House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2015, with 28% of the vote.
Search and Rescue February 2nd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, I have answered this question many times. We will not put in jeopardy the lives of our mariners. We will not do that. This has nothing to do with that. We have an opportunity to make consolidations to save money for the taxpayers of this country without putting anyone in jeopardy or at risk.
Search and Rescue February 2nd, 2012
Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House this government is in full support of the sealing industry and the people who earn their livelihood from that industry. That cannot be said by other members in this House.
We are looking forward to an event today. We had an event earlier on with members from the Atlantic provinces, our provincial counterparts, and the sealing industry. We look forward to working with them in the future.
Fisheries and Oceans February 1st, 2012
Mr. Speaker, that is a bit rich coming from the member opposite. The former Liberal government had ships sitting at the docks rusting and with no fuel. We have made major investments in our coast guard and will continue to do.
The Amundsen will be out of service for the rest of the winter season because of significant engine problems. The Canadian Coast Guard will redeploy its operational fleet in eastern Canada in order to minimize impacts in icebreaking, flood control and search and rescue services.
Questions on the Order Paper January 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, in response to (a), no employees from the St. John’s and Quebec Marine Rescue Sub-Centres elected to relocate to the Halifax or Trenton Joint Coordination Centres. Therefore, there are no relocation costs at this time.
In response to (b), annual total overhead costs for telecommunications services will not change. The costs of transferring lines to emergency centres from St. John’s and Quebec to Halifax and Trenton are still under review.
In response to (c), language requirements at Halifax and Quebec are currently set at the BBB level by the Coast Guard and deemed satisfactory by previous reviews conducted by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. Following consolidation, both the Trenton and Halifax Joint Rescue Coordination Centres will have the capacity to provide services in both official languages and bilingual capacity at the CBC level, an increase above the levels that are now in place at both Halifax and Trenton. The level of bilingual service is regularly reviewed by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages.
In response to (d), one-time implementation costs for relocations, training, meetings with partners and project management are estimated at $700,000.
In response to (e), currently, the Quebec Marine Rescue Sub-Centre is responsible for a portion of both the Search and Rescue Region of Halifax and Trenton Joint Rescue Coordination Centres. The St. John’s Marine Rescue Sub-Centre is responsible for a portion of the Halifax Joint Rescue Coordination Centre search and rescue region. Following consolidation, Halifax and Trenton Joint Rescue Coordination Centres will be responsible for coordinating all incident responses within their own defined search and rescue regions.
Questions on the Order Paper January 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, the small craft harbours program does not have a diversification strategy and does not manage its properties by diversifying them.
Questions on the Order Paper January 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a) and (b), staffing adjustments are the result of a national initiative and will occur in all regions and branches.
With regard to (c), at this time the department has only issued “affected” letters. As of now, we do not have indications from the employees if they are opting for retirement or other options. The department’s annual attrition rate is 2%-6%, depending on the position.
With regard to (d), savings in staff salaries is estimated to be $25,562,700.00.
With regard to (e), strategic review decisions were not based on the seniority of individual employees.
With regard to (f)(i) and (f)(ii), the implementation of this proposal will result in more transparent service standards for all stakeholders. Modernizing the fisheries management program and DFO in general will enable fish harvesters and the aquaculture industry to operate in an environment where stability, predictability and transparency will allow them to make more informed business choices and decisions for the long term.
With regard to (g), the use of multi-year integrated fisheries management plans will be expanded.
Where this approach does not already exist, fisheries management plans will be put on a stable, multi-year planning cycle, which means that plans are put in place for several years. This eliminates the instability for the industry that results from annual approaches. The industry will be better able to plan for the long term and maximize the potential of the harvest.
Many fisheries do not show significant variation in stock status from year to year. These fisheries do not require detailed annual re-evaluations of their management plans.
