House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2021, with 37% of the vote.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, with regard to illegal activity, recognizing that first nations have a right to a moderate livelihood fishery, as well as to an FSC fishery that happens in St. Mary's Bay. CMP officers have been active there in removing traps that were not tagged or did not meet qualifications. Of course, I would have had briefings on that very early on when I was appointed minister.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, I would say that I have been having briefings with my department on illegal fishing right across the country since I was first appointed as minister. I am not really sure where my hon. colleague is going with this.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, we are working to use the best available science when making decisions with regard to management and Atlantic Canada DFO has documented the impacts of the grey seals on the fish stocks in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence and British Columbia. We are working with partners in doing more science to evaluate the impact of harbour seals and sea lions—
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, as I have said, we have had to take very difficult measures to protect the salmon species. We will continue to take measures. We have seen a rapid decline. It is alarming and concerning to see what is happening with the wild salmon stocks in B.C. We know these measures are difficult for recreational fishers. They are difficult for everybody, but they have to be taken to make sure—
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, we understand there is an interest in a mark-selective fishery. However, my department did not authorize a broad expansion of the mark-selective fishery this year because of several concerns. Among those concerns were the potential risk of increased fishing effort and the increased potential of mortality from hooking and releasing unmarked salmon.
We have to continue to work on consulting with first nations and other interest groups on the mark-selective fisheries and, of course, on hatchery production. We want to make sure that as we go forward with this, we do it in the right way to address the concerns that we are hearing and make sure the stocks are well looked after.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, I absolutely acknowledge the challenges being faced by the participants in the recreational fishery, including the guides, the lodges and all of the people who make their living from the recreational fishery. However, I also recognize that the chinook are in a desperate situation. We knew they need to be protected. We needed to take tough action. We needed to make sure there were measures in place to—
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, as I have said many times tonight, I know the conservation measures we have put in place have been extremely difficult for recreational fishers. However, having said that, we will continue to do everything we possibly can to protect the southern resident killer whale. This is an iconic species. It is endangered. We want to make sure that it is here for the long term, for everyone to enjoy. We will continue to work to protect southern resident killer whales.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, the southern resident killer whale is an extremely iconic, important species. We have to do everything we can to protect and recover this species. In recent years, our government has taken significant steps to address the key threats to their survival. We have to continue to work with our partners and stakeholders to protect them.
I am not really sure where my colleague is going with this question, but we are going to continue to take measures to make sure we protect the southern resident killer whales.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, hatcheries are an extremely important part of our fisheries on the west coast. Making sure that hatchery fish are looked after is a DFO responsibility that we take very seriously. We know how important hatchery fish are, and we will continue to work with small community hatcheries and other hatcheries to make sure they are able to be sustained.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, with regard to the recreational fisheries, we know this has been an extremely tough year. We know that the measures we have had to take to protect chinook salmon have been hard for the recreational fishery. We want to make sure we work with them.
Again, as I have said many times, I am not averse to—