote in the magazine:

We fish softshell clams—we call them clams in French too—in early April on Easter weekend. My family lives at the tip of Les Pirates in Bonaventure. Once the ice has melted on the mudflats, my father, my brothers and I go out with a small sled, buckets and shovels and cross the barachois, which is still covered in ice. We bring along wicker baskets, which we call potato baskets here, that are made by the Mi’gmaq people of Gesgapegiag. The baskets are very practical because the water can drain out.

So it's a family tradition, and it's still going strong.

Now, let's talk about commercial fishing. One of my colleagues was the provincial minister of regional development. He did a study to develop a project that would build a factory capable of harvesting 150 tonnes of softshell clams and create 110 jobs with an investment of $4 million. That was in 2004 and 2005, and unfortunately, he wasn't re‑elected and the project got shelved.

I had noted the techniques of CIRADD, the Centre for Research Initiation and Sustainable Development Assistance, which will be giving a presentation.

The Comité ZIP de la baie des Chaleurs, which conducts various environmental assessments, did a study in 2007, 2008 and 2009. In 2007, the Bonaventure area had 120 harvesters who caught 168,000 softshell clams, compared to 112,000 in 2008 and 69,000 in 2009. The study's purpose was to verify the feasibility of opening the fishing area.

A document was drafted, and its conclusion stated that the area could open for softshell clam harvesting, with a committee overseen by Fisheries and Oceans Canada; however, the department never formed this committee. It's now 2026 and we could have been harvesting shellfish clams in this area since 2012 had this document been followed.

Now, the comparison to the Côte‑Nord—

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

Your time is almost up, Mr. Bourdages. You have 30 seconds. If you could wrap up your statement, that would be great.

[Gaston Bourdages]

Okay.

On the Côte‑Nord in Mingan, my colleague Guy Vigneault, who sits on an Association of Canadian Port Authorities committee, received a letter dated March 15 of this year informing him that, following the study on the Mingan shellfish zone, this area will be reopened. They wanted to share this good news.

In my experience, softshell clam fishing is an integral part of living on the coast for someone from the Gaspésie. Every Gaspesian has done it at least once in their life. My experience started at a very young age when I was 10 years old, with my father, cousins and uncles. We used to harvest softshell clams for Easter Sunday. Everyone in that area wanted softshell clams for Easter. Conversations in the village revolved around this question: “Do you have any clams?” and people would share their catch. Year after year, the ritual of clan fishing was repeated and the whole ceremony around clam harvesting would be repeated. Such great memories. We were dressed funny, it was cold, our feet were frozen. The first one to catch a clam would shout, “I've got a clam!” and everyone would go dig next to them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

Thank you very much, Mr. Bourdages. We have to move on.

We'll now turn to Mr. Roberge for five minutes or less.

[Ghislain Roberge, Fishermen, As an Individual]

Mr. Chair and members of the committee, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to testify before the committee about the importance of opening new clam fishing zones in Chaleur Bay.

I'm going to speak to you plainly, just as I am. I’ve been walking through the flats of Chaleur Bay for as long as I can remember. I grew up right by the sea, with a view overlooking the clam-digging flats. I started digging clams with my dad when I was barely five years old. I remember him showing me how to do it properly, with respect for the sea and for nature. I've harvested clams all my life. Where I come from, clam digging is a family affair; it’s about traditions and memories. It's part of who we are, part of our Gaspé, part of our sea.

Later, it was my turn to do the same with my daughter, and then with my grandson Raphaël. I made him a little clam rake, and I watched him make his first tracks in the mud, so proud to be doing it on his own. In that moment, I saw myself again—a little boy, with my father right beside me—and I understood how important it is to keep this alive, to make sure this tradition doesn’t die out.

The reason I'm taking the time to speak with you today is because I would like to see new clam fishing zones opened in the bay. It's not about depleting resources or doing things haphazardly. It's about spreading out the pressure, giving the overfished areas a chance to breathe, and making sure that those who come after us can still enjoy the sea the way we did.

