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Crucial Fact

  • His favourite word was fish.

Last in Parliament October 2019, as NDP MP for Port Moody—Coquitlam (B.C.)

Won his last election, in 2015, with 36% of the vote.

Statements in the House

Jobs, Growth and Long-Term Prosperity Act May 10th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I would like to comment on my hon. colleague's mention of transparency. I certainly appreciate his point. I appreciate governments that are transparent.

However, I will focus specifically on one of the many changes that will happen as a result of the budget implementation bill, and that is the changes to the Fisheries Act. I submit that these changes will be huge. The fact that nobody knows about these changes and that nobody was consulted on them poses the question about how transparent the government has been with respect to one aspect. I know that 70 amendments to legislation have been included in this budget, most of which are non-finance related, including changes to the Fisheries Act, without consultation.

Would my hon. colleague comment with respect to those changes, especially with regard to the lack of transparency around those changes.

Petitions May 10th, 2012

Madam Speaker, I have a petition I am presenting on behalf of thousands of Canadians, mostly in British Columbia. They are concerned about stopping the proposed Vancouver Airport Fuel Facilities Corporation's transport of toxic jet fuel anywhere into the Fraser River estuary and the building of a marine off-loading terminal and fuel storage facility. They recognize that the Fraser River is a Canadian heritage river and its estuary lies within a globally significant Pacific migratory bird flyway. Eleven per cent of the wetlands of the estuary have survived human activity, and this is a critical area. They also recognize that the Fraser is one of the world's largest salmon rivers and is vital to the survival of the Pacific salmon.

The proposed VAFFC terminal is to be sited in the Fraser River, which is prone to flooding and severe shaking and liquefaction during earthquakes. They are very concerned about that, and they raise this issue through their petition.

Committees of the House May 9th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the hon. member's comments about the snow crab and its importance to the Atlantic and Quebec regions.

When I was on the fisheries committee, which produced this report and these recommendations, I had the opportunity to visit different communities in Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. I know my colleague was talking about the impact the science of biomass had on local fishermen in his community and his riding.

Could my colleague perhaps give his comments about the decision the minister made in 2010, which was to make a 63% cut to the quota, and the impact it had on the fishermen in his community? Could he comment about how that could have been prevented or what information is needed in order to prevent those kinds of decisions from happening in the future?

Committees of the House May 9th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague raises a great point. We are talking about snow crab, but the question about the biomass on all coasts of this province is critical. He points to salmon. In 2009 we had a collapse on the west coast of the Fraser River sockeye run where just over a million salmon returned when usually between 8 million and 20 million were expected. Then in 2010 we had a huge return.

The important factor is science. Science combined with traditional local knowledge is critical. The fishermen can often provide that local knowledge, which is critical for making important decisions, but once that information comes forward, it has to be listened to by the minister.

Committees of the House May 9th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I enjoyed travelling to the east coast with my hon. colleague and appreciated his input while he was on the committee. We had the opportunity to hear first-hand from fishermen and others involved in the industry. What we clearly heard was that the decision in 2010 by the minister was what triggered this report. It triggered us taking a closer look at why the deep cut had to happened. Against the science and the advice of the department, the minister went ahead and made the 63% cut, which we know could have been avoided had the minister followed the advice of her department.

Committees of the House May 9th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I move that the first report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans, presented on Wednesday, October 19, 2011, be concurred in.

I will be splitting my time.

The first report of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans deals with the snow crab industry in the Atlantic provinces and in Quebec. Snow crab is one of the most important species of crab in eastern Canada. It is harvested by fishermen from Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, particularly off the east coast of Newfoundland and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Snow crab is also one of the most valuable fisheries in eastern Canada. In 2008, the landed value of snow crab for the entire Atlantic region was $356 million, second only to lobster that is valued at around $600 million, and well ahead of shrimp that is valued at $258 million.

In 2010, the former minister of fisheries and oceans announced a drastic 63% cut in the snow crab quota. At the time, the minister said this was necessary to deal with the depleting stocks and to ensure long-term conservation. This sudden cut caused fishermen on the east coast a great deal of financial difficulty and raised many questions about fisheries management at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. I will speak more to that later.

On April 28, 2010, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans decided to conduct a study on the snow crab industry in Atlantic Canada. We met with scientists and officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. We held several hearings in Grande-Rivière, Quebec; Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador; Sydney, Nova Scotia; and Moncton, New Brunswick. The committee also visited two snow crab processing facilities in Quebec and in Louisbourg, Nova Scotia.

This was a thorough study. Through our study, we were able to hear concerns about the management of snow crab in general, as well as very specific concerns. It provided an excellent opportunity for our committee to really get an idea of the issues facing coastal communities.

As noted in the report:

Common issues include the management of the snow crab fishery, and more specifically, DFO's fisheries management decision-making process, the use of available scientific advice, and the timing and the manner of communicating these decisions. In fact, many of the comments we heard could apply to many other fisheries on all coasts of Canada. In all regions, we also heard concerns about harvesting capacity, the need for some form of rationalization, and the current conditions for welcoming new and younger entrants into the fishery.

