Debates of Nov. 24th, 2020

Fisheries and Oceans—Main Estimates, 2020-21

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

Madam Chair, in 2015, when we first formed government, less than 1% of Canada's oceans were protected.

We set an ambitious target of 10% by 2020. We exceeded that. We are almost at 14%. We know there is more work to do. We are now committed to protecting 25% of Canada's oceans by 2025, and 30% by 2030.

We know that the sustainability of our oceans is extremely important and that is why we are going to continue to make sure that we make these important conservation targets.

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

Madam Chair, the conservation of fish stocks is extremely important for achieving a sustainable fishery.

What initiatives has DFO implemented to protect fish stocks?

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

Madam Chair, as I said in my opening remarks, one of the most important priorities for this government is restoring the health of wild salmon stocks and other important fish stocks across Canada. That is why our government announced an additional $107 million to support the implementation of stock assessments and rebuilding provisions in the renewed Fisheries Act to sustain Canada's wild fish stocks.

We are working on publishing and supporting regulations. We have launched fish funds across the country to support our regions, including the B.C. salmon restoration and innovation fund and the Quebec fisheries fund, both of which are are modelled on the very successful Atlantic fisheries fund. These are supporting projects focused on building resilience through restoration, promotion and science partnerships, innovation and the adoption of technologies.

Last month, I was happy to also receive the delivery of our third and final oceanographic—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The time is up. I am sure that the hon. minister will be able to add during the next question and comment.

The hon. member for Manicouagan.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Chair, I have several questions for the minister.

I was not able to talk about Quebec's port facilities in committee. As the minister surely knows, many communities in Quebec and in my north shore riding have no road connecting them to the rest of the world or the continent.

Be it the Magdalen Islands, the iconic Anticosti Island or the lower north shore that borders Labrador, port facilities are central to the history and the economic and social development of these communities and to the lives of first nations. In short, we evolved in symbiosis with the St. Lawrence River.

The minister probably also knows that the Premier of Quebec is very interested in port facilities. In his book entitled Cap sur un Québec gagnant, François Legault wrote that Quebec needs to be able to count on the federal government to take on its share of responsibility, especially when it comes to wharf maintenance, which falls under federal jurisdiction.

According to Mr. Legault, the federal government's disengagement in recent years has rendered the situation completely unacceptable. Some wharves have become so dilapidated that they no longer meet the needs of recreational boaters, even though those wharves are an important part of the economy and very identity of towns and villages along the river. Unless this situation is remedied, it could cost Quebec dearly.

Does the minister agree with what the Premier of Quebec said?

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

Madam Chair, I know how important small craft harbours are to our coastal communities. That is why our government has invested almost $486 million in new money since 2016 to make sure that we are addressing the concerns around small craft harbours. Many of them need significant work. We know there is a lot to be done with regard to making sure that the infrastructure is safe, sound and built with resiliency.

Knowing that we are seeing storm surges with climate change, the impacts on our small craft harbours have been significant. We need to make sure that when we are building infrastructure, we are building it for the future. That is why we are going to continue to invest in the small craft harbour program. I know it is extremely important, especially, as my hon. colleague said, to the communities she represents, where the only way to get to those communities is through those harbours.

We want to make sure that the infrastructure that is in place is safe and that it is resilient for years and years to come, not only because our fisheries rely on it but because our coastal communities rely on it.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Chair, the minister said that $450 million has been spent through her program since 2016. Is she able to tell me how much of that went to Quebec?

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

Madam Chair, I do not have that number off the top of my head, but I am happy to get it for her.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Chair, I know that the minister was not the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard in 2016, but what has been done regarding ports in Quebec since 2019?

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

Madam Chair, with regards to small craft harbour investments, in 2019, we know that there has been ongoing work. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic did put a bit of a halt on some of the work, but we are working to catch up. We will make sure that we are addressing issues in the most—

[The Deputy Chair, NDP, Carol Hughes]

The hon. member.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Chair, there are some distressing situations in a number of communities back home in my riding and in eastern Quebec. I am thinking about the port in Baie-Trinité, which is classified by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as essential to the town of Baie-Trinité. An assessment of the port noted that it is not safe and has an estimated life expectancy of zero years, literally.

The port was last inspected in September 2019. What has the department done since then, and how does it plan to remedy this situation?

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

Madam Chair, once again, I am not familiar with the specific port that the member is referring to, but I am happy to get back to her, and we can have a conversation with regards to that structure specifically.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank the minister.

I could give her plenty of similar examples. The situation is the same in Natashquan, where the wharf was declared surplus 25 years ago. The department wants to acquire it. Currently it belongs to Transport Canada. Apparently the transfer is being negotiated, but here again, it is negatively affecting the economic development and the very survival of the communities, and the first nations fishery as well, of course. There have been no developments since April 15, 2019.

The minister may not be very familiar with this file, but can she assure us that it is a priority for her?

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

Madam Chair, one of the things that is a priority is making sure that our small craft harbours are addressed, and that is the DFO issue. With regards to transport ports, we do not have any authority over those specifically.

I am happy to talk to the member about any small craft harbours in her area that may need to be addressed. Those are what we at DFO deal with. They are extremely important to our rural coastal communities, and we need to make sure that our fishing sector has the infrastructure it needs in order to continue to maintain the industry.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Chair, indeed, there are many, many communities that need attention. There are nearly 100 wharves in eastern Quebec. I talked about economic development, which is being undermined, as well as the future of first nations communities and land use.

