International Trade Committee on May 21st, 2024

[The Chair (Hon. Judy A. Sgro (Humber River—Black Creek, Lib.)), Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I call the meeting to order. There are six of us here, so we can get the meeting going and hear the witnesses.

Welcome to meeting number 106 of the Standing Committee on International Trade.

Before we begin, I'd like to ask all members and remind other in-person participants to consult the cards on the table for guidelines to prevent audio feedback incidents.

Please take note of the following preventative measures in place to protect the health and safety of all participants, including the interpreters.

Use only an approved black earpiece; the former grey earpieces must no longer be used. Keep your earpiece away from all microphones at all times. When you are not using your earpiece, place it face down on the sticker placed on the table for this purpose.

Thank you all for your co-operation.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format.

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

As a reminder, all comments should go through the chair.

If any technical issues arise, please inform me immediately. We will suspend to ensure interpretation is available for everyone.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, the committee is beginning its study of the effects of American and European seafood import policies on the fishing industry in Canada.

You should have all received a copy of a draft budget of approximately $20,000 for this study.

Does anyone have any concerns with that budget?

I move for approval.

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

We have with us today for our first panel, from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Sylvain Vézina, regional director general, Quebec region, by video conference; Adwaite Tiwary, director, trade and market policy; and Todd Williams, acting director general, fisheries resource management.

Following that, we will have, from the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Michelle Cooper, director general, market access secretariat.

Welcome to you all. You understand how these processes work, so we've started our meeting so that we can hear from all of you. We will, at the appropriate time, suspend for the vote and then resume again following the vote, with approval from the committee members.

Mr. Tiwary, I invite you to make an opening statement of up to five minutes, please.

[Adwaite Tiwary, Director, Trade and Market Policy, Department of Fisheries and Oceans]

Good afternoon, Madam Chair and committee members.

My name is Adwaite Tiwary. I'm the director of trade and market policy at Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

I'm joined here today by my colleagues Todd Williams, acting director general, fisheries resource management; and Sylvain Vézina, regional director general for the Quebec region.

I appreciate the opportunity to appear before this committee on behalf of the department to discuss Canada's international trade in sustainably harvested and responsibly sourced fish and seafood products.

My team's role within the department is to support the sector's economic growth by helping it access markets and identify opportunities to diversify. My team also contributes towards DFO's mandate to ensure that trade in fish and seafood is supported by ambitious bilateral and multilateral trade agreement provisions geared towards sustainability and conservation of marine resources. As part of this work, my team works closely with Global Affairs Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Canada's reputation for high‑quality and sustainably harvested fish and seafood is well established. We're well positioned to meet certain market access requirements.

The numbers speak for themselves. For example, last year, Canada exported $7.6 billion worth of fish and seafood to 115 countries. Of this figure, $4.9 billion went to the United States, our largest export market, and $421 million to the European Union, our third‑largest export market.

As we are here today to talk about trade with the United States and the European Union, it is important to note that Canada has trade agreements with both the U.S. and the EU. The Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement, or CUSMA, and the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, support consistent and stable market access for our fish and seafood products.

That said, market access requirements and policies can evolve over time. I acknowledge that some measures proposed by the United States and the European Union may have implications for Canada.

Concerning the United States, this market has distinct requirements, including those related to the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, or MMPA. The MMPA provisions seek to protect marine mammals from being harmed during fishing and aquaculture operations.

Starting in 2026, to maintain access to the U.S., harvesting nations that export fish or fish products must have measures in place that are comparable to U.S. standards to reduce the bycatch of marine mammals during commercial fishing and aquaculture operations.

Turning now to the EU, a few market access requirements are noteworthy.

For instance, in 2009, the European Union introduced a new regulation to ensure that products derived from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing do not enter that jurisdiction. The EU IUU regulation requires all countries that export fish and seafood to provide a catch certificate for each shipment exported.

In response, Canada developed a catch certification program. The program supports Canada's role more broadly in preventing, deterring and eliminating IUU fishing.

I want to focus now on seal products. The European Union was once Canada's largest market for seal products, with sales reaching $5.4 million in 2006. In 2009, the European Union introduced regulations that banned the import and sale of all seal products. Since then, sales have been close to zero. Some exceptions were introduced in 2015 for indigenous certified products and goods purchased by travellers for personal use. Despite these exceptions, Canada's market for seal products never recovered.

