House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2011, with 36% of the vote.
Seal Hunt February 3rd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, the member's question involves details, and I am unable to respond in terms of exact percentages. I can assure the member that there will be a fair distribution and we will use flexible management criteria to ensure that everyone benefits from the opportunity.
Seal Hunt February 3rd, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to advise members that we will be using a management regime, like last year. We will be flexible, depending on the weather and market conditions, to ensure that everyone in the Atlantic region who wants to participate will be able to benefit from this economic opportunity.
Fisheries January 31st, 2003
Mr. Speaker, as I advised the House before, I am waiting for the recommendations of the Fisheries Resources Conservation Council which will be receiving scientific advice and making a recommendation prior to or about March 21. I will be making a decision by the end of March.
As for zone 4VN, the member should know that that quota has been allocated to that zone since 1999. It is not a new quota. The zone was fished this year, on recommendation, after scientific studies were done to show that there would be no risk to resident stocks.
Fisheries January 31st, 2003
Mr. Speaker, as the member would know, I will be making announcements very shortly on multi-year plan for the seal hunt which will respect the size of the resource and the importance in the communities. It will be flexible, much as we did last year where for the first time in 25 years we reached the quota. We even surpassed it.
We held a forum in Newfoundland with over 100 participants who expressed their views, both harvesters and conservation groups, on how we should manage, and we will be responding to those concerns.
Shipping Industry January 30th, 2003
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his excellent question. This is extremely important to the shipping industry. Discussions were held with the Treasury Board and officials from my department. I personally met with people from the shipping industry from all over Canada. Negotiations are ongoing, and I hope that a resolution will be reached over the next year.
Question No. 80 January 27th, 2003
The answer is as follows:
a) In the event of a pollution incident such as the one off the coast of Spain, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) would activate the national response team (NRT), and mobilize all government and industry resources to the impacted area. Should further resources be required, the CCG would call upon its international partners. This response would be conducted in accordance with national, regional and area marine oil spill contingency plans.
b) The CCG, Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), is the lead federal agency responsible for Canada's oil spill preparedness and response and thus, would lead a response to such an incident.
c) Other government departments may provide assistance to DFO in the event of a pollution incident. These include Environment Canada, who may provide scientific and environmental advice related to shoreline and on-water cleanup operations; Transport Canada, who may provide advice related to the operations and safety of vessels; and the Department of National Defence, who may be called upon to provide personnel or specific logistical assistance.
d) Canada's marine oil spill preparedness and response regime is built upon an essential partnership between government and industry. Canada has four commercial response organizations certified by the CCG to each provide a 10,000 tonnes response capability. In addition, CCG has an inventory of approximately $74 million worth of pollution response equipment located across the country for offshore spills, spills in the Arctic (waters north of 60° latitude) and as a safety net for the industry's capacity. Furthermore, Canada, along with 66 other nations, is signatory to the international convention on oil pollution preparedness, response and co-operation (OPRC). As such, Canada may call upon the other 66 signatories for assistance. In the event of a pollution incident occurring in the contiguous waters between Canada and the U.S., a joint response would be conducted in accordance with the joint marine pollution contingency plan. Canada has a similar agreement with Denmark for the contiguous waters between Canada and Greenland.
Fisheries December 13th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, the member will know that no decisions have been taken on the question of the three cod stocks in question, two in the gulf and one off Newfoundland and Labrador.
He will also know that last year I made a decision to increase the amount of seals being harvested by establishing some flexible management practices. For only the second time in 25 years did we reach the quota. I also permitted an extension of the quota of some 30,000 animals and injected some $30 million to those affected communities, that was well received last year.
We have worked very hard with the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization to ensure that rules are better respected and we will continue to do so.
Fisheries December 11th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his excellent question. He will recall that flexible measures were adopted last year for seal hunt management. This is the first or second time in 25 years that the quotas have been reached. Since market conditions were very good and the communities were in need, authorization was given to exceed the quotas. I have invited my department to look into the possibility of a long term plan which would entail higher quotas. These consultations were held not long ago.
Coast Guard December 11th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, it is sometimes confusing to listen to the opposition members who ask us to spend less money and to spend more money at the same time.
If our Coast Guard is operating more efficiently, using its resources in a responsible manner to live within its budget, I congratulate it, as do all Canadians.
Coast Guard December 11th, 2002
Mr. Speaker, Canada and the United States continue to work cooperatively in supporting one another to ensure marine safety. Both countries have limited ability to overlap in the other's territory. It is a problem we continue to work on cooperatively and very successfully.