Debates of May 30th, 2022

Department of Fisheries and Oceans—Main Estimates 2022-23

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, that is our process, consulting with anyone affected so we can understand all of the perspectives when there is an allocation being done.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, does the department intend to continue to expropriate access to areas where there are no expressions of interest through “willing buyer, willing seller”?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, when there are court-ordered rulings providing access to a party that does not already have access, it can be a challenge to acquire it, and we—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, has the department worked with indigenous stakeholders to see if there are any other means by which to satisfy the right?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, “willing buyer, willing seller” is our approach and we do have funds to put that into effect.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, when does the department intend to advise non-indigenous stakeholders of the amount of access being sought in the latest round of negotiations?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, I am not clear which negotiations the member is referring to.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, I mean all negotiations.

In terms of corporate foreign ownership, I have been here a lot talking about sharing risks and benefits, and the report from FOPO, which we are still waiting for action from the government on.

Does the minister believe that our harvesters and coastal communities should be the primary beneficiaries of Canadian fisheries?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, with respect to the fisheries and oceans report, we have a study of the ownership so that we actually know what the landscape is on the west coast. This benefits the fisheries, the harvesters, their communities and the broader economy. This is a public good resource and fishers have access to it through licences and permits.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, I think it is clear in the report that they do not want any more transfers of foreign ownership and they want to know who the beneficial owners are. Does the minister agree that we should have limits on corporate foreign ownership of our fisheries?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, I will not be prejudging the outcome of our work to identify what the state of the ownership is on the west coast at present.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, in the confidence and supply agreement with the NDP, it was outlined that beneficial ownership would be a key priority. Will that apply to fisheries and oceans?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, we need to make our decisions based on facts, and that is what we are doing right now. We are gathering the facts.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, gathering facts is really important, and ensuring there is a public registry of who owns the quota is critical to being able to making decisions. Will the minister bring back limits on corporate and foreign ownership-backed Pacific fisheries? The limit was 12% from the 1960s up until the 1990s.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, as I mentioned, I will not prejudge the conclusion. We are still in the process of gathering data on ownership.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, why are super trawlers given access to our exclusive economic zone when small independent owner-operators are shut down? In the Pacific, super trawlers had access to our Pacific north coast in 2021, when almost all of the small-boat salmon fleet was shut down. Maybe the minister can explain.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, the ownership structure has evolved over decades. Here on the west coast it has evolved differently than on the east coast. We are now taking a look at what the data is on who does own what, and we will be looking at—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, does the minister actually believe super trawlers should be able to process at sea instead of our Pacific exclusive economic zone? There is a current proposal right now to the department to allow this to happen. This would shutter shore processing plants and rendering facilities and actually impact communities, such as Ucluelet in my riding.

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, as I said, we will not be making any changes without first understanding the lay of the land, and we appreciate the fisheries and oceans report on this matter.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, I was just at French Creek Marina, which the minister knows quite well as she travels to Lasqueti Island. They are bursting at capacity. They cannot find enough slips for boats. It is impacting our economy, our culture and our access to food security.

Will the minister meet with marinas like that and look at ways she can invest in infrastructure to support those working harbours?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, we have spent over $600 million, in addition to the annual funding for harbours, to do exactly that. I am not aware that French Creek harbour has made a request, but that individual case can be looked into.

[Gord Johns, NDP, Courtenay—Alberni, BC]

Mr. Chair, we had the Hanjin Seattle, and we have seen the Zim Kingston. We have seen some marine debris spills on our coast. I have talked to the minister about creating the ecosystem service fee on trans cargo shipment units coming into Canada.

Has she spoken to the transport minister about creating a fund that can go to coastal and indigenous communities to have a tactical response plan in place so we can tackle these issues and actually have funding in place and resources ready to go that are timely and immediate?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, I encourage the member to make a representation to the transport minister on any regulatory matter or change he is proposing.