On May 15, 2024, the European Commission launched an evaluation of the effectiveness of the seal ban. DFO is working closely with stakeholders and federal departments on this process. We want to ensure that the EU takes into consideration the sustainable and humane nature of Canada's seal hunt, that the voices of Canada's sealing sector are heard, and that the EU understands the impact of the ban on our coastal and indigenous communities.

Thank you for your attention. I look forward to answering your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much, Mr. Tiwary. Now we will open the floor for questions.

Mr. Martel, go ahead for six minutes, please.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I would like to thank the witnesses for joining us today.

My first question is for Mr. Vézina.

I'll start by talking about the new requirements imposed by the United States in the Marine Mammal Protection Act, or MMPA.

I would like you to elaborate on this topic, especially when it comes to the restrictions and their implications for Canada.

[Sylvain Vézina, Regional Director General, Quebec Region, Department of Fisheries and Oceans]

Thank you for your question.

My colleagues at headquarters would be in a better position to respond.

[Todd Williams, Acting Director General, Fisheries Resource Management, Department of Fisheries and Oceans]

First, I'll speak in relation to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, or MMPA. In terms of context, this act was introduced during the Nixon era in the United States. Only more recently was it enforced in particular provisions around the protection of marine mammals as they relate to the importation of fish and seafood products to the United States. The act requires that those importing fish and seafood to the United States have a regime comparable, in terms of the efficacy of measures, to the United States regime. This means, for example, that when we export snow crab to the United States, we have measures in place to protect North Atlantic right whales, which are endangered. The measures we have may not be identical to those in the United States but are seen, in their eyes, as equally as effective.

In terms of what DFO is doing, the United States has requested information from us to ensure it is comparable with the measures they have. We've provided them with all of that information and replied to various inquiries. They have, however, delayed the implementation of this for another year. The deadline was supposed to be in November of last year, and they have extended that. However, we remain, as far as we know, in compliance. We're working with our U.S. counterparts in that regard, to ensure that our products can continue to be exported to the United States.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Do you think that these requirements harm Quebec's fish and seafood industry?

If so, how could this impact be minimized?

[Todd Williams]

I think, on the contrary, that as long as we remain in compliance.... In fact, the Quebec and Canadian industries as a whole will benefit. The measures we put in place to protect the North Atlantic right whale, as an example, are designed to protect while at the same time remain flexible for industry. We have worked with the various impacted fleets to maintain a level of flexibility in that, whether it's adjusting the season date or looking at and investing in new gear, which can be deployed using less rope and less risk of entanglements.

The work we have been doing helps ensure we maintain access to this very important market.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Is Canada imposing stricter rules on imports from the United States?

[Todd Williams]

I can't speak about the importation of fish products. That would not fall within the mandate of DFO, or at least fisheries management.

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Okay.

Does the blue economy take into account the economic benefits of the recreational fishery?

[Adwaite Tiwary]

Just to clarify, is the question whether blue economy policy has anything to do with the recreational fishery?

[Richard Martel, Conservative, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, QC]

Yes.

[Adwaite Tiwary]

Our team at trade and market policy does not work on the issue of recreational fisheries.

I work in blue economy policy. Our focus has been on supporting our sustainably harvested fish products through commercially managed fisheries.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Miao, please, you have six minutes.

[Wilson Miao, Liberal, Richmond Centre, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to all the officials for being here today for this important study.

Of course, Canada produces some of the highest-quality seafood. Where I am from, British Columbia, geoduck and spot prawns are in season right now. To ensure quality control for all our seafood exports, our country relies on the CFIA, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, for regulating and labelling.

How does the CFIA—

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I'm sorry. The bells are ringing. There's a call for a vote, but it's in 14 minutes.

Would the committee want to continue on and stop two minutes before the vote, or do you want longer than that?

[Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay, Bloc, Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC]

Madam Chair, I believe that there are two more votes. There will be three votes in total. You're proposing that…. I forgot that there won't be any bells for the other votes. We can continue the meeting for 15 minutes, but we'll still need to vote.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

I think it's a more efficient way if we can stop, vote and then go back to our work.

Yes, Mr. Cannings.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

I'm guessing that although these are to be very short bells, they won't be. They say the bells right after QP are 15-minute bells, but they never are.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

They have called it, so it's 13 minutes and 48 seconds now.

[Richard Cannings, NDP, South Okanagan—West Kootenay, BC]

Okay, so let's keep going, and then there will be three in a row without bells.

[The Chair, Liberal, Judy Sgro]

If everybody's in agreement, we will stop two minutes before this vote. We'll vote and then go back to our work, and then we'll do the next vote.