Debates of May 30th, 2022

Department of Fisheries and Oceans—Main Estimates 2022-23

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

Continuing debate, the hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country has the floor.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, is 2018, the government launched a research and education campaign that provided $100,000 over four years to Simon Fraser University to conduct research and assess the risk of invasive mussels spread in the Okanagan. It has been four years now. What are the key things that have been learned?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Minister of Fisheries]

Mr. Chair, that is a very good question for the researchers at Simon Fraser University, and I can find their reports for the member.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, the minister should be aware this is funding from the federal government.

An additional $400,000 was invested at the same time over three years for educational outreach. The money was intended to create new advertisements. Can the minister tell us who was the target and what the purpose of this ad initiative was?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans does a great variety of positive work on behalf of Canadians, and there are times when we advertise to let the public know the opportunities for grants and programs they can apply to.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, funding ran out last year, and I see no funding of any kind in budget 2022 to protect western provinces from invasive aquatic species spreading across Canada. Is it correct that there is no funding?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, we maintain funding for invasive species. There are a number of invasive species across Canada, and we are acting to find and remove them wherever possible.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, what specifically is the funding to address aquatic invasive mussels to British Columbia from being transported across Canada?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, I am proud to say we were able to intercept the zebra mussels that were coming in through aquarium imports. We work closely with several departments.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, I was not referring to importation. I was referring to being across the country. What the minister is referring to is actually mussels that were coming in through aquariums, which CBSA caught, and I am referring to across Canada.

The fisheries department refers to deleterious substances to be used to eradicate aquatic invasive mussels. Is this the best way to eradicate aquatic invasive mussels?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, the campaign that provides boaters with information about the risks and the need to clean their boats and motors so they do not transport the invasive species from one aquatic watershed to another is an important function of the department.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, is this one of the methods that should be used?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, if “this” refers to publicity to educate boaters, then yes.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, does the minister agree with purposefully putting pesticides or other chemicals into waterways?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, well, there are times when that is necessary, such as lampricides, which deal with sea lampreys in the Great Lakes.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, does the minister agree that it is acceptable to use deleterious substances to eradicate aquatic invasive mussels in waterways that are public drinking water?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, we work with Environment and Climate Change Canada to ensure that any products that are utilized are safe for the use to which they are being—

[The Chair, Conservative, Chris d'Entremont]

The hon. member for Kelowna—Lake Country.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, what are deleterious substances?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, they are ones that are harmful.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, is the minister's department recommending that deleterious substances be put into public drinking waterways?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, any substances that might be used are checked with Environment Canada to make sure that they are not going to be harmful to humans or to the natural environment.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, the Canadian government website defines deleterious substances as being added to any water where it could “degrade or alter the water quality such that it could directly or indirectly harm fish, fish habitat, or the use of fish by humans.” That is the definition right on the government's website, so the comment the minister just made is kind of shocking.

Can the minister give us some examples of what a deleterious substance might be?

[Joyce Murray, Liberal, Vancouver Quadra, BC]

Mr. Chair, a lampricide would be a deleterious substance.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Chair, on the government's website, it also lists chemicals, heavy metals and cleaning supplies such as bleach, detergents and pesticides.

Does the minister believe that putting pesticides or other chemicals is the way to eradicate aquatic invasive mussels in large waterways?