We know the bay; it runs through our veins. We can tell when it's doing well and when it's struggling. There are places that are ready to start producing again, and others that need a break. All I'm asking is that this be done intelligently—with people who know the sea, with scientists if needed, and with people who understand good old Gaspé common sense.

My fishing days are behind me now; I've had my share of good times. I’m doing this for Raphaël, and for all the others who dream of watching the tides to find the right moment to wade into the mud, a bucket in hand, breathing the salty air. I want this tradition to carry on. I want our people to keep experiencing it.

Opening new areas means breathing new life into an activity that's part of who we are.

Thank you for your time, and thank you for thinking about the future of our bay, our people and our young ones.

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

Thank you very much.

With that, we'll begin our first round of questions.

Mr. Small, you have six minutes.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Monsieur Bourdages, you talked about the lack of restrictions on clam harvesting 35 years ago, when the protection of our marine ecosystems and coastal areas was nowhere compared to what it is today. Do you think the local coastal ecosystem is cleaner and that it should be less of an obstacle to opening areas for clam harvesting than it was 35 years ago due to the protection of the environment and waste management and whatnot?

[Gaston Bourdages]

Thank you for the question. The issue you raise is a very specific one. Science can answer that, but here's my understanding of it.

There were no waste water treatment plants 35 years ago, and waste water went straight into the ocean. Right now, along the entire coastline of Chaleur Bay, across 12 municipalities, including Carleton‑sur‑Mer, Saint‑Omer, Nouvelle, Maria, Bonaventure, New Richmond, New Carlisle and Paspébiac, only one doesn't have a treatment facility.

All the others have treatment facilities that process human effluent. People say we're polluted, but we've been cleaning up the system for 35 years. The problem is, when it comes time to test the water, the funding from Fisheries and Oceans Canada isn't there. That's the problem. We need to take samples and analyze them to see if things are in order or not.

In fact, the Comité ZIP did that in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The recommendation was to set up a working committee to oversee the opening of the shellfish zone, but that never happened.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Again, Mr. Bourdages, there's a four-step process in place in the Maritimes and a five-step process in place in Quebec which areas have to pass through for new areas to be opened or even for areas that are open to stay open. Is that correct?

[Gaston Bourdages]

Yes.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Not only is that a multistep process, it has to be coordinated across three or four different government departments, depending on which province it's in. How would you rate the efficiency of this process when you have three and four different government departments that have to coordinate?

It's been said that government departments don't like to deal with each other and they don't co-operate very well. Do you think that's an impediment to opportunities for harvesting clams?

[Gaston Bourdages]

Sir, if you take a taxi and there are four steering wheels and four drivers, you won't get very far. I think there could be a single committee accredited to monitor the progress of the softshell clam fishery study.

This is being held up because there are too many tiers of government. In my area, we could have been harvesting softshell clams for the past 12 years; the Comité ZIP proved it. However, the committee hasn't been formed.

What are we going to do about this? Are we going to wait another 25 years because no one wants to lift a finger to conduct studies?

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Thank you.

Monsieur Roberge, number one, how would you rate the health of the biomass of soft-shell clams? Number two, in your opinion, is the stock being overharvested?

[Ghislain Roberge]

No.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Okay.

How would you rate the overall health, not in specific individual areas, but in general? How would you rate the health of the biomass of the clam, the plentifulness? Are there a lot of clams?

[Ghislain Roberge]

Yes, there are a lot of clams and they are all healthy.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

What's the problem? What would you like to see done as a result of this study here?

[Ghislain Roberge]

We would like softshell clam fishing to be reopened so that we can harvest them. Clams are delicious, that's been proven. I've been eating clams for 50 years and not once have I fallen ill.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

How come the former minister of fisheries, who was the member for your riding, could not get these problems straightened out over the 10 years that she was representing your region?

[Ghislain Roberge]

People didn't want to test the water. They didn't want to deal with it.

[Clifford Small, Conservative, Central Newfoundland, NL]

Okay. Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Patrick Weiler]

Thank you very much. I'm sorry, but your time is up.

Thank you very much, Mr. Small.

Next, we're going to go to Mr. Klassen for six minutes.