Robert Thibault

[Fisheries, May 15th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, that is precisely what this government has done. We have been working with our allies, with other countries. There were some recommendations by members opposite that we should leave NAFO, thinking that all other countries fishing in international waters would cease fishing there. Quite the contrary, we would no longer be there to work with them.

We are working to strengthen the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization. We are not 100% content with its operations, but as the forum of experts in Newfoundland told us, it is the best possible way to go forward.

[Fisheries, May 15th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I believe that if the member does a thorough review of the evidence he will find out that overfishing generally has contributed to the perilous state of the resource in general. These are the actions that we have taken: tough decisions that we took on closing some cod areas; we have worked since this government came to power very diligently on the question of foreign overfishing, with incidents, as members will remember, from 1995; we have seen great, great improvements within the operations of NAFO, but not enough. We continue to work, we can improve further, and we will.

[Question No. 182, May 14th, 2003]

The Office of Boating Safety, OBS, is exploring the possibility of implementing a national boating safety database which would improve the tracking of operator competency cards. OBS currently relies on the course providers to provide statistics on the number of operator competency cards issued, however this information is not complete enough for us to be able to provide accurate figures. The attached table identifies a figure of over 600,000 total cards issued, however we expect the total may be higher given the missing data from some course providers.

There are 75 accredited course providers plus nine course providers who are currently undergoing the accreditation process. Please refer to the attached table for a breakdown of the numbers and locations of course providers as well as the cards issued. Although there are not course providers in every province, people can receive training through correspondence courses, which can be delivered by mail or the Internet.

The OBS does not collect information on the number of cards issued to non-residents.

• The Competency of Operators of Pleasure Craft Regulations do not apply in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

[Fisheries, May 14th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, just to orient the member a little bit, I think the concerns in Newfoundland are not for the southern gulf but for the northern gulf. As to the question of what elements should be in the long term, nothing is ruled out and no elements are ruled in. Those discussions are ongoing.

[Fisheries, May 14th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, as the member will know, a decision like that is not taken lightly. It is taken after consultation, after consideration and after looking at all the scientific evidence. The decision cannot be reconsidered because the information has not changed.

As far as the assistance to those communities, the government takes it very seriously. We announced in April a short term package. We announced consultations for long term measures. We continue to look at any way we can to work with all partners concerned to assist those communities in very difficult circumstances.

[Coast Guard, May 13th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I recommend that the member take a trip on one of the B.C. ferries or any other commercial vessel. He will notice that these vessels do carry life rafts capable of taking care of their passengers. They had a second ferry there in response and we had three vessels and a military helicopter. It was a great response by all agencies and above all a super response by the crew of the B.C. ferries who put out the fire safely, not needing any evacuation.

[Coast Guard, May 13th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely ridiculous. That was a very good response. We got three vessels there. The military was there with its Cormorant helicopter. B.C. ferries were there with a spare vessel. Had it been necessary, we could have evacuated everybody off that ferry. There was a great response by the crew of the ferry and they should all be congratulated.

[Fisheries, May 12th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell the hon. member that I met with the crabbers' associations yesterday in Fredericton. I discussed when the fishery would resume. I heard that they held a press conference. The two crabbers' associations in New Brunswick said that they were going to resume fishing. So, the problem has been resolved.

[Fisheries, May 12th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the member must recognize that when we announced the closure of this fishery, we also announced funding to create short-term employment to help these communities. We also began discussions on long-term economic development objectives. Thanks to federal-provincial agreements with Human Resources Development Canada, we have the money available to do this, under part II of the Employment Insurance Act.

[Fisheries, May 8th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the member gave us a letter with the name of the company for the first time yesterday. We will contact them. We will look into the idea and see if there is a possibility of going ahead without posing any risks to the rest of the industry, if we can allocate quotas to one specific company for a short term and give it the chance to compete with the others, but allocations are normally given to sealers, not companies.