Fisheries Committee on June 3rd, 2026

[Bernard Vigneault]

No, this is considered a project for DFO, for the Government of Canada. There's another ongoing project we have related to this. We have a body of monitoring and research ongoing right now that's funded by Natural Resources Canada. It's looking at addressing the gaps that have been identified in the regional assessment to gather, as I mentioned earlier, additional information on whales and other species at risk, looking at—

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, BC]

Are you telling me that all of this research and the report have been done but not in response to any project that's being proposed? Is that correct?

[Bernard Vigneault]

This report was done, as we alluded to earlier, in response to the identification by the offshore regulator of the four areas. They are DFO products that look at putting in the public domain the scientific information and spatial information we have, for the use of stakeholders and for our own use—

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, BC]

Okay.

[Bernard Vigneault]

—when we look at future details of the project proposal.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, BC]

When does a project become a project for the proponent or for government partners in this project?

[Bernard Vigneault]

I will turn to my colleagues in the Maritimes region, especially in the context of the offshore wind development.

[Luke Gaulton]

After there's a call for bids and there's a successful bidder, there will be a project-specific review. For some of the processes we spoke about earlier, there was a regional assessment led by the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. NRCan, the Province of Nova Scotia and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator are still at the point where they're going to establish where exactly, within the wind energy areas, there will be a call for bids.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, BC]

Someone else has requested this information, then, and DFO has put their time, resources and everything into it. Is there any transfer of funds from the requester of the information to DFO? We hear from stakeholders across this country about lacking resources within the department, and here is a department apparently chasing after ghosts requested by another department. Can you square that circle?

[Luke Gaulton]

As we've outlined, the report does not contain.... We didn't undertake any new analysis for the report, but some of what is in the report is an analysis comparing suitability of areas for offshore wind with areas where fishing occurs. That would have been under the marine spatial planning funding that the department had at that time. As the lead department for marine spatial planning, that analysis was undertaken.

I'm not sure if my colleague from the science directorate has more to offer, but I believe NRCan is funding certain DFO science activities as well.

[Bernard Vigneault]

NRCan is funding the incremental data collection research that I alluded to earlier. We have received dedicated funding under the implementation of the Impact Assessment Act to do that work. We're not displacing resources for other parts of the science sector to do this work. We have received incremental funding.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, BC]

That helps to answer my question.

We've heard that boundaries were moved for proposed marine protected conservation areas. When does the process for establishing a marine conservation area begin?

[Bernard Vigneault]

I'll turn to my colleagues in the Maritimes region.

[Luke Gaulton]

There's a site-specific process for a marine protected area or another spatial conservation tool. An area of interest is established. There's a lengthy consultation process with rights holders, stakeholders—

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, BC]

My question is, when does it begin? Who initiates the potential for a marine conservation area?

[Luke Gaulton]

That's part of DFO's mandate: to examine where are suitable or appropriate areas for marine protected areas.

[Mel Arnold, Conservative, Kamloops—Shuswap—Central Rockies, BC]

Okay. I'll have more questions in my next round.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you.

Now I go to Mr. Morrissey for the Liberals.

Robert, you have five minutes.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Thank you, Chair.

Mr. Vigneault, first of all, some are trying to characterize this report as an approval by DFO of something that may occur. That is not the case. This is not DFO analyzing an area and saying that it is acceptable for wind development. Is that correct?

[Bernard Vigneault]

That's accurate.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

This was simply, as you indicated, about preparing documents to show correctly the species that inhabit this part of the ocean.

[Bernard Vigneault]

It was about the species, the human use and the other spatial information, like the existing or proposed protected areas.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

It's simply an inventory of what's going on.

[Bernard Vigneault]

Yes.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

To characterize it as somehow the government has given prior approval to a potential development would simply be false and spreading misinformation.