As well, it was also noted in the report:

Other issues were specific to individual regions. In Newfoundland and Labrador, the committee heard concerns about the price received by fishermen for their catch and how the price is set. A number of comments were made about the relationship between the harvesting and processing sectors, and the level of vertical integration in the fishery. Some witnesses pointed out that alternative models for the industry existed. In Cape Breton our hearings were mostly focused on resource sharing arrangements among traditional and Aboriginal fleets, and core company quota holders. We heard divergent views on ministerial decisions made with respect to these sharing arrangements. Sharing arrangements were also an important topic of discussion at hearings in Moncton.

After our hearings were complete, we spent a great deal of time discussing our final report. The committee provided a report that includes 11 recommendations and I have the report here. It presented the report to the federal government that the committee felt would improve the management of snow crab.

One recommendation that I strongly agree with is recommendation 2, which reads:

That all of Fisheries and Oceans Canada's future fisheries management decisions be based on the precautionary approach when a formal decision-making framework exists, and that in the absence of such a framework, decisions be based on the elementary principle of precaution.

Because of the apparent fisheries management issues in 2009 and 2010, many of the witnesses called for an inquiry on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. For example, the report reads:

Acccording to Mr. Daniel Desbois who represents traditional crab fishermen in CFA 12, DFO's management practices “raise a great many questions as to whether the resource is being managed in the public interest and in a manner that is consistent with new departmental policies and the principles laid out in the Fisheries Act and the Oceans Act”.

During our study, the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans really had the chance to learn about the hardships faced by the fishing community where appropriate management does not occur, particularly on the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. It was interesting because the officials at DFO said that because snow crab was cyclical, it should be predictable when the stocks would be low and stated that they “[didn't] think taxpayers should take care of subsidizing the fishery over the low part of the cycle when there are going to be good profits ahead and they have had good profits in the past”.

However, this is why it is so important to go to coastal communities to hear their concerns, where we heard a different story. Many fishermen said that they could not afford a low-income year because they faced so many financial obligations. We heard about deckhands and plant workers who would not qualify for employment insurance. We also had the opportunity to hear about the financial strains that many communities in the Gaspé already face with plant closures, downturns in tourism, moratoria and lay-offs. We also heard from first nations communities in the region where the results of the cutting of the quota had a severe impact on their economy and their society.

The overall message that we provided to the government in our report is summed up well in our conclusion. I just want to take some time to read this because it really says it well and it is important. It reads:

The Committee believes that the TAC [total allowable catch] reduction in 2010 would likely have been smaller than 63% if the Minister had accepted the advice of her department to reduce the TAC in 2009 instead of maintaining it at the 2008 level. In retrospect, the 2009 decision was considered by some not to be a prudent one with respect to the sustainability of the fishery. Therefore, the Committee wholeheartedly welcomes the application of the precautionary approach to this fishery. That said, the impacts of the 2010 decision, and more broadly of DFO's management of the snow crab resource in recent years, on fishermen, the industry, and communities were far from being negligible. Even though the biology of the snow crab is well known, and a decline in the harvestable resource was expected, it is important to find a better way to prepare for and mitigate the impact of the ups and downs of this cyclical resource on all stakeholders.

While these recommendations that we suggested will not fix the damage that was done to the fishermen and their coastal communities, we believe that this report and the recommendations included in it will help provide guidance to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as well as the minister in future.

On a personal note, I very much enjoyed the trip to the east coast. I found it extremely informative. I was able to talk first hand with fishermen who were affected and who had been working hard for their communities to make a living, not only with respect to snow crab but many other species in which they were involved. However, snow crab was in the report that we looked at and—

Hunger Awareness Week May 9th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, to mark this year's Hunger Awareness Week, Food Banks Canada has issued a challenge to parliamentarians from all parties to fast for one day so they can experience what it feels like to go hungry.

Hunger is a significant problem in our country. Each month, close to 900,000 Canadians are assisted by food banks, and 38% of those helped are children. In a country as wealthy as Canada, there is no excuse for letting our most vulnerable citizens go hungry. Hunger can be solved by addressing the root cause, which is poverty.

Two effective ways parliamentarians can address this issue is by increasing affordable housing and raising seniors' pensions.

I join with over 140 parliamentarians and staff who are going hungry today to make a point. I ask that all parliamentarians work together to eliminate hunger and poverty in our country.

Fisheries and Oceans May 2nd, 2012

Mr. Speaker, the government will not listen to former ministers, fisherman or Canadians. It will not even listen to its own commission.

The Prime Minister created the Cohen Commission to study the most dramatic collapse in the wild salmon fishery in British Columbia's history. It has spent two years and $26 million hearing evidence on the importance of protecting salmon and salmon habitat.

Why is the government throwing away the work of the commission and gutting protections for our wild salmon fishery?

Safer Railways Act May 1st, 2012

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague's comments on this important issue. I wonder if he could comment on the current safety situation.

In the past number of years in British Columbia we have had a number of rail derailments and accidents that have caused spills into waterways and caused concern for communities. I wonder if the member could comment on this important bill and how it could perhaps affect spills in the future.

Could the member also comment about not only the need to improve rail transport safety in the country but also the noise issue at crossings around residential areas? Could he comment on how the bill might address some of those concerns that residents face?

Business of Supply April 26th, 2012

Mr. Speaker, in her speech, my hon. colleague mentioned that these changes will affect the most vulnerable Canadians. Would she comment on how these changes will impact those vulnerable Canadians and how Canada's New Democrats would approach this situation in terms of a strong pension plan?