Madam Chair, the painting is by Loretta Gould, a Mi'kmaq artist from Cape Breton. It signifies women empowerment. It was done for the women's centre in Cape Breton and I was fortunate enough to get a print of it.
House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2021, with 37% of the vote.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, the painting is by Loretta Gould, a Mi'kmaq artist from Cape Breton. It signifies women empowerment. It was done for the women's centre in Cape Breton and I was fortunate enough to get a print of it.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, I want to thank Senator Christmas particularly, who made the amendments to those clauses to which the member has referred. That strengthens the act and the language that we use when it comes to first nations rights, section 35.
All Canadians have to learn more about our obligations, treaty rights and what it means to have an affirmed right to fish for a moderate livelihood. We have seen a real interest from people on this issue.
The Supreme Court upheld this decision and we want to ensure we implement it right. That is why we are working with first nations communities. The member of course is well aware of how complex the issue is. He has lived it himself. He knows there is still work to be done and we are committed to doing it.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, when we designed the fish harvester benefit and grant, we knew how important it was going to be to get it to as many fishers as possible. That included first nations with regard to commercial communal licences. We made sure that it got to inland fishers, who would normally be under the provincial jurisdiction, but we wanted to make sure they also had their concerns addressed.
It was an important part of reconciliation to make sure that first nations harvesters had the same benefits and were able to access the same funding as everybody else, even though their licence structure is different.
The fish harvester benefit and grant program was a huge success. It has helped, as I said, over 15,000 commercial harvesters and their families across the country. We made sure that they had the benefits they needed in order to get through this very difficult time.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, it is extremely important for all of us to understand what it means to be treaty people. I want to thank the hon. member for talking to me over the last few months on a regular basis about Marshall and helping me understand the context of the Marshall decision. His input has been invaluable, so I really do appreciate it.
With regard to the question, more than 15,000 self-employed harvesters and their families across the country have received support to help them weather the COVID-19 pandemic. I do not have that broken down in front of me, but I am happy to provide that to him.
We do know that it was an extremely valuable program to fish harvesters. It was extremely important that they had the supports necessary in order to make very difficult decisions when it came to their seasons. This is a program that we were committed to making sure we rolled out, and it has been very successful.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, I think the hon. colleague misunderstood what I said. I said that it is important that we have access to resources. I am happy to have a conversation with her about what it is that she would like to see.
Of course, when it comes to the committee, the committee members are the masters of their own destiny. They will make the decisions based on what they think is important to study.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, it is extremely important for all of us to have access to resources if we do it in a reasonable and sustainable way. We know that the St. Lawrence is an extremely important economic driver in Quebec. We are going to continue to make sure that it is open for trade with the Canadian Coast Guard.
We know that there is a lot of work to be done as we go forward, but the Coast Guard is vitally important to the St. Lawrence, and we are going to continue to work to make sure that it stays open as a commercial trade route.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, DFO works on projects for fisheries authorizations. It is important to ensure that fish and fish habitat are protected. These are things that we made sure were put back in the Fisheries Act after they had been taken out by the previous Conservative government. We have to make sure that we are looking after the fish habitat so that we can continue to have a fishery.
I am sure that my hon. colleague would agree with me that this is extremely important, but I am happy to work with her to help address any concerns that she may have.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, as I have said, we have invested significantly in small craft harbours. I am not familiar with the specific harbour that our hon. colleague is speaking about, whether it is an actual small craft harbour or whether it is a Transport Canada port. There is a significant difference in terms of funding.
I am happy to have my officials reach out to her to make sure that the small craft harbours in her area are the ones we are talking about.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, as I said, DFO is responsible for the small craft harbours program. We have invested significantly in that program. A number of small craft harbours need additional work. We recognize that. We are working through them on a priority basis.
We will continue to do that because we know how important small craft harbours are, not only to the fishing industry but also to the communities they support. We are happy to work with the member opposite to have a constructive dialogue on whether the ports she is referring to are actually small craft harbours or if they are something under a different department from mine.
Business of Supply November 24th, 2020
Madam Chair, one of the things that is a priority is making sure that our small craft harbours are addressed, and that is the DFO issue. With regards to transport ports, we do not have any authority over those specifically.
I am happy to talk to the member about any small craft harbours in her area that may need to be addressed. Those are what we at DFO deal with. They are extremely important to our rural coastal communities, and we need to make sure that our fishing sector has the infrastructure it needs in order to continue to maintain the industry.