Madam Chair, people sometimes forget the essential role that maritime fisheries played in the development of Quebec. It was through fishing, among other things, that Europeans first met first nations peoples. Even today, the sea is a crossroads where people meet up, rub shoulders and exchange ideas, but also where they sometimes clash. It was actually to secure control of the fishery that Great Britain and France fought during the colonial era, and it is unfortunately for that reason that some communities remain divided, even today, in the Maritimes.
In the past, this sector has also been the subject of federal-provincial bickering. On that front, no one will be surprised to hear me say that nothing is settled. In Quebec, fishing plays a fundamental role in the economic and social life of many communities in the Gaspé region, the Magdalen Islands, the Lower St. Lawrence, as well as in my home region, the North Shore, and in northern Quebec.
In 2018 the maritime fisheries represented more than 4,500 direct and indirect jobs and generated revenues totalling more than $435 million for the Quebec economy. For many indigenous communities, such as the Innu, Maliseet and Mi'kmaq nations, the fisheries offer economic development opportunities that enable them to envisage a better future based on activities historically practised by those nations.
Fishing is a tangible reality that has been neglected for far too long by successive governments, resulting in the consequences we are familiar with and continue to experience. I am therefore taking this opportunity to outline the approach to marine fisheries that my party, the Bloc Québécois, intends to defend, because we can and we must do better for Quebec.
As members surely know, fishing is a shared jurisdiction under the Constitution Act, 1867. The conservation, regulation and protection of the resource are the federal government's responsibility, while the processing of seafood products and the ownership of the resource are Quebec's responsibility. As the former leader of the Bloc Québécois, Gilles Duceppe, so ably put it, when the fish is in the water, it is managed by the federal government, and when it is out of the water, it belongs to Quebec. If it comes out head first, it belongs to Quebec; if it comes out tail first, it belongs to the federal government. I would add that when it arrives at the processing plant, it returns to Quebec's jurisdiction.
The result of this division of powers is the worst part of Canadian federalism, in other words inconsistency in public policy. As hon. members know, Quebec's motto is Je me souviens, or I remember. Nonetheless, memory can sometimes play tricks on us and even make us forget. In time, we end up taking certain things for granted. The federal government's hegemony over fisheries management is one such thing. History shows us that this was not always that way.
Did hon. members know that for 62 years, the Government of Quebec was in charge of issuing fishing licences, enforcing the law, establishing the rules and developing other salt water fishing activities? Did hon. members know that for nearly 55 years, that management went off without a hitch under a Quebec-Canada agreement signed in 1922?
Did hon. members know that in July 1983, the government of Pierre Elliott Trudeau unilaterally decided to end this Quebec-Canada agreement, thereby sparking another quarrel with Quebec? Let's not forget that. On the contrary, let's remember.
Did hon. members know that the traditional position of the Government of Quebec, reiterated by several successive governments since 1936, is that the provinces should have exclusive jurisdiction over fisheries in their territory? Very few people know that. The Bloc Québécois knows it, and our position on this matter is the same as Quebec's.
By terminating the 1922 agreement, Ottawa did two things. First, it demonstrated predatory federalism by taking away a tool that empowered Quebec to pursue vigorous development of its marine fisheries. Second, it reinforced the inconsistency in public policy. The two sectors are necessarily interdependent.
As a result of this confusion, fisheries development has suffered. As a result, Fisheries and Oceans is failing to publish RFPs in French, even though it was reprimanded by the Commissioner of Official Languages years ago.
As a result, people back home have been protesting for years demanding that the government return what was theirs, meaning access to the resource and saltwater fishing licences, but the department has ignored their demand.
As a result, the regulations are ambiguous and decisions are made opaquely. As a result, small craft harbours have a 25-year infrastructure deficit and communities are withering away. As a result, all the tools are there, but there is nothing to implement a food sovereignty and land use policy.
As a result, fishers feel abandoned, the first nations are legitimately angry and the quotas completely disregard Quebec and the provinces, and in the end, the final result is that there is no result, which is worse. Things need to change.
We need to completely overhaul the procedures at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. We think the department needs to pivot towards decentralization. It needs to get back to the spirit of the 1922 agreement and work with Quebec, the fishers and the first nations. Why not restore management of the fisheries to as close to the coastal communities as possible, with full financial compensation?
Ottawa must stop its inept management of resources within Quebec's boundaries. It is time to put some serious thought into the fisheries and the federal government's action, inaction and counteraction on this front.
The Bloc Québécois represents a movement, and, as we did in the past with the St. Lawrence report, we will engage. We expect the government to push for the status quo, but we will not give up.
Quebec is a land of fields, lakes, forests, rivers and mountains, but it is also a maritime nation. Quebeckers are a seagoing people. I want to see Quebec and its territory become a single, indivisible entity.
Now that I have completed my opening remarks, I would like to ask our Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard a few questions.
My first question is about how the department's funding is allocated. I would like to know if the minister feels that every region her department covers receives its fair share of funding.
