House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2006, with 45% of the vote.
Fisheries and Oceans February 5th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, to listen to the member speak, one would think this was a new allocation that was set up since I became a minister. These are historic allocations. But in fairness, because of concerns raised, we have set up that an independent individual will look at sharing. However, the report will not be ready for this year, so we will roll over what has happened historically and Quebec will get the share that it always did, no more, no less, the same as everybody else.
Fisheries and Oceans February 5th, 2008
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question.
Last Friday, I spoke with Mr. Lessard, the Quebec fisheries minister. He and I will work together for Quebec fishermen and fisherwomen.
We will do that. We will continue to work with the fishermen, for the fishermen. Together, working with the government in Quebec, we can solve the problems. We can do that. Those members cannot.
Fisheries and Oceans December 13th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, a number of senators, who have not been at sea lately, were completely bamboozled by a number of former bureaucrats who were at the helm of the department when the management of the fisheries went completely on the rocks.
Instead of sitting in on such meetings and taking notes, the member should go home, talk to the representatives of fishermen and plant workers, representatives of industry, and representatives of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, all of whom support the present convention.
Port Infrastructure December 12th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, as I think I have told the hon. member, it is getting near Christmas, and I know he believes in Santa Claus. When the fat, jolly fellow comes to put toys in his stocking, I depend on another short, fat, jolly person to put money in my stocking and we will see what happens.
Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission December 11th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, pursuant to subsection 19(3) of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, a copy of the directives to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission regarding the health of Canadians.
Fishing Industry November 28th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, we had a tremendous meeting in Quebec several months ago. A report on that meeting has been presented to the minister in Quebec. I met with the minister last week. We are working very closely together, as we are with other fisheries ministers, to ensure we look after the people for whom we are responsible, and that includes the fishermen in Quebec.
Fisheries and Oceans November 21st, 2007
Mr. Speaker, in a unanimous report to the House, the all party Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans said:
By custodial management, the Committee did not intend that Canada should claim sovereignty over or exclusive rights to the resources of these regions of the ocean but that Canada should assume the role of managing and conserving the fisheries resources of the NAFO regulatory area in a way that would fully respect the rights of other nations that have historically fished these grounds.
We have done that in spades.
Questions on the Order Paper November 19th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, the response is as follows:
a) Krill or euphasiids have been extensively studied by acoustic and trawl methods both in the Strait of Georgia and the west coast of Vancouver Island. These studies have confirmed that the existing fishery is a small percentage of the krill biomass and is not believed to compromise the use of krill as a food by salmon and other species, but that harvests should not be increased.
b) and c) Bycatch of other species in this fishery is low. However, to further minimize the chance of interaction of the fishery with juvenile salmonids, the season was truncated and now takes place from January to March 31 rather than ending in May. In keeping with research conclusions the fishery is also capped at 500 metric tones to ensure that krill are available as a prey species as per the forage species policy. The krill management plan further states that no increase in quota will be entertained without a sound scientific basis, which is in accordance with scientific advice.
Questions on the Order Paper November 15th, 2007
Mr. Speaker, with respect to the small craft harbours program:
(a) Core harbours are harbours that are critical to the commercial fishing industry, and are either currently managed by harbour authorities or expected to be managed by harbour authorities in the future;
(b) there are 34 core harbours in the riding of West Nova, 26 in the riding of Central Nova, 5 in the riding of Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley and 50 in the riding of South Shore-St. Margaret’s;
(c) 2006/07 total cost of program spending in the riding of West Nova is $2,594,891, in the riding of Central Nova is $4,726,711, in the riding of Cumberland-Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley is $23,979 and in the riding of South Shore St. Margaret’s is $4,944,994;
(d) the total 2007 budget for the program is $97.1M (excluding employee benefit plans);
(e) the total planned spending for 2007-08 is the same as the total national budget, which is $97.1M (excluding employee benefit plans);
(f) as of October 2007, the percentage of SCH core harbours in poor or unsafe condition is 28%, or 209 of a total of 747;
(g) the SCH program estimates that $35M is required to be added to the current SCH annual budget in order to ensure proper life cycle management of assets at core harbours.
Mr. Speaker, what was committed was that we would stop foreign overfishing and we did it in spades.
Let me get back to the member's earlier question because it was a legitimate one. He asked if Canada had relinquished any sovereignty. Absolutely not. What we have done is strengthened our presence on the world stage. Maybe he should read more of the document, not the clauses outlined by his friends.
Nothing in this Convention shall prejudice the rights, jurisdiction and duties of Contracting Parties under the 1982 Convention [UNCLOS] or the 1995 Agreement [UNFA]. This Convention shall be interpreted and applied in the context of and in a manner consistent with the 1982 Convention and the 1995 Agreement.
Our sovereignty is guaranteed by UNCLOS. Why would we invite someone in, maybe to do science which is extremely important--