Debates of Nov. 24th, 2020

Fisheries and Oceans—Main Estimates, 2020-21

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Chair, we recognized very quickly that when COVID-19 hit, commercial harvesters were going to be seriously impacted because of the closure of export markets as well as the closure of restaurants. Because of the way their enterprises are structured, they did not qualify for a number of the programs we had in place for relief for businesses. That is why we came up with the fish harvester benefit and grant program. That was an almost half-billion-dollar program to support harvesters. It is the largest single investment in fisheries since the cod—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Egmont.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Madam Chair, I would ask the minister if she could continue to elaborate on the importance of that benefit to the industry.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Chair, the money that was made available to the harvesters allowed them to make really tough decisions with regard to whether they would fish for the season. A number of people took advantage of this program. They desperately needed these benefits because they knew the fishery was in dire straits when we started COVID-19. They were actually one of the first industries impacted by the pandemic. They saw the decline of the fisheries in early February when everything was still moving across the world.

We knew it was important to ensure that harvesters had the money they needed to make those tough decisions about whether they were going to fish this year. One of the—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Egmont.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Madam Chair, the issue that is getting the most attention, and one of the most serious on the east coast, is the conflict between first nations fishers and commercial fishers. One of the areas I hear the most concern about, and it comes both from departmental staff as well as fishers both commercial and indigenous, is the lack of enforcement capability within the department.

Madam minister, could you give an opinion on the level of enforcement capability in the department? Is it adequate to do the job that we expect it to?

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

Again, I remind the member to pose the questions through the Chair.

The hon. minister.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Chair, the C&P officers have a very difficult job, but they do a very good job. We did see cuts under the previous government to C&P, but we want to ensure they have the tools they need to do the jobs they are given.

I know that conservation is a top priority for not only commercial harvesters, but for indigenous people as well. We want to ensure we have a long-term sustainable lobster fishery. That is one of the reasons we need to work to address the concerns around a moderate livelihood and implement the right that was granted under the Supreme Court decision.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Madam Chair, I would ask the minister to elaborate a bit more on this. There were cutbacks in the department in the area of protection and enforcement. Is this a priority that she sees within the department under her ministry, in continuing to staff the department higher in that area?

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Chair, under the previous Conservative government, there were significant cuts to DFO in a number areas, including science, and conservation and protection. We have reinvested in DFO to make sure that we have what we need in order to do the job that is so important in our coastal communities. We have to make our decisions based on science, and yet the cuts that were made under the previous government made that very difficult. We have reinvested to make sure that the science is available to us.

With regard to conservation and protection, we know how important those jobs are on the water and to our rural coastal communities. We are doing everything we can to make sure that we support the conservation and protection officers.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Madam Chair, could the minister elaborate a bit on Mr. Surette's role, whom I view as a very credible individual to advise you on this issue? You indicated earlier that he was going to report to you at a particular time frame. Could you just explain a bit to the House his role as it relates to you, as the minister? He is not doing the negotiations on moderate livelihood, but it is my understanding he is advising you and meeting with the commercial fishers.

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

I can advise the member that nobody is advising me at this point. I would ask him to use the word “she”.

The hon. minister.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Chair, the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and I both appointed Allister Surette to act as a special representative in this issue with regard to moderate livelihood.

Mr. Surette is a well-respected member of his community. He has experience in fisheries files in the past. His job is going to be to meet with commercial harvesters, to meet with first nations communities and to meet with stakeholders like the municipalities to find out what the best path forward is in order to rebuild relationships, in order to provide clarity to industries—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member.

[Bobby Morrissey, Liberal, Egmont, PE]

Madam Chair, could the minister be clear to the House, as was asked several times before, regarding the commercial fishery. Who has the responsibility in the department to ensure that the rights of the commercial fishing industry and the owner-operator policy that our government enshrined is taken into consideration during these negotiations and that the commercial fishers' rights are protected?

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Chair, I have met with commercial harvesters on a regular basis throughout all of this, listening to their concerns. Making sure that we hear from them is extremely important to me, as is making sure that Mr. Surette also has the ability to talk to them, so that when he files his interim report at the end of December, we will have another voice heard.

We know how important it is to have the commercial voice at the side table. That is one of the reasons we are listening to them. We want to make sure that we address the concerns that they have.

I am committed to hearing from commercial harvesters, and that is why I continue to meet with them.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Madam Chair, I see that there is funding for ships in the main estimates.

Can you give us an update on the capacity of the Canadian Coast Guard?

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member must address the Chair.

The hon. minister.

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Madam Chair, the Coast Guard continues to make progress on fleet renewal through the national shipbuilding strategy.

In 2019, the most significant investments in Coast Guard history were announced and included the construction of up to 24 new large vessels. All three offshore fishery science vessels have now been delivered, representing the first class of large vessels delivered through the national shipbuilding program. The Coast Guard is also renewing its small vessel fleet, with eight search and rescue lifeboats and two channel survey and sounding vessels delivered in recent years.

It is extremely important that the members of the Coast Guard have the tools they need to do their important job.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Madam Chair, the Conservatives made cuts to DFO and to science.

Can the minister tell us a little about how the government is supporting science at DFO?

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Chair, more than 2,000 DFO science employees research and monitor our oceans and our aquatic ecosystems across the country. Over 90% of DFO science employees work outside Ottawa.

Under the previous Conservative government, there were significant cuts to science. We reinstated a number of those positions. It is extremely important that we base our decisions on science.

In keeping with promoting women in science, technology, engineering and math, nearly 50% of DFO science employees are women. DFO science—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Madam Chair, our oceans are shared with the entire world.

Can the minister tell us more about what Canada is doing with its international partners to protect the oceans?

[Bernadette Jordan, Liberal, South Shore—St. Margarets, NS]

Madam Chair, this year we signed on with the Global Ocean Alliance to make sure we are committing to protect 30% of our oceans by 2030. This is an international effort to make sure that we are doing everything we possibly can to make sure our oceans are sustainable for the long term.

This is a commitment that we made as a government. We will hit 25% by 2025, and 30% by 2030. At this point, we are already at 14%, and we know we have more work to do.

[Yves Robillard, Liberal, Marc-Aurèle-Fortin, QC]

Madam Chair, the Prime Minister gave the minister a detailed mandate letter in which he set out ambitious targets for the protection of the marine environment.

Can the minister inform us of the progress that has been made with respect to the marine conservation targets?