Keith Ashfield

[Search and Rescue, March 27th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, the member's question has been addressed thoroughly many times in the House. The measures under way maintain the present levels of marine safety and even lead to improvements as responders are able to work side by side in the same centres.

All affected sub-centre coordinators were offered relocation work at joint rescue coordination centres. The decision to accept or reject the transfer is, of course, a personal matter.

[Search and Rescue, March 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I have said many times in this House, we would never close the sub-centre in St. John's if we thought we would be putting mariners or anybody else at risk. We will continue with the process of closing the sub-centre.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, again, we have made no decisions but we are reviewing the policies. We want to focus our activities on protecting natural waterways that are home to the fish Canadians value most, not on flooded fields and ditches.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 26th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, while no decision has been made, the government is reviewing fish and fish habitat protection policies to ensure we are respecting conservation objectives.

Recent speculation about the current review is inaccurate. However, the government has been clear that the existing policies can be arbitrary and do not reflect the priorities of Canadians.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 16th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what we are doing. We are listening to fishermen from across the country, and Canadians in general, about how we can move the fishery forward, how we can improve the fishery.

Unfortunately the member across did not spend enough time listening to the fishermen and Canadians. That is why he is way down there.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 15th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated yesterday in the House and at committee, there have been no decisions made. However, I might reference the member opposite to the flooded out farmer who needed a permit to remove fish. They are not false comments. The Abbotsford Times, on September 16, 2003, said that the B.C. government had long complained about DFO enforcement policies that made it impossible to clear drainage ditches or clogged streams that threatened to overflow and flood properties. This is nothing new, just ask average Canadians.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 15th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the member opposite did not read the transcript. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It is very clear that the current habitat policies go well beyond what is necessary to protect fish and fish habitat, and at the jeopardy of Canadians. For example, in 1993 a farmer in Quebec was fined $1,000 for dewatering of his field that had gone through a flood because there were a couple of fish in it. He had to buy a permit for fishing in the last flood because he would have been subject to a $100,000 fine otherwise.

[Search and Rescue, March 15th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, what the member is saying is totally untrue. First, we would never put at risk our mariners. Because of the language issues, locations of offices is a reasonable solution, a cost saving measure, but at the same time, provides a better service by combining forces with proper language training and skills.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, that is an interesting question from the member opposite. Days ago he was criticizing me for listening to fishermen and seeking ideas and input from fishermen.

Obviously, those members probably would not be way down there in the House if they had listened to Canadians and Canadian fishermen.

[Fisheries and Oceans, March 14th, 2012]

Mr. Speaker, as I indicated, these are policies that we are looking at.

There is ample evidence that the policies we have in place are inhibiting the everyday activities of Canadian landowners. We have a responsibility to Canada and the Canadian public to ensure that we protect our habitat. At the same time the policies have to be reasonable and do not infringe on the everyday way of life of Canadians.