I talked about Natashquan, where there was no road at one point. There is also Baie-Johan-Beetz, which is in a similar situation. Transport Canada tells us that these wharves are no longer in use because there is now a road in some places. Traffic is no longer by sea but by land. However, these wharves have always been used by fishers.

I could also cite the example of Sacré-Cœur. I want to talk about all the hardships that our small coastal communities come up against. Villages of 200 to 300 people have these infrastructures and want to keep them. They would like them to be modernized.

A wharf in Sacré-Cœur that was divested several years ago is being modernized. The certificate of authorization was valid, but the village had to wait 18 days to start the work because of a delay in obtaining a signature that was caused by the department. This resulted in $100,000 in additional costs that had to be paid by a population of a few hundred people. This completely compromised the project.

I live on Quebec's North Shore, where winter lasts almost six months. This means that the work schedule, despite the Department of Fisheries and Oceans calendar, does not work for our municipalities. This jeopardizes projects.

I would like to know if the department will provide compensation and if, instead of proposing a one-size-fits-all solution, it will tailor its assistance measures so that communities can keep the infrastructures they are entitled to without having to pay for unwarranted mistakes or administrative delays.

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

Madam Chair, as I said, DFO is responsible for the small craft harbours program. We have invested significantly in that program. A number of small craft harbours need additional work. We recognize that. We are working through them on a priority basis.

We will continue to do that because we know how important small craft harbours are, not only to the fishing industry but also to the communities they support. We are happy to work with the member opposite to have a constructive dialogue on whether the ports she is referring to are actually small craft harbours or if they are something under a different department from mine.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Chair, will the department commit to compensating the municipality for cost overruns caused by the department? I mentioned the example of the delay in obtaining a signature, which led to $100,00 in extra costs. The minister did not answer.

When it is the department's fault, would it be possible to have the department admit it made a mistake and have it help the community with what really is a hardship?

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

Madam Chair, as I have said, we have invested significantly in small craft harbours. I am not familiar with the specific harbour that our hon. colleague is speaking about, whether it is an actual small craft harbour or whether it is a Transport Canada port. There is a significant difference in terms of funding.

I am happy to have my officials reach out to her to make sure that the small craft harbours in her area are the ones we are talking about.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Chair, I thank the minister for her response.

If the people of Natashquan, Baie-Johan-Beetz, Baie-Trinité and Sacré-Cœur-sur-le-Fjord-du-Saguenay had gotten responses to the demands they have been making over and over for the past 10, 20 or 30 years, we might not be having this conversation, even though I am happy to be here. I myself have even intervened several times.

I hope that these communities back home will get answers, because they are facing other issues, such as environmental impact assessments. We are, of course, in favour of protecting the environment and conserving wildlife. However, we see municipalities being given deadlines that they may not have the resources to meet.

In addition, Quebec's environmental plans are not being acknowledged. That is the case in the last situation I mentioned. The municipality is not allowed to move forward, even though the compensation was authorized in 2017. Yes, the law has changed since then, but I would like to know whether the minister could ask for an exemption for certain cases, where projects are in jeopardy because Quebec's jurisdiction over environmental impact assessments has not been recognized. We all know that the government will refuse to move forward with the project in this community and then turn around and buy a pipeline in the west.

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

Madam Chair, DFO works on projects for fisheries authorizations. It is important to ensure that fish and fish habitat are protected. These are things that we made sure were put back in the Fisheries Act after they had been taken out by the previous Conservative government. We have to make sure that we are looking after the fish habitat so that we can continue to have a fishery.

I am sure that my hon. colleague would agree with me that this is extremely important, but I am happy to work with her to help address any concerns that she may have.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Chair, on another point altogether, for the last few years or decades, people have been feeling as though their river is being taken away from them. In my speech earlier today, I said that people want to be one with the land. The river is not a border. The river is simply an extension of our territory. People want to have access to its resources and not be considered poachers by the federal government.

Does the minister realize that the people of Quebec would like to have access to this resource?

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

Madam Chair, it is extremely important for all of us to have access to resources if we do it in a reasonable and sustainable way. We know that the St. Lawrence is an extremely important economic driver in Quebec. We are going to continue to make sure that it is open for trade with the Canadian Coast Guard.

We know that there is a lot of work to be done as we go forward, but the Coast Guard is vitally important to the St. Lawrence, and we are going to continue to work to make sure that it stays open as a commercial trade route.

[Marilène Gill, Bloc, Manicouagan, QC]

Madam Chair, I am pleased to hear the minister say that because yesterday at the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, I asked that we study the issue of recreational fishing. Some call it sport fishing, but in fact, people just want to have access to the resource to feed themselves or as an economic activity, as is the case in the British Columbia, for example. However, members from the minister's party, the governing party, refused to consider this possibility.

Since the minister just said it, I just want to confirm that she agrees that Quebeckers can have access to the resource for recreational or sport fishing.

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

Madam Chair, I think the hon. colleague misunderstood what I said. I said that it is important that we have access to resources. I am happy to have a conversation with her about what it is that she would like to see.

Of course, when it comes to the committee, the committee members are the masters of their own destiny. They will make the decisions based on what they think is important to study.