With regard to (h), Fisheries and Oceans Canada believes science is an essential contributor to all resource management decision-making and that the management of science must continue to build upon the transformation already under way in order to complement efforts to modernize fisheries management and to strengthen its regulatory role. To achieve these objectives, DFO is accelerating the implementation of multi-year science to include many of the commercial stocks that the department manages but which show little year-to-year variation. This action will result in greater predictability of resource access for commercial fish harvesters. The continued transition to an ecosystem approach to science will put greater emphasis on scientists working in teams to address complex interrelated issues affecting fish, fish habitat and the integrity of aquatic environments. While the department will cease to conduct research on fish production issues in the aquaculture industry as this task is not aligned with the Department’s core mandate, it will focus its aquaculture science activities in support of its regulatory duties related to fish health and environmental interactions. Finally, consolidation of the administrative management and priority-setting process with the Canadian Hydrographic Service will ensure that resources are focused on the high-priority charting activities that are most needed.
With regard to (i) and (j), there have been no salary bonuses based on budget cuts.
Questions on the Order Paper January 30th, 2012
Mr. Speaker, in response to (a) and (b), full implementation will occur when the Canadian Coast Guard is comfortable that the present level of safety and service can be maintained.
In response to (c), on May 2, 2011, there were eleven maritime search and rescue, SAR, coordinators and one regional supervisor maritime SAR employed on a full-time basis at the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre, MRSC, St. John’s. There were no part time or contract workers employed there at that time.
In response to (d) and (e), to date, none of the MRSC St. John’s employees have accepted other government postings.
In response to (f) and (g), the essential qualifications to be hired as a coast guard SAR mission coordinator were posted to the Public Service Commission job postings site in August and September 2011.
In response to (h), on May 2, 2011, there were five maritime SAR coordinators and one regional supervisor maritime search and rescue employed on a full-time basis at MRSC Quebec. There were 2 contract or term workers employed as maritime SAR coordinators at that time.
In response to (i) and (j), as of December 13, 2011, one MRSC Québec employee has accepted a government posting. None have agreed to relocate to the joint rescue coordination centres, JRCCs.
In response to (k) and (l), the essential qualifications to be hired as a coast guard SAR mission coordinator were posted to the Public Service Commission job postings site in August and September 2011.
In response to (m)(n)(o) and (p), the MRSC consolidation is a strategic review proposal. In accordance with the rules for the development of these proposals, any information relating to their development and implementation is considered cabinet confidential.
In response to (q), a net annual and ongoing cost savings of $1,000,000 in salaries will be realized through the net reduction of fifteen full-time positions. Annual total overhead costs for telecommunications and informatics services and training, travelling and exercising will not change, and will be transferred from the MRSCs to the JRCCs. The total ongoing cost of consolidated JRCCs is not yet finalized.
One-time costs to implement the consolidation are dependent upon various factors, including the specific training and relocation requirements of each new hire and the scope of required upgrades to JRCC Halifax and JRCC Trenton. Renovation/upgrade costs for the JRCCs are under review, as there were several pre-existing renewal/upgrade projects under way at both JRCCs before the government announcement of this consolidation, that is, phone system upgrades, software/hardware upgrades and renovations.
Costs for any potential benefits paid to employees who choose to leave the public service are determined on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the union collective agreement. Should employees accept other employment within the public service, these costs will be avoided.
Search and Rescue December 15th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, with today's technology, it will have no impact on the safety and the concerns of mariners. In fact, concentrating all marine communications and traffic services into one Arctic centre allows for higher flexibility for the Coast Guard to respond to Arctic shipping demands.
Search and Rescue December 15th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, this consolidation will have no service impact to mariners relating to the provisions of safety, communications and navigational warnings to ships at sea. Mariners will get the same level of service that they are getting today.
Most of the impacted staff are not, in fact, residents of the north. The CCG will be working with them to address impacts of the consolidation.
Fisheries and Oceans December 14th, 2011
Mr. Speaker, do I look like a bully? There has been no muzzling of our scientists. There certainly has been no attempt to muzzle our scientists. That is totally fictitious.